Kathy Bechtel is the Owner and Culinary Director of Italiaoutdoors, a small
Travel and
Recreation company. After a career as a telecommunications engineer, at Bell Labs and in the semiconductor industry, Ms. Bechtel retired and enrolled in culinary school, graduating at the top of her class in 2004. She is a PSIA certified
ski instructor who works full time at Sugarloaf, ME during the winter. In addition, Ms. Bechtel teaches cooking classes in Italian cuisine, hosts a cooking show on WSKI-TV, and is the author of a food and wine blog at
www.chefbikeski.com.
Italiaoutdoors was established in early 2010 to offer unique
hiking, biking, skiing, and
culinary tours in
Northeastern Italy. They offer small, personally designed recreational programs, individually adapted to their guests’ fitness levels and interests. For more information about tours and tastings visit
www.italiaoutdoorsfoodandwine.com.
Food & Beverage: Wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia is the fourth smallest region in Italy, but in this small space it somehow manages to produce some of the most amazing white wines in Italy, and is now beginning to produce some equally splendid reds. The limited production capacity, however, means that many of these wonderful wines are hard to obtain outside the region.
