How to Be a Foodie Tourist

Everyone's a foodie these days, but how about going all the way and being a foodie tourist? If you love food, beer or wine, check for tour companies that increasingly offer food, beer or wine-based tours. You can also design your own by researching beforehand. Read on to learn how to be a foodie tourist.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Reinvent yourself as a beer tourist, whether in Munich or Maine. For example, tour Portland, Oregon by visiting a handful of the abundant microbreweries at hand. Research on the Internet using key words of product ("beer") and place. Add in keywords like "award winners" to get lists of some definite winning brews. Then check the individual brewery websites for tour schedules and information.
2. If you're a wine buff, uncork your love of wine and pour it into your vacation time. Anywhere there are wineries--whether Napa Valley, France, Italy, Germany, Chile or even the Pacific Northwest--you'll find an array of wine tours, or you can create your own by checking the Internet or getting do-your-own wine tour brochures sent from local tourist offices. Sometimes these are also available online; after all, the cities are trying to increase tourism by making things as easy as possible for visitors. Look for wineries that offer picnic tables or picnic sites in order to make a day of it.
3. Tour Mexico, France, Italy, Thailand or just about anywhere else chef-style by taking an extensive cooking course or simply visiting recommended restaurants and produce markets. Mexico in particular is interested in American food tourists. France and Italy have long been foodie destinations with their world-famous restaurants and five-star cooking schools. But smaller nations have also gotten in the act of promoting their culture through food experiences such as "authentic" market and restaurant visits, and cooking lessons. Check out the tourist office of the U.S. region you will visit for a similar experience, whether New Orleans for seafood or San Antonio for Tex-Mex. Don't forget Pike Place Market in Seattle.
4. Bring a little bit of the food home with you. Montana may offer huckleberry jam and syrup, as well as microbrews. Mexico may offer vanilla or fantastic hot sauce. But be sure not to place containers of liquid in your carry-on bag. Check them in, or you may lose all that precious vanilla you were planning to use for baking.

Tips & Warnings

• Go online to the local newspaper to check out restaurant reviews, or ask local friends for recommendations.