Winter 2023

Wine Flights VIP owner Michele Wilkinson brings together her love of wine and aviation to create bespoke experiences for guests visiting California wineries. SHORT CUTS AT LARGE M ichele Wilkinson has impressive expe- rience in aviation, including running an air charter company that transported United Nations members, U.S. Navy staff, and even the U.S. State Department to help them remove weapons of mass destruction from Libya. Today, the part-time Carmel resident, who is based in Dallas, runs Wine Flights VIP, which offers custom journeys into vine- yards near Carmel along with Santa Barbara, Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles and, soon, San Luis Obispo. “Carmel is my happy place,” she says. “There are so many tasting rooms, but I got the idea for this company to allow people to experience wine at its roots.” Clients arrive at a hotel of their choosing then are transported by plane, helicopter or private car to wineries for the day. Vintage bikes in the vines and ATV tours are additional ways to explore the wineries, where guests are greeted with a chef prepared lunch, meet the winemakers, and have the opportunity to collect rare bottles of wine. “Visitors can go to two to three vineyards in one day and have an education on each area’s wines and how they produce them,” Wilkinson explains. “Being able to see the landscape from above and having such a personalized expe- rience makes it very special and memorable.” For more information about Wine Flights VIP, visit [[[[MRI¾MKLXWZMT GSQ SV GEPP Wine Flights VIP Offers Custom Exper iences in the Vineyards B Y B R E T T WI L BUR 82 ' % 6 1 ) 0 1 % + % > - 2 ) ˆ ; - 2 8 ) 6 Photo: Stafford Bain Productions