CN MT ?POD=TDP=Q:HA;:?O= b:;;KDM PC …...9KQO= TDP ?OQC?P= 6C :? 8L O?OTRC:;=m j;K= =O; :A;C 8C ?I...
1
vices and records your whereabouts. It is set up to work in 146 countries. International users can select the region, and the app automatically localizes to the emergen- cy equivalent of 911. What’s hot: Although there’s no substitute for common sense and be- ing street-smart, having immediate access to a 911 call and a record of your situation add a second layer of personal security. Arm the iWitness app, and at the touch of a button or the screen, or by shaking the phone, you can start re- cording your predicament (for five min- utes) and/or call 911. What’s not: Be careful with the 911 feature if you’re testing the app. Once it’s armed, all it takes is a Name: iWitness, for iOS, Android. Cost: $2.99 per month, $29.99 per year. What it does: It con- nects to emergency ser- touch of the screen. When I tried to close out of the app, the “calling 911” alarm sounded. Luckily you have five sec- onds to cancel if it’s not a real emergen- cy. Worth it: I put this app in the most- used area of my phone. Even if you use it only once, it could be a lifesaver. — Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times ARMCHAIR TRAVELER App contacts emergency services internationally G2 | Sunday, December 7, 2014 | SFChronicle.com and SFGate.com Q: Our daughter, Anna, who is currently in Germany, recently made a reserva- tion on Sixt.com, the website of a Euro- pean car rental company. She reports that she found the rate on Kayak.com, which she accessed from her laptop. She then was taken to a payment page on Sixt.com without any inter- vening page to confirm the date entered, which she asserts she entered correctly. Anna typed in her credit card number and was presented with a confirmation and receipt that showed the reser- vation. It was for the wrong date — Oct. 26 in- stead of Oct. 19. She immediately e-mailed the company to change the reservation and was sent a message in German that she’d booked a prepaid rate that couldn’t be changed. She contacted Sixt by phone and learned that the only car it could offer her, due to the shortage of cars resulting from the German rail strike, would cost her almost three times the original rental price. She got in touch with the customer- service department and was referred back to the same e-mail address ([email protected]) that she had e-mailed originally in an attempt to correct the reservation. Having apparently reached a dead end, she booked a car with Hertz, but she still would like the charge from Sixt re- funded. Is this something you can help us with? I’m writing you because the charge is coming to our credit card, which is shared by our daughter. I don’t know where else she, or we, can turn. David Coats, Minneapolis A: Looks as if something got lost in translation between Kayak.com, which searches many travel sites, and Sixt.com. Here’s how it breaks down for Anna: Kayak will find you a low price for a rental, but you have to read all the restric- tions carefully. Your daughter should have been taken to a page that explained the terms of her reservation. The giveaway was when she was asked to provide a credit card number. If you’re “secur- ing” a reservation with a card, chances are it’s a restricted rate. In other words, once you click on the “buy” button, you’re stuck. European websites can be tricky. As I note in my latest book, “How to Be the World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geo- graphic), many Europe- an websites handle dates differently — instead of month-day-year, it’s day-month-year. That confuses some American customers. When that confusion is combined with a nonrefundable, nonchangeable rate, it can add up to trouble. I reviewed the e-mails exchanged between your daughter and Sixt, but it wasn’t clear where the problem happened. It could have been a glitch in the site or user error. Regardless, Sixt should have reviewed the prob- lem. Often, companies can fix an honest mistake if it’s caught fast enough. You also could have ap- pealed this to someone higher up at Sixt. In the end, Anna was responsible for review- ing the terms of her res- ervation before booking. But from where I’m sit- ting, it’s difficult to deter- mine whether this was an oversight or a tech- nical problem. Sixt wasn’t obligated to re- fund Anna’s rental, but I think it owed her more than the boilerplate response it sent her. I asked Sixt to review your daughter’s rental. It agreed to cancel her nonrefundable reserva- tion and refund the 54 euros that had been charged to her card. Please ask Anna to read the terms before she clicks on the button next time. Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @elliottdotorg TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER By Christopher Elliot Rental car firm won’t give a break on incorrect date SPAIN INFO TO GO QUOTABLE TRAVELER By Larry Habegger “Choose your country, use guidebooks to identify the areas most frequented by foreigners — and then go in the opposite direction.” — Dervla Murphy, Irish author of travel books, including “Full Tilt” (1965) On a recent balmy day at Poseidon Vine- yard & Obsidian Ridge Winery in Sonoma, people lounged on cushy chaises on the wood deck in front of the tasting room. Others played bocce ball in the shade of olive trees, off an expansive courtyard dotted with gardens and sculptures where more visitors clambered up for photos in a giant blue Adirondack chair. It was a quintessential Wine Country after- noon, with a few small kids running around, their parents lazily watching as they sipped Chardonnay, and several dogs basking in the sun. The vibe: It’s a great trick use of space, since the property is actually Cornerstone Sonoma, the eclectic 9-acre center on the Highway 121 Carneros winery corridor that mixes landscape architect installations, art and home design shops, a restaurant, and two other wine tasting rooms. The Poseidon tasting room itself is quite small, trimmed simply with a wooden bar sup- ported by barrels, accents of corrugated metal and dark wood, and lots of wine set on polished wood shelves. The experience: Just opened in August 2013, this is the first tasting room for the winery. But the wine isn’t new — the Poseidon Vineyard was planted in 1973 near the Napa County Air- port, and still supplies the signature Chardon- nay and Pinot Noir today. The Poseidon brand was front-and-center in the news this August, however, when the 6.0- magnitude Napa earthquake struck, its epicen- ter at the Napa Valley Marina right next to its vineyards. Remarkably, there was no damage to the property, though during my late October visit to the tasting room, the quake was still a topic among the guests. It was clear the host had joyfully told this ironic story plenty of times since summer: The vineyard was named after the Greek god of the sea, also known as “the earth-shaker” because, according to legend, the deity got a kick out of causing quakes. The team: After emi- grating from Hungary in 1956, Nicholas and Cath- erine Molnar moved into grape growing in the early ’70s, putting their sons to work in the fields. By 1993, the en- trepreneurial family was also importing Hungarian barrels to Napa with their Kadar Hungary cooperage. In 1999, the family planted the Obsidian Ridge vineyard, focus- ing on Cabernet Sauvig- non. Four years later, sons Arpad and Peter took over operations, added their longtime enologist Michael Ter- rien as a principal, and founded Tricycle Wine Partners as the parent company. By 2011, the group was ready to move from custom crush and build their own winery. The wines: The $10 tasting fee is a reasonable invest- ment for four wines, poured generously in the alfresco wine bar setting. While Cor- nerstone is a tourist destina- tion, it’s also a neighborhood hub south of the Highways 116 and 121 crossroads. The energy is enjoyable; on my weekend visit, it seemed there were a good number of locals, stopping by after grocery shopping at the Fruit Basket across the street, and on their way to Angelo’s Wine Country Deli next door. We choose our quartet from a list of six wines, in- cluding Poseidon Estate Chardonnay 2013 ($26), the Bench Chardonnay 2012 ($34) and Estate Pinot Noir 2013 ($32), plus Obsidian Ridge Estate Syrah 2011 ($30), Estate Cabernet Sau- vignon 2011 ($30) and the Slope Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 ($45). The extras: Big wineries may have their private gardens with a few sculp- tures, but Cornerstone boasts a Sculp- tureWalk of 60 large-scale works that you can wander around, bringing your kids or your leashed dog for a stroll. If you go: Open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 23568 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, (707) 255-4929, www.tricyclewine.com. Nearby: Cline Cellars, 24737 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, (707) 940-4000. www. clinecellars.com. Jacuzzi Family Vine- yards, 24724 Arnold Drive, Sonoma. (707) 931-7576. www.jacuzziwines.com. Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards, 23555 Arnold Drive, Sonoma. 707-996- 7256. www.gloriaferrer.com. Rating: 66 Arpad Molnar Poseidon Vineyard & Obsidian Ridge Winery is part of Cornerstone Sonoma. TASTING ROOM Poseidon Vineyard & Obsidian Ridge Winery Putting down roots in hub of gardens and sculptures Tricycle Wine Partners Wines are offered inside the tasting room and on the deck. By Carey Sweet iWitness
Transcript of CN MT ?POD=TDP=Q:HA;:?O= b:;;KDM PC …...9KQO= TDP ?OQC?P= 6C :? 8L O?OTRC:;=m j;K= =O; :A;C 8C ?I...
vices and records yourwhereabouts. It is set upto work in 146 countries.International users canselect the region, andthe app automaticallylocalizes to the emergen-cy equivalent of 911.
What’s hot: Althoughthere’s no substitute forcommon sense and be-ing street-smart, havingimmediate access to a911 call and a record ofyour situation add a
second layer of personalsecurity. Armthe iWitnessapp, and at thetouch of abutton or thescreen, or byshaking thephone, youcan start re-cording yourpredicament(for five min-utes) and/orcall 911.
