One-time Chicagoan Kevin Lynch and his partner Amber Share are on a mission. Combining their years of expertise as restaurateur, sommelier, and culinary specialist with a cultural curiosity, the pair created Native Food & Wine, a site where they post stories of their travels around the world, examining the means of producing the food and wine that you might be enjoying in your own home. Since spring of 2009, they have been regularly spotlighting innovative ways that certain regions manufacture their culinary specialties, focusing not only on unusual methods but also environmentally conscious ones.

Native Food & Wine is also uniquely interested in sharing stories of the people involved, and the history they have to share. Take a look at this short interview with Sofian Himeur, owner of Gruet Winery in New Mexico, about how his family first began to produce their line of sparkling wines:

More recently, Lynch and Share have been exploring Tuscany, and reporting on fascinating aspects of its food and wine culture such as the renowned Tuscan bistecca cattle and—of particular interest to our readers—the Vernaccia di San Gimignano winery, owned and operated by Tuscan royalty and with a past that includes noteworthy connections to the Renaissance.

Follow along at their website…it may inspire you to follow them along in real life!