I make it a point to sample the local cuisine wherever I travel. Local wine is no exception. In fact, many times, I find myself enjoying dinner with a local vintner in the barrel room of the winery over take out from his or her favorite restaurant.

My assistant does a great job of putting together a list of local vineyards and restaurants when preparing my itinerary. I was always amazed at how she was able to gather such a comprehensive list.

On my recent trip to Colorado for some snowboarding, she handed me a great list of wineries around Boulder, where we would be staying. After I begged her to share her secrets with me, she showed me ‘Wines and Times’. This is a great use of Google’s map to easily find and learn about Wineries across the globe.

This is a classical ‘Mash-up’ where someone combines open technologies with information to create something new and interesting. Google created excellent maps and an easy interface to allow people to use it to show their own data.

Wines and Times pointed me to the Redstone Meadery, where I got to try a new ‘honey-wine’ created by ‘Chairman of the Mead’, David Myers. David took me back to share the process and enjoy sampling the different types of ‘Mead’.

I was so thankful for my assistant’s efforts in finding David’s place, that I had a case of Honey Wine shipped to her.