Is it just me or does it feel like wine is grown in some of the most beautiful places in the world? I understand why some people will plan whole vacations around wineries or as some might say – terroir travels. One of those regions you’ll want to add to your list is the stunning Yarra Valley in the Australian state of Victoria. Less than an hour from downtown Melbourne, it’s become known for its wine over the last two centuries. While we were there, we visited the very first vineyard in the valley – Yering Station. All the way back in 1838 the Ryrie brothers planted the very first vines here. They eventually acquired 43,000 acres and planted both black cluster and sweet water varieties. Today Yering is owned by the Rathbone family, and I met with their chief winemaker, Brendan Hawker, to see what makes their chardonnay so different to others.

Nearby another Victoria, this time a city in British Columbia, Canada, is the idyllic Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse. It was started by Kristen Needham, a sixth generation farmer who initially had no plans to go into farming at all. In fact, she went to school for environmental management and international development, working on food security projects abroad. Fate brought her back to her family orchard in 2002 and only five years later she was serving up her first ciders. Today, Sea Cider has over 1,300 organically-grown apple trees with 50 varieties of heirloom apples. The farm’s location next to the Salish Sea means a moderate climate and less stressed trees. This means they can organically produce something like 16,000 cases of cider yearly with everything done on site from fermenting to bottling.

You know, usually stories about aviation and alcohol don’t quite mix, but there’s nothing tragic in how Irish coffee was invented. While I visited Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum near Limerick, I learned how this drink was invented from guide Helen Enright. Once upon a dreary winter night, a plane headed for New York was forced to return to Foynes due to bad weather. Once landed, passengers went to the airport’s restaurant and the chef there, Chef Joe Sheridan, decided to make them something warm to cheer them up. While making their coffee, he added a bit of whiskey and, really, the rest is history!

Like most alcohols, making saké is a true art form that requires every raw ingredient to be just right. And when it comes to good saké, you need to make sure both your water and your rice are the highest quality. That’s why SakéOne, one of the first producers of high quality saké in America, brings in water from Oregon’s Willamette Valley and exclusive rice grown in Sacramento Valley. I met with their toji/brew master, Takumi Kuwabara, to learn more about how he develops different flavors as well as try some different styles myself. One is so unique, it’s exclusive to club members!

I’ve been to a lot of breweries in my time but nowhere does a tasting go quite like it does at Giant Jones Brewing, an independent and women-owned brewery that’s also certified organic. Led by co-founder Jessica Jones, our tasting began by smelling our shirt sleeves. And then before we got to the beer, we went through a water crash course to understand what kind of water they use in their brews. Only then did we switch to beer (and chocolate!). Trust me when I say – their studious approach to brewing pays off.

When it comes to Old Herald Brewery & Distillery near the end of Route 66 in Illinois, there’s a lot to love. The first is that their name comes from its location in the former headquarters for the Collinsville Herald. Everything down to the font on their site is an homage to this history. The next is that it’s both a brewery and distillery and a restaurant, so you can really come here for everything. The third is its very unique horseradish spirit. It doesn’t get much more local than this since Collinsville is known as the horseradish capital of the world and their corn-based vodka comes from nearby. I joined founder and distiller Derik Reiser to see how exactly he came up with this recipe and to see what exactly a horseradish spirit tastes like!