The Intersection of Travel and Spirits

Whiskey and wine on the road... 

If you've been following this newsletter from the beginning, you'll see that my reporting on travel has extended to encompass wine and spirits, especially over the last year when we all stopped traveling and started drinking... well, drank, more. Though I've mentioned this crossover, I haven't really dedicated any issues to my booze-focused beat, but today, that changes. 

I'm diving into whiskey (well not me, but an actual whiskey pro) and wine from Oregon's Rogue Valley. Salud!

Though I said that the pandemic propelled my spirits writing, I should probably mention that I have always had a vested interest in all things wine since my first visit to a vineyard in Mendoza, Argentina. This was about 11 years ago, when I was... ahem... certainly not of legal drinking age in the United States but, hey, I grew up in Bermuda and I was certainly of age in Mendoza. I say this because as a teenager, I had no idea what a Malbec was (the region's main grape variety); in fact, I didn't much care for red wines at this stage in my life, but I wanted to learn.

I remember tasting my way through Argentinean wine country, and in fact, I recently flipped through some photos from that trip and found a few snaps of me taking notes. Though I don't vividly remember taking those notes, it reinforced how nothing has changed, as on any vineyard trip after that, from Slovenia to Spain, Chile to Australia, New Zealand to Napa, I've been taking notes all along. And now that I have a platform to share those thoughts on, I'm just bringing them to life. 

All that said, I've long fostered an appreciation of wine and viticulture, and beyond. It's truly a fascinating industry and is so interconnected to travel; some of my favorite trips are planned around distillery or winery visits, and sometimes, even just a really unique bar.

This includes trips I've taken for work; one of my first work trips in relation to wine was to none other than Napa Valley in 2017 (some seven years post-Mendoza trip). I was a little overwhelmed considering I was among a group of journalists who were quite literally spirited professionals, and I was starting out my career. But it was an opportunity I cherished to learn from them. Needless to say, I stepped up my notes (and spittoon) game. 

On this trip, I met Clay Whittaker, a culture writer with a focus on spirits. He was one of those people I'd heard about as I entered the industry, but I hadn't yet traveled with or gotten to know. For his wealth of knowledge and experience, he was surprisingly welcoming and generous to a newb like me. We stayed in touch and, though it's slightly ridiculous we haven't crossed paths on another trip together yet, we've kept up with each other's writings and individual travels. Clay recently started a newsletter called Whiskey Beat and I wanted to pick his brain about a few of his recent travels related to the spirit, as well as share with my audience what his newsletter is all about. 

Clay describes Whiskey Beat as "an annotated reading list of the most important writing about whiskey each week." Though that's a succinct overview, I'd say it's more than that, as Clay dives into compelling personal essays on the spirit, offering his take on "whatever the hell he wants" in a way that's enticing to both aficionados and useful for the less whiskey-versed. This includes recent topics like birthday whiskey, drain pour whiskey and water for drinking versus water for proofing. I asked him to share a few hot takes on current whiskey trends and from his recent whiskey escapades, but if you want to read more, here's a link to subscribe. 

What’s it like to get back to traveling? 

I think the big struggle for everyone has been finding their footing with the nuanced politics of mask up, mask down. I’ve had moments where I forgot to put my mask back up, and have also had moments where I felt overwhelmed by crowds. I think everyone—maybe even some of the anti-vaxxers—are having trouble getting readjusted. If nothing else, it’s been a good reminder to be forgiving and patient, with others and with ourselves.

How have you seen the whiskey industry affected by the pandemic? Any surprises or things you didn’t expect? 

I was really impressed by how many distillers jumped in to make hand sanitizer. Because of the way sanitizer-grade alcohol has to be made, not every distiller can even do it, but of the ones who could, many of them jumped in to help the community—in many cases without even trying to snag PR for it. 

They were also quick to shut down tours and move to skeleton crews at the start of things, which I think is why so few of them have had production issues. Most distilleries have brought tours back with stringent safety protocols, and I’m happy they’re taking things seriously.

I guess my only gripe would be against some of the distributors. Once we had the vaccine, you were hearing a lot of restaurants and bars say they weren’t being given their typical allocations of the rare products, with the excuse that their 2020 sales had been so bad. Like, for real? You’ve had bar owners buying from you for decades and you’re going to punish them for Covid closures? 

