| I’m happy to travel anywhere that vines grow and so, it turns out, are plenty of wine lovers. Enotourism is booming. Market research and consulting company Future Market Insights Inc. forecasts the global wine travel market will hit more than $108 billion this year, and by 2035 will reach $360 billion, an impressive annual growth rate of 12.7%. Thank pent-up post-pandemic travel demand and new interest in immersive, unique winery experiences. I’ve tried yoga at dawn in the vineyards, taken a cooking class with a winery chef, trod grapes by foot and hiked with birdwatchers through a vast estate. Some estates are now one-stop vacation destinations, offering luxury lodging, Michelin-starred restaurants, art exhibits, concerts and hands-on activities—as well as incredible wines. Champagne is the latest famous region to become a welcoming wine destination, whereas tourism in Napa Valley is down because of pricy tasting room fees and hotel room stays. If you go, be sure to check out this list of more than 100 Napa wineries charging less than $50. And remember that climate change is shifting when to go where. This year, early July was not a good time to be in Burgundy—the temperature was 100F! Here’s where to go next and why. For photographers: Aperture Cellars, Sonoma County, CaliforniaFounder and star winemaker Jesse Katz is known for velvety cabernets, complex malbecs and Bordeaux-style blends from a half-dozen top vineyards, most in Alexander Valley. He discovered his vocation as a teenager while accompanying his celebrated photographer father, Andy Katz, on his trips to capture famous vineyards with his camera.  Andy Katz among the vines. Source: Aperture Cellars At harvest time last year, while walking me through Aperture’s prized Farrow Ranch vineyard, Andy Katz told me the best photos of vines are often taken at dawn. Now you can order up a custom-designed master photography workshop in the vineyards with him, followed by a grand tasting at the Healdsburg winery, whose design pays homage to the analog camera. An aperture-like skylight allows the ambience inside to change with the weather outside, and the gallery-inspired tasting room features the elder Katz’s photographs. Where to stay? The Montage hotel in Healdsburg, where Jesse Katz oversees the vineyard. Cost: $1,000 and up.
Wines to try: 2021 Devil Proof malbec and the new red and white Collage collection For horseback riders and stargazers: Clos Apalta, Chile In Chile, the weather right now is perfect for mountain biking and horseback riding through the vineyards, especially at the famed 1,235-acre Clos Apalta winery estate and nature preserve, founded by the French family behind Grand Marnier. It’s a dream destination in the Colchagua Valley, about two and a half hours drive from Santiago, with a futuristic winery, breathtaking landscape and night skies so clear you see the Milky Way.  A vineyard tour by horseback at Clos Apalta. Photographer: Matt Wilson The plush Bordeaux blends—silky, complex Clos Apalta and spicy, lighter Le Petit Clos—are spectacular. Ditto staying in one of the 10 Relais & Châteaux villas and casitas (most opened at the end of 2023) built on stilts on a hillside overlooking the vineyard. With sweeping views, wrap-around decks and personal plunge pools, they feel like luxurious treehouses. An organic vegetable garden provides produce for lunch and dinner at the larger Clos Apalta residence, or you can picnic in the middle of the vines. Naturally there’s a swimming pool, massages, aromatherapy—and sound healing? But the chance to horseback ride though vineyards and gaze at the stars from a winery rooftop telescope is truly special. Cost: Through Sept. 16, $900 bed and breakfast; $1,300 full board
Wines to try: 2020 Clos Apalta, 2021 Clos du Lican syrah For history buffs: Domaine la Bouche du Roi in Versailles, France If you’re seeking respite from the current political chaos, try a turn to history and a newish organic estate only 30 minutes from Paris by car or public transportation. When the French royal family inhabited Versailles in the 17th century, the area around it was the epicenter of France’s largest wine region, Ile de France. But phylloxera wiped out the vineyards, viticulture vanished and regulations restricted any revival until they changed in 2016.  The vineyards near Versailles. Source: Domaine la Bouche du Roi So, in 2017, winemaker Adrien Pélissié planted a vineyard with six grape varieties on land that was once part of the Kings of France hunting estate and discovered the location had actually been a vineyard in 1787. It’s by the pretty village of Davron, a couple of miles from the palace. I first met Pélissié in 2020 at a dinner in the grand gallery room at Versailles, when he told me about his urban pop-up winery at the Eiffel Tower and mentioned this new project. You can simply visit and taste, but this summer you can also work in the vineyard and then have lunch with the winemaker, and this fall be part of the harvest. The wines are on the list of top restaurants such as Per Se in New York and Alain Ducasse in Paris. Cost: €99 euros ($113), includes lunch
Wines to try: 2022 La Bouche du Roi le Grand Lever Chenin, La Bouche du Roi la Voie Royale Pinot Noir Coastal wine road trip: Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas in Michigan Cool lake breezes and blue water vistas, charming backroads and a growing wine scene with some 200 wineries are why Michigan is having a moment. My family has always spent summers in northwest Michigan, so I’ve closely watched the progress from undrinkable vino to some of the top rieslings in the country. And among the most scenic spots to experience them are two fingers of land near Traverse City that jut out into Lake Michigan— the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas. Why are the wines so good? The lake effect tempers the harsh winters.  Vineyards on the Old Mission Peninsula. Photographer: Jeff Greenberg/Getty Images On the Old Mission Wine Trail, Mari Vineyards offers cave tours and VIP picnics as well as bespoke packages, including wine, specifically for those planning to pop the question and propose! On Leelanau Peninsula, Black Star Farms holds mozzarella-making workshops and goat yoga (don’t ask), and runs a lovely inn near a beach. Coming next? A $10 million regenerative agriculture and hospitality destination, Loamstead, on the bucolic grounds of boutique winery Shady Lane Cellars. One of my standout stops is Left Foot Charley, a winery and tasting room in a former mental asylum on the edge of Traverse City. It produces stellar rieslings and other whites from grapes grown on Old Mission, plus a really delicious blaufränkisch. Cost: $25 to $35 for most tastings and experiences
Wines to try: 2023 Left Foot Charley Kerner, 2023 Black Star Farms Arcturos Dry Riesling Best new wine of the month | This innovative, just-launched white is a field blend from more than 14 grape varieties, both white and red, from various elevations, soil types, vineyards and microclimates in Italy’s Alto Adige region.  2024 Alois Lageder Misto Mare Bianco Vigneti Delle Dolomiti ($20). Source: Vendor I love the wine’s cool minerality; it reminds me of the white stones in the Dolomites and its complex aromas combining floral notes with lemon zest and savory umami. It’s very individual and distinctive, yet balanced, easy to drink, perfect for summer patio sipping and reasonably priced. The winery is also a sustainability leader embracing biodynamic farming, and Misto Mare comes in an ultra-lightweight bottle. “The interplay of different varieties unfolds a fascinating complexity” is how they describe it. To me it’s a prime example of the virtues of diversity. | 
