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Catherine’s Winter Palace, home of the extravagant Hermitage Museum. Not a grapevine for hundreds of miles.

Family Vacations and Wine Discovery
While I might selfishly wish every vacation could be a wine vacation, that’s not always possible. Can you sneak in a little wine discovery on an otherwise non-wine situation?  Give this a try:

• Do a little advance research. Find a list of wine bars in the cities you’ll visit. I search for natural wine bars, as the wines are always surprising and usually very good. The staff is guaranteed to be passionate
• Save the wine bars in a personal map in Google maps
• Once you’re there, go search out a wine bar one afternoon or evening. Bonus: if you walk, you’ll explore the city off the typical tourist path
• Sometimes you’ll come up dry
• When your family wants to go to some non-wine destination, smile, agree, and start your research!

I recently enjoyed a Rick Steves tour with a couple family members.  The trip fulfilled a bucket list wish of visiting the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg Russia. Tallinn Estonia, Helsinki Finland, and St. Petersburg Russia are much too far north to consider any kind of grape growing. BUT, they do have some interesting wine bars.  Here’s what I found.

A Near Miss in Tallinn Estonia
The pre-trip research yielded Pazzo Wine Bar as the place to go. Unfortunately, on arrival I found their open days did not coincide with our visit. Rats! Fortunately, we happened on another bar/shop willing to help satisfy our thirst.

(click on any photo for a full size slide show, hit “escape” to return)

Tallinn has an old walled city at its’ historic center

Old and new coexist

The Baltic region features a variety of religions, all with their ornate churches

Pazzo Wine Bar. Don’t blink or you’ll miss the sign!

Rats! Closed.

Here’s me seing the wine bar was only open Thursday – Saturday

We were out walking during some free time and happened on this shop

A friendly spot

I did find some wine to enjoy

We had a fun dinner at Leib

Outdoor dining is the best!

Saved by a creative by-the-glass list at Leib

Tallinn delivered after all!

Midsummer days are very long, this was 5:00AM

Helsinki Finland – Not Dark at Midnight
Modern, clean lines mark Helsinki as clearly Scandinavian. Near Midsummer, a walk to Bas Bas & Staff wine bar can start late in the evening. Take the long way coming back to the hotel!

Helsinki and the water are tied closely

Market produce from a nearby island

Church in. the rock – entirely underground

My favorite example of modern architecture was the Helsinki public library. Stunning inside and out.

A monument to Jean Sibelius the composer.

Find the right pipe for your height, stick your head inside and hear the music of the wind.

No need to get an early start on a walk, as sunset is at 10:30pm

Bas Bas & Staff wine bar is a friendly spot in a residential neighborhood.

Nice variety in by-the-glass pours.

Demeter certified Weingut Schmitt “Voodoo Doll” skin fermented Riesling.

I enjoyed the wine with a couple cheeses

11:30 at night near Midsummers Eve, picnics still in progress. Beautiful monument to sailors and those lost at sea.

Helsinki waterfront at midnight.

Saint Petersburg Russia – Bucket List or Wine Bar Heaven?
The museums in Saint Petersburg were the highlight for most people on the trip. My favorite spot was На Вина (Na Vina!) wine bar.

Catherine’s Winter Palace and home of the Hermitage museum. The highlight for most people on the trip.

Not sure whether the palace or the artworks were the main show!

Gallery upon gallery of art.

Wine highlight: На Вина (Na Vina!) wine bar

Eugene, the somm, had lots of fun wines to sample

Skin fermented Rkatsiteli from Crimea

Low intervention Rhone blend

Outdoor seating, too.

Beautiful city lights at night

Just getting dark at midnight!

I enjoyed Na Vina so much, I went back for an afternoon break

Elona (like western Helen) steered me to several wines perfect for afternoon refreshment

Casa Belfi – Demeter certified, native yeasts, referemented in bottle. Some bottlings are DOCG Col Fondo Prosecco.

Fun to see “Jeff” in Cyrillic letters: Джефф

Fascinating red sparkling wine from Penedes Spain. Earthy, fresh fruit and very dry. Delicious!

Not all art is in the museums. I loved this piece of student art in an art school courtyard

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