Thanks, John. Things have obviously changed a lot since I used to go on wine trips, more than 25 years ago. I did plan a few: I organised a trip to the Loire Valley for a group of 14 over a long weekend, for example. We sailed across the channel on the night of the great storm of 1987 and, although I have many memories from that trip, I have not, nor will ever repeat, the experience - far too stressful. I have also been a guest of Champagne Mercier and Caves de Turckheim, both including (long) lunches at Michelin-starred restaurants. Most of my other experiences have been spontaneous: cycling the Alsace wine route three times, calling at various wine houses; walking around the lovely town of St Emilion and just popping into an open winery; catching the trolley bus from Verona to Soave and spending a delightful afternoon there; Taylor's Port in Vila Nova da Gaia (that was a bit more formal); Blandy's in Madeira; and a wonderful day walking through the Beaujolais hills, stopping off at various wineries along the way. The only time I regretted not planning well in advance was, coincidentally, my trip to Piedmont during truffle season. Everywhere was booked in Alba so we ended up in Asti and we had to taste the wines in restaurants and trattorie, rather than the vineyards. I have promised myself a return visit, perhaps combined with a trip to Chianti and Brunello but it hasn't happened yet. In those days I worked in the railway industry and, as one of the perks, I had free travel on most European rail networks, so that is the way I travelled: excellent mode of transport but a bit restricting sometimes. Sounds as if I will need to plan things a more carefully for any future wine trips. Thanks for the tips.

This was very well done. Thank you.

Excellent channel John, thank you! Any chance you could give us viewers a few minutes on one of your future videos discussing wine barrel maturing vs bottle aging, and when the bottle aging clock actually begins? It is a topic my friends often do not fully understand. Your videos discussing second wines vs second labels were a great example of putting forth a clear definition of these nuanced terms.

Thank you for the video. I will be in Bordeaux for a few weeks and am hoping to visit a few chateaux. I agree that sometimes finding a good winebar is a great substitute for tasting wines of the region.

I’ve done a few trips to Bordeaux now. 2-3 visits in a week is enough. Last time was a 3 day city break with no wineries and it was great.

You have become my favorit wine youtuber. Keep up the great work!

I'm one that profits from your advices🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😅😅😅😅😅

Greatly enjoyed this video, John! The tips are very practical and sensible. I do practice most of them and try to schedule my winery as far back as possible. However, this isn't often the case, but no matter the situation, I always try to research months in advance. I will watch again your video and drop comments again later. Cheers and happy new week ahead, John!

Great tips, may I ask what hotel you referenced in Piedmont with the great views? We are looking at a trip there in 2025 and in initial planning stages, so this whole video is timely. TY

Your presented schedule is still quite busy in my humble opinion. Coming from Scandinavia, I'll take it slower. Thanks for the great content!