Another Year, Another List

According to my rough calculations, I traveled more than 100,000 miles in 2008! Not surprising when you take a look at my destinations for Year 2 On The Job:)

March '08
Chicago, IL
Newark, NJ

April '08
Tulsa, OK
Seattle, WA
Vancouver, BC

May '08
Chicago, IL
North Hollywood, CA
Ottawa, ON
Portland, OR
Chicago, IL

June '08
Seattle, WA
Van Nuys, CA
Columbus, OH
Chicago, IL

July '08
New York, NY
Santa Ana, CA
Vancouver, WA
Van Nuys, CA

August '08
Chicago, IL
Phoenix, AZ
Monterey, CA
Chicago, IL

September '08
San Diego, CA
Seattle, WA
Chicago, IL
Miami, FL

October '08
Los Angeles, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX

November '08
Burbank, CA
Chicago, IL
North Hollywood, CA
Beijing, China

December '08
New York, NY
Albuquerque, NM
Chicago, IL

January '09
Chicago, IL
Seattle, WA
Irvine, CA

February '09
Salinas, CA
Phoenix, AZ
Ft Lauderdale, FL
Seattle, WA

March '09
Van Nuys, CA
Seattle, WA

I was surprised to find that my most freqeuntly traveled-to city is Chicago with ELEVEN trips in twelve months! Just when I was about to complain about the travel increase as-of-late, I realized just how blessed am I to be able to be visit home THIS often in a year.

Bubbly, bubbly.

Its taken us over a year-and-a-half to FINALLY make it to the one vineyard that was highly recommended by multiple friends from around the country - Shramsberg, Napa Valley's claim to fame in sparkling wine. (And sadly, its taken me another month to share our photos with you. I do realize how inconsistent my blogging has been...and I'll work on doing better!)

At my 30th birthday request, Mark made the reservations for a private tour of the estate, the wine caves, and a delicious tasting. We learned a thing or two about the rich history of the winery which began in 1862 when Jacob Schram, a young German immigrant, became one of the first vineyard owners in the Vally.

We especially enjoyed the cool and musty caves, perfect for producing complex sparkling wines using the traditional méthode champenoise. Deep in the tunnels, we observed the riddling process at its various stages, the perfect technique used to clarify and remove sediment from Champagne or sparkling wine.

For trivia lovers out there, Who created the riddling technique, you ask? If you enjoy this famous yellow label, you'll be pleased to find that it was, in fact, Madame Nicole-Barbe Clicquot who developed the method in the early 1800's that is still used today.

Saving the best for last, we sampled four delicious wines at the end of our tour, and now know exactly why Schramsberg came so highly recommended. If you ever have an opportunity to enjoy a bottle - or even a glass - of the Reserve, I would encourage you to take it!

Cheers!