ÆRENA Gallery & Gardens

ÆRENA Gallery & Gardens

ÆRENA Gallery & Gardens founder Michael Polenske discovered his love of art as a young boy. Growing up in Washington D.C., he was a regular at the Smithsonian, where he would purchase from the museum shop postcards representing his favorite exhibits. Those...
The Extraordinary Napa Valley Wine Train

The Extraordinary Napa Valley Wine Train

The history of the famous Napa Valley Wine Train is as old as the Napa Valley itself. It was conceived and built in 1864 by California’s first millionaire and visionary, Samuel Brannen, to transport guests to the healing spa he’d recently built in Calistoga, which he...
Wine Regions: Greece

Wine Regions: Greece

Greece may be one of the most ancient winemaking civilizations, but this country has only been producing noteworthy wines since the late ‘70s. The viticulture and wines vary from island to island, as do the historical monuments of the Golden Age of Athens, such as the...
Side Trip: Petaluma

Side Trip: Petaluma

Fifty years after George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola directed and produced American Graffiti in Petaluma, the picturesque town still triggers a wave of nostalgia inspired by the movie’s soundtrack of rock and roll originals. In fact, the city has some of the...
A Weekend in St. Helena

A Weekend in St. Helena

Considered the Beverly Hills of Northern California, St. Helena offers a potpourri of experiences on and beyond its long stretch of Highway 29. The small city is sandwiched between Rutherford and Calistoga and touts some of wine country’s ultra-luxurious shops,...
Picnic Party

Picnic Party

Picnics possess the power to remind one of their youth, recalling days of bare feet, running free through tall grass while the grown-ups carried a straw basket packed to the brim with goodies to a pristinely groomed patch in the shade. As adults, though, there are a...