Month: July 2025

There’s something truly magical about a trip that tantalizes not just your eyes but all your senses, especially your taste buds! Food and wine travel offers an immersive way to experience culture, history, and artistry through flavors that tell a story.

Whether you’re a casual foodie or a passionate oenophile, here’s what to consider when planning your next gourmet getaway and the best places to sip, savor, and celebrate.

Planning Your Food & Wine Adventure

Before you pack your bags and set off on this delicious journey, here are some key things to keep in mind:

Identify Your Culinary Interests

Are you a lover of rich reds, crisp whites, or sparkling bubbly? Or maybe you’re on the hunt for street food, farm-to-table experiences, or gourmet dining? Narrowing down your preferences helps tailor the experience to what excites your palate.

Timing Is Everything

Vineyard harvests, food festivals, and seasonal specialties vary throughout the year. Planning your trip around these events can elevate your experience, allowing you to witness winemaking first-hand or indulge in fresh seasonal produce.

Local Culture and Traditions

Food and wine are deeply rooted in culture and community. Seek experiences that include meeting local producers, attending cooking classes, or dining in family-owned restaurants for authentic connections.

Consider Your Pace

A rich food and wine trip can be intense. Balancing tasting sessions with relaxation and sightseeing ensures you absorb everything without feeling overwhelmed.

What’s Your Budget? 

Food and wine tours can range from affordable to ultra-luxurious.

 Best Destinations to Savor Food and Wine

 Here are some standout destinations renowned for their food and wine offerings:

Bordeaux, France

Known as the jewel of France’s wine regions, Bordeaux is home to centuries-old vineyards producing some of the world’s finest reds and whites, with sprawling vineyards, exquisite chateaux, and hearty French cuisine. Pairing your wine with local delicacies in a quaint bistro along the Garonne River creates an unforgettable sensory escape. Don’t miss a river cruise with wine tastings.

Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany’s idyllic landscape paints rolling hills, cypress-lined roads, and vineyards ripe with Sangiovese grapes. Here, food is as much an art as wine. Join olive oil tastings in ancient farms and learn to craft traditional pasta in cooking classes held in rustic farmhouses. The warmth of Tuscan hospitality complements dishes like rich ribollita soup and pecorino cheese, creating a feast for both palate and soul.

Mendoza, Argentina

Framed by the majestic Andes, Mendoza offers more than just world-class Malbec wines. Adventure seekers can combine vineyard tours with exhilarating hikes and horseback rides. In tapas-style bodegas, savor smoky grilled meats flavored with chimichurri sauce – a perfect match for the robust red wines. The sunset views from vineyard terraces here transform every sip into an epic experience.

Cape Winelands, South Africa

Nestled between dramatic mountain ranges, the Cape Winelands region blends stunning natural scenery with award-winning wines. Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are hubs for gastronomic excellence, where you can enjoy farm-to-table meals highlighting indigenous ingredients like fynbos herbs and heirloom vegetables. Cultural festivals and cellar tours invite you to dive deeper into South African food.

Napa Valley, USA

Napa Valley is synonymous with luxury wine experiences, but it also boasts a vibrant culinary scene emphasizing organic farms and sustainable practices. From intimate wine tastings in boutique vineyards to Michelin-starred restaurants, Napa seduces with its blend of classic California cuisine and innovative dishes. Outdoor activities like hot air ballooning and vineyard hikes offer unique vantage points for savoring the landscape – and the wines.

San Sebastián, Spain

Pintxos (Basque tapas) are the star here. Hop from bar to bar, sampling creative and delicious bites paired with local wines.

Beyond the Glass and Plate

Food and wine travel goes beyond tasting – it’s about stories, connections, and discovery.

Cooking Classes and Wine Workshops

Learn the craft behind your favorite dishes or wine blends directly from artisans.

Market Tours and Tastings

Explore bustling local markets where fresh produce and spices tell tales of tradition.

Pairing Experiences

Discover the art of pairing regional wines with local dishes, enhancing flavors in every bite and sip.

Stay in a Local Guesthouse

Experience the hospitality and culture up close.