It’s another reason the system we have isn’t working. The pandemic brought a lot of things to light about how alcohol is distributed in the US—most of them not very good. And the control states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina (where I live) have struggled the most to meet consumer demand. I hope lawmakers have seen these problems and are planning to address them.

What are some of the whiskey trends you’re watching right now? Or excited about?

Oh goodness where to start! I think that Tennessee is doing big things right now. George Dickel released their first ever bourbon this year, and when I visited Jack Daniel’s this summer, they had a lot of cool things in the works, including a big release for later this year. I think the whole state has been quietly working to take the crown from Kentucky for a decade now, and we’re starting to see the fruits of that labor. 

You can add to that the impressive work of smaller distilleries like Chattanooga, which produced one of my favorite bottles of 2020: Chattanooga Straight Malt Rye. Malted rye is a notoriously frustrating thing to work with, but it tastes so good. I haven’t had a bad one yet.

I’d also be on the lookout for corn whiskeys, which are getting a lot of attention from craft distillers (to great effect) and world whiskeys like the Puni of Italy and Starward of Australia. 

Where’s your favorite place you’ve visited when it comes to the whiskey world?

I’ve tasted whiskey on four continents, and I can’t just pick one place. The ones that feel the most like home are in Kentucky and Scotland, though. Scotland hasn’t been accessible without quarantine for a while now, but I made a trip to Kentucky last fall and was surprised how much Louisville felt like a ghost town. I was back a couple of weeks ago, and I’m glad to say it’s feeling as hospitable as ever, even through a mask.

What whiskey got you through quarantine?

I had the benefit of access to a large collection of bottles and samples, but I found that the best drinking I did during quarantine was with the single barrel and single cask whiskeys I’ve collected over the years. It doesn’t need to be expensive, or even particularly rare. But I opened a lot of bottles I’d been “saving” for a special moment. Turns out, a great bottle can make a moment special all on its own.

Since we're on the track of booze and travel, I just returned from a wine-filled few days in Southern Oregon. I learned so much about the Rogue Valley (where I was) versus the Willamette Valley (the leading wine region in Oregon and really the only place I was naively familiar with in the state). Many of these surprising lessons were attributed to the grape varieties available in the Rogue Valley. It wasn't all about Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but to my delight, Tempranillo, Malbec, and Grenache wines were plentiful and quite delightful (oh yes, I drink red wines now, I actually prefer them). I'll have more to share from Oregon in an upcoming article, however, for now I want to share five of my favorite wines coming out of this trip:

Red Lily 2015 Tempranillo - owned and run by the badass Rachael Martin, Red Lily Vineyards focuses on Spanish varieties, including their flagship Tempranillo. Round on the palate with bold, bright red fruits.

Quady North Grenache Rosé - Herb Quady diverted from his family winemaking business in California to start his own winery that focuses on unusual varieties for the region; including, Grenache Blanc and Mourvedre, and Cabernet Franc. The Grenache Rosé offers more structure and crispness than your typical rosé. 

Cliff Creek 2014 Sangiovese - Though I didn't get to visit this tasting room, I tried a beautiful expression of their "old world wine with a new world twist" with this Sangiovese. Black currants and ripe strawberries shine on the palate, offering a silky finish.

Irvine & Roberts 2017 Pinot Noir - Specializing in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the vineyard's established the perfect balance of earth and fruit in this expression that can truly be tasted in a side-by-side of their other wines, but stands bold alone all the same. Ripe raspberries and leather on the palate.

DANCIN 2019 Luna Notte Port Style Barbera - Little did I know I'd find one of my favorite new ports coming out of Southern Oregon. Created in limited production, DANCIN's port styles quickly sell out, but it may be worth a visit to Oregon simply to sip this pleasantly cherry-forward pour, available on their tasting menu.
 

If you're in Oregon, I highly recommend visiting The Rogue Grape for an immersive sampling from a variety of vineyards, and if you're unable to make it to the region just yet, check out Cellar 503, a southern Oregon wine club for access to some of these incredible offerings from the state.

Some recent articles: 
 

Craft Tequilas Seek to Educate U.S. Consumers, Prompting A Shift From Celebrity Labels to Sustainable Brands

Nantucket's Most Charming Hotels
 

Xo,
J