Curious about Wine Scholar Guild trips, dear reader? I’m no expert on wine tourism, but I have been fortunate enough to go on five (!) WSG trips: Alsace, Champagne, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire, and Rhône. Below I share my thoughts on why these trips were so great and why I keep coming back for more.

Summary:  Every classic wine region is associated with a list of producers who manage to bring out the best in soil, site and grape. Their wines have purity of flavor, layers of flavor and concentration of flavor. In essence, these producers manage to bottle the soul of the region itself.  In the Loire Valley, diverse soil types and grape varieties give us three producer groupings who

Summary:  Every classic wine region is associated with a list of producers who manage to bring out the best in soil, site and grape. Their wines have purity of flavor, layers of flavor and concentration of flavor. In essence, these producers manage to bottle the soul of the region itself.  In the Loire Valley, diverse soil types and grape varieties give us three producer groupings who

On a blistering June day, my suitcase rattling over the hot cobblestones, I made my way by through the village of Amboise in the Loire Valley, where my tour with the Wine Scholar Guild was about to begin. That night, in an 18th century hotel decorated in a style my spouse describes as “manic grandma,” the group toasted our safe arrival and talked about what had brought each of us there. Though we were a diverse set—with wine professionals from all over the map, and a handful of enthusiasts outside the industry—we all seemed to agree on one thing