What’s not:Be carefulwith the 911feature ifyou’re testingthe app. Once it’sarmed, all it takes is a
Name: iWitness, for iOS,Android.
Cost: $2.99 per month,$29.99 per year.
What it does: It con-nects to emergency ser-
touch of the screen.When I tried to close
out of the app,the “calling911” alarmsounded.Luckily youhave five sec-onds to cancelif it’s not areal emergen-cy.
Worth it: Iput this appin the most-used area ofmy phone.Even if youuse it onlyonce, it couldbe a lifesaver.
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times
ARMCHAIR TRAVELER
App contacts emergencyservices internationally
G2 | Sunday, December 7, 2014 | SFChronicle.com and SFGate.com
Q: Our daughter, Anna, who is currentlyin Germany, recently made a reserva-tion on Sixt.com, the website of a Euro-pean car rental company. She reports
that she found the rate on Kayak.com, which sheaccessed from her laptop. She then was taken toa payment page on Sixt.com without any inter-vening page to confirm the date entered, whichshe asserts she entered correctly. Anna typed inher credit card number and was presented with aconfirmation and receipt that showed the reser-vation. It was for the wrong date — Oct. 26 in-stead of Oct. 19.
She immediately e-mailed the company tochange the reservation and was sent a message inGerman that she’d booked a prepaid rate thatcouldn’t be changed.
She contacted Sixt by phone and learned thatthe only car it could offer her, due to the shortageof cars resulting from the German rail strike,would cost her almost three times the originalrental price. She got in touch with the customer-service department and was referred back to thesame e-mail address ([email protected])that she had e-mailed originally in an attempt tocorrect the reservation. Having apparentlyreached a dead end, she booked a car with Hertz,but she still would like the charge from Sixt re-funded.
Is this something you can help us with? I’mwriting you because the charge is coming to ourcredit card, which is shared by our daughter. Idon’t know where else she, or we, can turn.
David Coats, Minneapolis
A: Looks as if somethinggot lost in translationbetween Kayak.com,which searches manytravel sites, and Sixt.com.
Here’s how it breaksdown for Anna: Kayakwill find you a low pricefor a rental, but you haveto read all the restric-tions carefully. Yourdaughter should havebeen taken to a page thatexplained the terms ofher reservation.
The giveaway waswhen she was asked toprovide a credit cardnumber. If you’re “secur-ing” a reservation with acard, chances are it’s arestricted rate. In otherwords, once you click onthe “buy” button, you’restuck.
European websitescan be tricky. As I note inmy latest book, “How toBe the World’s SmartestTraveler” (National Geo-graphic), many Europe-an websites handle datesdifferently — instead ofmonth-day-year, it’sday-month-year. Thatconfuses some Americancustomers. When thatconfusion is combinedwith a nonrefundable,nonchangeable rate, itcan add up to trouble.
I reviewed the e-mailsexchanged between yourdaughter and Sixt, but it
wasn’t clear where theproblem happened. Itcould have been a glitchin the site or user error.Regardless, Sixt shouldhave reviewed the prob-lem. Often, companiescan fix an honest mistakeif it’s caught fast enough.You also could have ap-pealed this to someonehigher up at Sixt.
In the end, Anna wasresponsible for review-ing the terms of her res-ervation before booking.But from where I’m sit-ting, it’s difficult to deter-mine whether this wasan oversight or a tech-nical problem. Sixtwasn’t obligated to re-fund Anna’s rental, but Ithink it owed her morethan the boilerplateresponse it sent her.
I asked Sixt to reviewyour daughter’s rental. Itagreed to cancel hernonrefundable reserva-tion and refund the 54euros that had beencharged to her card.Please ask Anna to readthe terms before sheclicks on the button nexttime.
Christopher Elliott is theombudsman for NationalGeographic Travelermagazine. E-mail:[email protected]: @elliottdotorg
TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTERBy Christopher Elliot
Rental car firmwon’t give a breakon incorrect date
SPAIN
INFO TO GO
QUOTABLE TRAVELERBy Larry Habegger
“Choose your country, useguidebooks to identify the areasmost frequented by foreigners —and then go in the oppositedirection.”— Dervla Murphy, Irish author of travel books, including“Full Tilt” (1965)
On a recent balmyday at Poseidon Vine-yard & Obsidian RidgeWinery in Sonoma,people lounged oncushy chaises on thewood deck in front ofthe tasting room. Othersplayed bocce ball in theshade of olive trees, offan expansive courtyarddotted with gardens andsculptures where morevisitors clambered upfor photos in a giantblue Adirondack chair.