Unique Tips for Food & Wine Travelers

• Always keep an open mind and be willing to try unusual local specialties, you’ll be rewarded with unique flavors.
• Stay hydrated and pace your tastings to savor each moment.
• Don’t forget to take notes or photos of your favorite wines and dishes to remember and recreate the experience later.

Embark on a food and wine journey that touches your soul and ignites your senses, where every sip and bite becomes a cherished memory crafted just for you.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Would you go on a food and wine tour? Where would you go? What experiences would you consider exploring?

It’s Candle Season, Witches.

It’s Candle Season, Witches.

Do they still talk to each other?

Seven provisions in the new OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) could significantly increase ACA (Affordable Care Act) health insurance costs for some seniors in 2026. Understanding these seven provisions, and careful financial planning could help you avoid some of those higher costs.

“Help!”

The Beatles sang in their 1965 song “Help!”

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down

And I do appreciate you being ’round

Help me get my feet back on the ground

Won’t you please, please help me?

Seven provisions in the new OBBBA decrease the financial subsidies the ACA provides to help pay for health insurance. The new provisions bring the ACA’s financial help down to pre-Covid levels. During the Covid crisis, financial help had been enhanced and increased. Starting in 2026, those enhancements and increases are being cut back. Explanations of these provisions might begin to answer the Beatles’ and some readers’ calls for help.

Seven Provisions to Understand

Here’s how the seven provisions could potentially cost you money.

#1: Less Financial Help

During, and in the five years after the Covid crisis, ACA financial help was enhanced and increased to help folks pay for their health insurance. The new OBBBA will, in 2026, lower that financial help back down to pre-Covid levels.

One estimate from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) is for costs to “increase by over 75% on average, with folks in some states seeing their payments more than double.” ACA’s financial help in 2026 for households can be estimated by using KFF’s calculator.

#2: “Cliff Drop” Straight Down to Zero

Seniors need to be especially mindful of the return of the “cliff drop.” This can be a costly situation where a small increase in your income could cause you to lose ALL of your ACA financial help.

For instance, I used KFF’s calculator to discover that in one hypothetical example, an average 62-year-old could lose approximately $682 per month ($8,183 per year) in financial help. This could happen if their tax return showed an increase in income of just $10, from $60,240 to $60,250.

The red line in this chart illustrates how a small increase in income could cause the loss of all ACA financial help.

This type of “cliff drop” is similar to how a small increase in income could result in the extra costs of IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) surcharges on Medicare premiums.

#3: Axing the Repayment Cap

In 2026, you will no longer benefit from caps on repayment of ACA’s excess financial help. In previous years, you might have received this excess financial help because your actual income at the end of a year came in higher than the estimated income you provided at the beginning of the year.

Here’s a table of the 2025 caps. There will be no caps in 2026.

#4: Annual Open Enrollment Period Curtailed

Beginning in 2026, the open enrollment period will shorten to November 1 through December 15. Previously, ACA open enrollment had run from November 1 through January 15.

#5 Auto-Renewal Eliminated

Currently, during your ACA Open Enrollment, you automatically will be registered to continue with your current plan if you forget to renew. Starting in 2028, you will need to actively renew. Forgetting to renew could cause you to lose the ACA’s financial help.

#6 Personal Information Verification Required

Starting in 2028, you will need to re-verify your personal and income information at each renewal. You might also need to submit documents.

#7 Non-Verification Monthly Fee and Loss of Help

For folks on zero-premium plans, for each month you do not verify your information, you might not receive financial help and might be charged the full cost of your health insurance. You might be also charged a monthly fee.

Crucial Tax and Financial Planning

Knowing how to get the most from the ACA’s financial help can be complicated and confusing. It can be even more complicated and confusing when the rules change.

Clear understanding and thoughtful planning can empower you to get the most from ACA’s financial help. Guidance from a knowledgeable and experienced financial planner can help you navigate through changes and confusion.

Understanding the ACA provisions in the new law, and thoughtful financial planning could provide you with some of the help that the Beatles had sang about in 1965.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Would understanding these new ACA provisions help you with your finances? What additional information about these new ACA provisions would you like to have? How will you plan to take manage the higher costs you might see for your ACA health insurance? Please join the conversation.