Driving onto the vineyard at Big Sky Wines, the trees in the rearview mirror engulf the airborne dust of the gravel road. Hills surrounding the Te Muna Valley sit in the distance like curious observers, as the clouds unfold opening into a faded, blue jean sky above. Stepping out of the car, the gentle heat of the sun floods over the vibrant green of the Pinot Noir vines. On my way to the house, their bushy arms wave joyfully in the wind as if to say, “Hey there! We are awaiting our summer leaf plucking.” In the month of January, Jhene and I got to spend almost three weeks vineyard sitting in Martinborough, home of New Zealand's finest Pinot Noir crop. We met Katherine Jacobs and Jeremy Corban, the owners, winemakers and viticulturists for Big Sky, ... read more

Some gasp at the smell. "Rotten eggs," the say, spewing their words with such distain as if the acidity lingered on their very tongues. "Who let off a sulfur bomb?" I heard an American say, languishing on a park bench. I pictured him gasping for air on a school bus of unruly teens, suffocating in the stench as he tried to put down one of those unruly windows. This odoriferous city for me however sparks endless memories of my youth. It's watering the vegetable garden in the dead heat of a Tennessee summer while the humidity drips down my temples. I take the hose and douse it over my curly brown ponytail for a euphoric release. It's washing my parents cars in the driveway, Joy dish soap foaming over the sides of the bucket, and a ... read more

The drive from Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsula was a transcendental one. The two-lane motorway rose and fell across farms more like a backcountry road rather than a highway. Never in my life had I experienced so many different shades of a single color in one landscape. I weaved through absinthe green farmlands speckled with grazing sheep. Unlike the endless mudbath pastures found in the States, cattle meandered through violently pigment fields of jade. Vineyards sprung from the ground, their early granny smith apple green vines weaving in perfect rows over ridges. Weeping willows caressed the fence lines with wisping tentacles and forests of pines crept into the fields only to disappear around the next ridge. Hillsides rippled into the horizon each taking on their own defining shade, from the light green of asparagus to the ... read more

It seems only fitting that I start this blog with a glass of Paradisos Sève in my hand. A smooth, crisp, white wine that flowers over the tastebuds of this usually red wine drinker’s tongue. WWOOFing or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms Today marks a week of my working on the Paradisos del Sol Vineyard as a WWOOFer in Zillah, Washington. WWOOFing is a work exchange program that provides individuals with the opportunity to learn about and take part in organic farming across the globe. In exchange for anywhere between 20-35 hours a week of work, the host provides room and board. Opportunities range from working on vineyards, dairies, orchards, ranches, and homesteads, along with other options. Reconnecting with Roomie Jhene, my roommate from Alaska and future New Zealand travel companion, worked at Paradisos del ... read more

Cades Cove An hour east of Knoxville, Tennessee on the quiet side of the Smoky Mountains, an 11 mile, one lane, one-way loop circles the valley of Cades Cove. All from the comfort of your vehicle, you can watch the valley spread out like an all you can eat buffet steaming across the hood of your car. You can absorb the tranquillity of the passing pine and oak trees with no worry of blisters or mosquito bites, your rear end cupped gently by the soft, plush, leather seats of the vehicle. The most beautiful part about experiencing nature in this way is that you can defy it. In the 90 degree heat accompanied by the 90% humidity in the dead of summer, you can bask in the cool whispering of the AC as it gently kisses ... read more