The latest from the Drake team (CEO Jeff Stober (Drake Hotel and Drake One Fifty Toronto), chef Matt DeMille and innkeepers Chris and Jessica Loane), the new “Drake by the lake” in Wellington, on the shores of Lake Ontario, is a modern take on a classic inn, housed in what was originally a 19th century … Read more
Article to appear in Taste & Travel International in January 2015 Sideways in Toronto – an interview with Gray Hartley Diane caught up with Gray Hartley, co-owner and winemaker at Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post Winery, at the California Legends Wine Fair in Toronto. The Hitching Post, located in the Santa Ynez Valley of California’s … Read more
From the creators of Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill, the Boiler House and Archeo and in the Boiler House space, comes the Mexican-inspired El Catrin restaurant. Spectacular design, inside and out, is an homage to the Mexican cantina. The vivid floor-to-ceiling mural by Mexican street artist, Oscar Flores, is a dramatic backdrop for the … Read more
40,000 people can’t be wrong – no Megaquarry!
More than 35 wineries, 600 cheeses, 6,000 lakes and the dazzling Cream City brick of Milwaukee. “After a visit to Italy, we decided to model our winery after a Tuscan villa,” Steve Johnson tells me. A Tuscan winery in Wisconsin? Yes. Parallel 44, high on a hill, overlooking the vineyards in the glacial-etched valley of … Read more
It’s the cusp of rainy season, in Belize’s rainiest and remotest southern region, Toledo. The keel-billed toucan sits on his painted perch high up in the rainforest canopy of the town’s clock tower mural. The national bird of Belize knows the tropics will soon be at their most tropical. Punta Gorda, Fat Point in Spanish Read more
At Los Roques, off Venezuela, you can have an island all to yourself Article appeared in the Ottawa Citizen When Spanish explorers arrived at Lake Maracaibo in what is now Venezuela, the natives were living in huts on stilts and using boats shaped like gondolas, which reminded the Spaniards of Venice. They promptly called the … Read more
Article appeared in the Toronto Star Dishes, glasses and menus fly past my head as I try to hold on to my corner spot at the El Rinconcillo bar in Seville, Spain. One man slices jamon, or ham with olympian dexterity, while another chops bread with equal precision. The waiter spins the glasses he has … Read more
Diane likes to wander off the path, talk to people and soak up the flavours and colours. She has savoured the wine & culinary offerings of Ontario, British Columbia, California, Oregon, Arizona, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany and the U.S.
Along the way, she and her bike made it to Belize, Ireland, Patagonian Argentina & Honduras. With kayak,she floated through Killarney, Algonquin & Temagami National Parks, Baja California & Belize. With backpack - Gros Morne, Newfoundland, the Adirondacks and Montenegro.
Diane contributes regularly to Taste & Travel International and also has written for the Globe & Mail, Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Vacay.ca and others. She holds a Certificate in Wine from W.S.E.T.
