Celebrity Travel: Go Away With David Baker

With his debut novel "Vintage" (Touchstone, $25), author David Baker takes readers on a culinary expedition to find the perfect, lost vintage of wine that will make him a wealthy man. Himself a wine connoisseur, Baker has traveled worldwide, sampling the best bubbly in France and getting a taste of contraband wine in Saudi Arabia. He cites Beaune, France, as his ideal vacation spot. "Many of the winemakers crush the grapes in the streets in front of their houses," says the 44-year-old Oregonian. "They make the wine in their basements." To learn more about Baker, check out his Facebook fan page (http://facebook.com/davidbakerwriter) and Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/dave301).

Q. If time and money were no issue, where would you return to immediately for another great meal?

A. I'd travel back in time and go to the French Laundry back when I could afford it. I think I missed that boat. I'd also love to try Alinea in Chicago. Someday. But as for a place that I've already been, there's a little roadhouse outside of Gambassi Terme in Tuscany called the L'Antica Posta Effemme. It's a ramshackle stone affair and it's been in continuous operation as a restaurant since the 1200s. That sort of history in a humble eatery is unimaginable in the States. The portions are large and the wine is cheap and good. It feels sort of amazing to dine where the archbishop of Canterbury once stopped on his way to visit the pope.

Q. What is your favorite vacation destination?

A. Beaune, France, in Burgundy wine country, is definitely my favorite destination. If you arrive by train, it feels like a sleepy little village. Once inside the medieval walls, it's starting to get a little touristy these days, but the magic really begins when you head outside of town to the surrounding villages. Sleepy little towns like Pommard and Volnay are home to some of the greatest, most legendary wines on the planet. And they're not produced in giant, imposing chateaus, but rather on family farms.

Q. What untapped destination should people know about?

A. Saudi Arabia. It likely feels that way because you can't get a tourist visa there. If you're not a Muslim visiting for the Haj, it's difficult to even travel there. I was fortunate and received an invite from a university to work on a documentary about the coral reefs off of the Red Sea coast. Because of the lack of Western tourists, it felt strikingly different. The cultural differences are startling at times. The souqs and evening markets are vibrant and fascinating. The spices are surreal, and the calls to prayer echoing through the old town at night are haunting. But you do find, as you meet people and share coffee, meals and stories with them that you have more in common than you might guess. Straying off the beaten path and the westernized compounds led to some fascinating sights and surreal experiences. I hope to go back and explore it some more as it evolves and changes, as, for good or bad, I expect it will rapidly do.

Q. Where is the most romantic destination?

A. There's no place like Paris. It may be a cliche, but I'll be d----d if I let tens of millions of tourists take that away from me. It's the first city my wife and I visited together in Europe. There are thousands of restaurants and cafes off the beaten path. A walk through the City of Light at night is still tough to beat. And if you think romance is dead, check out the Champs du Mars before the glittering Eiffel Tower at night and you'll see there's still romance in the world. In many ways it's heartening to see that the place is more and more accessible to more people from around the world.

Q. If you've ever gone away for the holidays, which was the best trip?

A. Not yet, but this year's going to be a first! We've been putting it off a long time. But I have aging relatives to visit in Berlin, and this year we're heading to see them. We're going to do a tour of the biggest Christmas markets, including Prague and Dresden. We're connoisseurs of gluwein, the German version of mulled wine, so that will factor heavily into our plans. I'm excited to try the festival and street food in sub-zero temperatures. Germans are undaunted by weather. There are outdoor cafes in Berlin that offer blankets so you can dine outdoors in winter.

Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A. A Moleskine notebook, a camera with a zoom and portrait lens, a good digital recorder to capture local music or calls to prayer and ambient sounds, an e-reader with six novels by writers from the places I'm visiting and a corkscrew.

Q. What would be your dream/fantasy trip?

A. A three-month backpack through Asia and then Africa, two continents I haven't explored yet. I've also never been to Russia, despite taking Russian language courses and minoring in Russian history in college. I'm a huge fan of Russian novels and bread, though I'm a bit intimidated by Vladimir Putin's shirtless, bear-hunting prowess and his contempt for journalists, and I'm also a lightweight when it comes to Vodka.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)