Today we’re traveling to Ljubljana, Slovenia. A place full of energy and charm. Ljubljana’s Old Town is home to 17 bridges that traverse the Ljubljanica River. This up-and-coming European city is a hip version of Venice without all the crowds.
Wine tasting isn’t just about the wine – it’s the whole experience that counts. Tucked away on a quiet street in Budapest is an adorable wine shop and tasting room called the Tasting Table. With less than 24 hours to spend in Hungary’s capital city, we still managed to find time for wine.
This was the one of many wine tastings during our 10-city tour through Europe last winter. Eating and drinking our way around new cities is one of our favorite parts of traveling.
Wine has not always been our drink of choice but that quickly changed in recent years. We’re not quite to sommelier status yet but we like to think we know our way around a good bottle of wine.
Let me start by sharing how we got from boxes to barrels.
It took me a while to develop a palette for wine. I didn’t understand how a liquid could be considered ‘dry’. My first drink of choice was, sadly to admit, Burnett’s. I then progressed to something fruity and predictable like cranberry vodka with a splash of sprite. Beer was never on my go-to list. I occasionally drank Blue Moon or Soft Parade, but never got into domestic beer except for one time in college when that was the only available beverage at a party so my friends and I pretended like it was water in a desert.
Sometime in college, I slowly started drinking white wine…Pinot Grigio from Italy or Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. I also hopped on the Rosé bandwagon, gravitating towards the crisp variety from Provence. My first venture into red wine was 19 Crimes Red Blend, a birthday gift I received when I turned 20something. From that day on, red wine has always been my go-to drink.
Ryan’s love for wine took even longer to develop. His favorite alcoholic beverage was always beer…the standard frat boy staple. Ryan was just as happy chugging Coors out of a Keg or sampling new craft brews.
It was during our honeymoon in Italy when Ryan discovered his appreciation for fine wine, especially Italian reds. We were introduced to Brunello at a villa in Tuscany and haven’t looked back since. We enjoyed two bottles in one night and woke up the next morning with no hangovers in sight. Red wine quickly moved to the top of Ryan’s drink list too.
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