Homebound Travel Adventures: Voyage the Globe Virtually
Discover the world of food and wine from the comfort of your home with a variety of resources and experiences available during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Capitoline Museum of Rome can be explored online, allowing you to immerse yourself in the rich history of Italian culture. For those interested in wine, several recommended resources are at your fingertips.
Virtual events and online tastings, such as those offered by the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, provide an engaging way to learn about the science and culture of wine. These events help participants remotely, offering talks and discussions that enrich understanding.
Educational foundations like the Glancy Wine Education Foundation offer virtual events, including online galas and auctions with interactive components like sommelier competitions and virtual wine tastings. They also provide scholarships and educational resources focused on wine culture and hospitality, accessible online.
Industry trend analyses and digital content platforms, such as Tastewise, offer insights into contemporary wine trends. These resources often include blogs, reports, and social media-driven interactions that can be engaged with from home.
Online wine culture and economics blogs, such as The Wine Economist, offer stories and insights on wine innovations, traditional regional wines, and new production methods, enriching cultural understanding virtually.
For those seeking literary escapes, "A Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemingway and "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert offer tales of personal journeys and explorations of food and culture in Paris and various foreign lands.
If you're in the mood for a movie, consider "Under the Tuscan Sun," a story about a woman who dreams of leaving it all behind to buy a rural villa in Tuscany, or "Mamma Mia 2," set in the Greek Isles with song, dance, and Meryl Streep.
For a deeper dive into wine culture, documentaries like "Our Blood Is Wine," showcasing the rebirth of an 8000-year-old winemaking tradition in Georgia (the country), and "A Year in Champagne," documenting a year of winemaking in the Champagne appellation of France, are worth watching.
The "Somm" documentary follows four Americans as they strive to become Master Sommeliers, while "American Wine Story" explores the stories of winemakers pursuing the American dream, featuring the unique story of Brooks Winery.
For a binge-worthy TV series about culture and cuisine, consider "Chef's Table," a culinary docuseries that explores the fascinating worlds of the greatest culinary minds alive, or "No Reservations," a travel show where the late Anthony Bourdain explores off-the-beaten-path destinations and eateries around the world with a host who is more like a college buddy than a tour guide.
Virtual wine tastings can be organized or joined, such as the one led by Lisa Packer at Warr-King Wines on their Facebook page. For those interested in exploring museums and exhibits, resources are available online for the British Museum of London, the Louvre in Paris, the Museé d'Orsay, the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, and the ten best National Parks of the United States.
Livecams of safari park watering holes can be viewed online at Explore.Org, allowing viewers to spot various animals such as hippos, lions, and giraffes. For a literary escape set in Provence, France, pick up a copy of "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle. If you're in the mood for a heartwarming movie about two worlds clashing then coming together in a celebration of culture, cuisine, and community, watch "The Thousand Foot Journey."
Finally, for those who want to learn more about wine styles, regions, and producers, consider visiting the Wine Folly blog or the Vatican Museum, which has a virtual collection available to view online. For an introduction to new countries for armchair tourists, consider "Passport to Europe," an older travel show where bubbly Samantha Brown explores some of the more popular tourist destinations. Lastly, "Cooked" is a docuseries based on Michael Pollan's book, exploring the deep instinct within people to make their own food, told through four main culinary lenses - fire, water, air, and earth.
With these resources at your disposal, you can explore food, wine, and culture safely from home, using a combination of virtual events, educational materials, trend analyses, and expert commentary.
- The digital edition of "A Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemingway and "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert offer literary escapes centered around food and cultural explorations.
- For those interested in wine, the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science offers online tastings and discussions, providing an engaging way to learn about the science and culture of wine.
- Educational foundations like the Glancy Wine Education Foundation offer virtual events, such as online galas and auctions, along with interactive components like sommelier competitions and virtual wine tastings.
- Industry trend analyses and digital content platforms, such as Tastewise, provide insights into contemporary wine trends, featuring blogs, reports, and social media-driven interactions.
- To delve deeper into wine culture, consider documentaries like "Our Blood Is Wine," showcasing the rebirth of an 8000-year-old winemaking tradition in Georgia or "A Year in Champagne," documenting a year of winemaking in the Champagne appellation of France.