It was a quintessentialWine Country after-noon, with a few smallkids running around,their parents lazilywatching as they sippedChardonnay, and severaldogs basking in the sun.
The vibe: It’s a great trick use of space, sincethe property is actually Cornerstone Sonoma,the eclectic 9-acre center on the Highway 121Carneros winery corridor that mixes landscapearchitect installations, art and home designshops, a restaurant, and two other wine tastingrooms. The Poseidon tasting room itself is quitesmall, trimmed simply with a wooden bar sup-ported by barrels, accents of corrugated metaland dark wood, and lots of wine set on polishedwood shelves.
The experience: Just opened in August 2013,this is the first tasting room for the winery. Butthe wine isn’t new — the Poseidon Vineyardwas planted in 1973 near the Napa County Air-port, and still supplies the signature Chardon-nay and Pinot Noir today.
The Poseidon brand was front-and-center inthe news this August, however, when the 6.0-magnitude Napa earthquake struck, its epicen-ter at the Napa Valley Marina right next to itsvineyards. Remarkably, there was no damage tothe property, though during my late Octobervisit to the tasting room, the quake was still atopic among the guests. It was clear the host hadjoyfully told this ironic story plenty of timessince summer: The vineyard was named afterthe Greek god of the sea, also known as “theearth-shaker” because, according to legend, thedeity got a kick out of causing quakes.
The team: After emi-grating from Hungary in1956, Nicholas and Cath-erine Molnar moved intogrape growing in theearly ’70s, putting theirsons to work in thefields. By 1993, the en-trepreneurial familywas also importingHungarian barrels toNapa with their KadarHungary cooperage.
In 1999, the familyplanted the ObsidianRidge vineyard, focus-ing on Cabernet Sauvig-non. Four years later,sons Arpad and Petertook over operations,added their longtimeenologist Michael Ter-rien as a principal, andfounded Tricycle WinePartners as the parentcompany. By 2011, thegroup was ready tomove from customcrush and build theirown winery.
The wines: The $10 tastingfee is a reasonable invest-ment for four wines, pouredgenerously in the alfrescowine bar setting. While Cor-nerstone is a tourist destina-tion, it’s also a neighborhoodhub south of the Highways116 and 121 crossroads. Theenergy is enjoyable; on myweekend visit, it seemedthere were a good number oflocals, stopping by aftergrocery shopping at theFruit Basket across thestreet, and on their way toAngelo’s Wine Country Delinext door.
We choose our quartetfrom a list of six wines, in-cluding Poseidon EstateChardonnay 2013 ($26), theBench Chardonnay 2012($34) and Estate Pinot Noir2013 ($32), plus ObsidianRidge Estate Syrah 2011($30), Estate Cabernet Sau-vignon 2011 ($30) and theSlope Cabernet Sauvignon2010 ($45).
The extras: Big wineries may havetheir private gardens with a few sculp-tures, but Cornerstone boasts a Sculp-tureWalk of 60 large-scale works thatyou can wander around, bringingyour kids or your leashed dog for astroll.
If you go: Open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.23568 Arnold Drive, Sonoma, (707)255-4929, www.tricyclewine.com.
Nearby: Cline Cellars, 24737 ArnoldDrive, Sonoma, (707) 940-4000. www.clinecellars.com. Jacuzzi Family Vine-yards, 24724 Arnold Drive, Sonoma.(707) 931-7576. www.jacuzziwines.com.Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards,23555 Arnold Drive, Sonoma. 707-996-7256. www.gloriaferrer.com.
Rating: 66
Arpad Molnar
Poseidon Vineyard & Obsidian Ridge Winery is part of Cornerstone Sonoma.
TASTING ROOM Poseidon Vineyard & Obsidian Ridge Winery
Putting down roots in hubof gardens and sculptures
Tricycle Wine Partners
Wines are offered inside the tasting room and on the deck.
By Carey Sweet
iWitness
![^Q LC CH =: AA HKO=bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/santafenew... · ]l k= k= ;lo mo do? th =qlcch pk=;?kq; =:a| ah 6 hk=;m ]l o hk=; 9t ?ko= r6 =qlcch =k;o tdp m? tp om ^cgo](https://static.fdocuments.us/doc/165x107/5f156c1b5bfc853335446802/q-lc-ch-aa-hko-l-k-k-lo-mo-do-th-qlcch-pkkq-a-ah-6-hkm-l-o.jpg)
