What a year! What started as a slide into 2025, soon became a horrific fall (literally) on January 13 when I broke my femur after making a quick turn in the kitchen. Two days later, I had surgery after which I was dismissed from the hospital and equipped with a wheelchair, a walker, and months of physical therapy appointments. Yes, my wings were clipped, but thanks to my husband, grown children, friends, and neighbors, I was treated like royalty and by June, I was back to my regularly scheduled antics.
2025 was a Year of Wine, Food, and Travel
Besides 2025 giving me even more reasons to be mentally resilient and proactive about just about everything, I wrote and published 61 articles on Grape Experiences and had two freelance articles published in national and international print wine publications. I hosted three wine education webinars on zoom for a small and mighty group who love wine, food, and travel, too.
I participated in a media trip to Tuscany in June with two wine colleagues and in November, I embraced Paris and Bordeaux with my husband and 7 other new friends – these trips provided memories to cherish for years to come. (Feel free to ask me about accidentally locking myself in the bathroom of an Italian villa at midnight and how my friend and wine colleague provided much needed assistance during my somewhat embarrassing exit.)
With Daniel Cathiard and new friends at Smith Haut Lafitte in November.
During the summer, my husband and I bounced back and forth between Chicago, other parts of the Midwest, Virginia, South Dakota, and California, our home. During that time we shared some of our favorite wines with friends and family with hopes they would appreciate them as much as we do!
In June, I helped judge the Central Coast Wine Competition, one of my favorite events, and began planning a “girls’ trip” to Paris and Champagne in April 2026. This resulted in eight very chic ladies already packing their bags for an epic five days in the City of Light. This is guaranteed to be a fabulous time!
Clearly, food, wine, and travel at its best rang true in 2025 and what’s to come will be even better!
What’s Coming to Grape Experiences?
Obviously more writing! Based on my website’s analytics and emails from you all, look forward to more posts about compelling food and recipes along with suggested wine pairings and restaurant discoveries from places I’ve visited in the United States and Europe. In a couple of weeks, I will have three restaurant recommendations from beautiful Bordeaux-don’t miss that!
One of my favorite spots in Bordeaux for dinner – Zepherine.
Since you have enjoyed my articles about unusual varietals such as Pink Chardonnay and Savignin and intriguing wineries I’ve covered, there will be more on those topics. And of course, learning more about the people behind the wines is always a good idea-I already have more than a few to contact sooner than later.
Now that I know much of what you love about food, wine, and travel, you’ll find me leaning into more travel planning for your (or our) next trip… where do you want to go? I’m ready for it and will be posting itineraries that range from the most affordable to luxury indulgences in places many people only dream about. Because I only write about topics of which I have personal knowledge, these suggestions will be based on my own journeys in Tuscany, Paris, Bordeaux, Provence, Paso Robles, and more.
In 2026, I’ll be judging the Central Coast Wine Competition, the Livermore Valley Wine Competition, and an international competition that has yet to be finalized. Because these are share-worthy experiences, look for recap and highlight articles that will provide you a deep dive into the regions and their wines with hopes you’ll be enticed enough to seek them out.
Photo Credit: Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance
Already I’m excited about guest writers who will be posting on Grape Experiences in 2026. One in particular is absolutely brilliant and you will appreciate her commentaries. It’s always a good idea to share another writer’s perspectives and I look forward to doing just that.
It’s Your Turn!
Continue to be part of the Grape Experiences community and if you are not yet a subscriber to my articles, please do so HERE.
Follow me on Instagram HERE, Facebook HERE, and my own YouTube channel HERE where I’ll post as much as possible.
Please email me with more thoughts and ideas for what I can add to 2026 so that you can be inspired. Would you like to have more wine education webinars? More videos on my site? I’m up for anything except another crash to the floor!
Happy New Year!
Cheers! ~ Cindy
