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Wine Guides & Travel · Insider's Wine Travel Guides

Travel Guides

Where to go, taste and stay — insider itineraries from the world’s great wine regions.

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Looking for something specific? Try a region (“Willamette”), a vintage (“2022 Bordeaux”), or a question (“how long should I decant?”).

Travel Guide

Portugal
A hand holding a glass of red wine on a balcony overlooking a scenic street in Lisbon, Portugal, with a classic yellow tram passing below.
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Portuguese Wine: Europe's Deepest Value, From Vinho Verde to Vintage Port

Europe's deepest value runs from spritzy Vinho Verde to vintage Port built for decades. The...

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Sonoma
Three friends enjoying a private wine tasting on a Sonoma vineyard terrace at golden hour, sharing red wine and conversation overlooking rolling vineyards.
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Sonoma Wine: Where California Wine Was Born

California wine was born here, and Sonoma still does everything Napa can't fit: foggy Russian...

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France
A bottle of white wine resting in an ice bucket with a view of a winding river in the Loire Valley.
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Loire Valley Wine: France's Longest Wine List

One river, France's longest wine list: Sancerre's flint, Vouvray's honeyed Chenin, Chinon's peppery Franc and...

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France
A couple sitting at a dining table with wine, enjoying a sunset view over the Rhône Valley vineyards.
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Rhone Valley Wine: Granite North, Sun-Baked South

Granite north, sun-baked south: one river, two completely different wine worlds. Cote-Rotie and Hermitage Syrah,...

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Italy
A bottle of Bennati Soraighe Valpolicella Ripasso wine and two filled wine glasses on a wooden table, with a couple re-enacting a romantic balcony scene in the blurred background.
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Veneto Wine: Amarone, Soave, Prosecco and the Art of the Dried Grape

The art of the dried grape lives here: Amarone's raisined power, ripasso's clever middle path,...

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Baja California
A bottle of Casa Madero 3V red wine resting on a wooden post with a couple walking through a Mexican vineyard at sunset
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Mexican Wine: The Americas' Oldest Wine Country Is Its Newest Discovery

The Americas' oldest wine country is its newest discovery: vines since 1597, and a Valle...

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Chile
Autumn colour across the Apalta hillside vineyards of the Colchagua Valley, Chile
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Chilean Wine: The Longest Vineyard on Earth

A vineyard 2,600 miles long, squeezed between the Andes and the cold Pacific. Maipo Cabernet,...

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Argentina
A hand holding a glass of red wine alongside a bottle of Lagarde Guarda Malbec with Andes mountains in the background
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Argentine Wine: Malbec, Altitude, and the Andes Effect

Argentina asks you to look up: vineyards at 5,000 feet, desert sun, snowmelt irrigation and...

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France
Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Bordeaux
  • by Big Hammer Wines

French Wine: The Grand Tour, Region by Region

France is the map every wine list is drawn on - and the labels tell...

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Canada
A woman pouring Snow Ridge Riesling Icewine into a glass outdoors overlooking a snowy vineyard
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Canadian Icewine: Winter's Greatest Trick (and the Wines Beyond It)

Grapes picked frozen at minus eight, pressed in the dark, drop by golden drop -...

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Terroir Tales
Napa Valley wine country, United States
  • by Big Hammer Wines

American Wine: The Grand Tour, Coast to Coast

From Napa's fog line to the Finger Lakes' glacial slopes, American wine is far bigger...

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Australia
Two women walking side by side down a row of grapevines at sunset, holding glasses of red wine while overlooking rolling hills and a countryside winery in Australia.
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Australian Wine: From Barossa Muscle to Margaret River Polish

Home to some of the oldest vines on earth and wines that run from Barossa...

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Terroir Tales
Washington Wine: America's Second-Largest Producer Is Nobody's Second Choice
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Washington Wine: America's Second-Largest Producer Is Nobody's Second Choice

America's second-largest producer is nobody's second choice: ice-age flood soils, own-rooted vines and two extra...

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New Zealand
A bottle of Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc resting on a wooden fence post in the foreground, with a vineyard worker and his dog walking down a green vineyard row toward misty mountains at sunrise in New Zealand
  • by Big Hammer Wines

New Zealand Wine: The Sauvignon That Conquered the World - and What to Drink Next

The Sauvignon that conquered the world - and the country that's far more than one...

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Spain
A smiling couple toasting with glasses of red wine at an outdoor table filled with Spanish tapas, with a sunlit vineyard in the background.
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Spanish Wine: Old Vines, New Energy, and the Best Value in Europe

Old vines, new energy and the best value in Europe. Rioja's ladder, Priorat's slate, Atlantic...

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Austria
Man holding a glass of red wine overlooking mountain vineyards at golden hour.
  • by Big Hammer Wines

Austrian Wine: Gruner, Riesling and the Alpine Edge

Alpine air, Danube terraces and a white grape nobody else grows this well. Gruner Veltliner,...

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Alexana
Willamette Valley & Portland: The BigHammer Insider's Wine Country Travel Guide
  • by BigHammer Wines

Willamette Valley & Portland: The BigHammer Insider's Wine Country Travel Guide

Pinot Noir is the most temperamental great grape on Earth — which is exactly why...

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Abruzzo
Red wine bottle and glass overlooking Montepulciano, Tuscany at sunset.
  • by Greg Martellotto

Montepulciano vs Montepulciano d'Abruzzo: What's the Difference?

Montepulciano isn’t one wine — it’s two completely different stories. One is a bold, fruit-driven...

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Travel Guide
The Complete Rome Wine & Dining Guide for Wine Lovers
  • by Greg Martellotto

The Complete Rome Wine & Dining Guide for Wine Lovers

Rome’s wine culture is built on simple rules: drink local, match wine to the food...

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Georgia
Traditional Georgian qvevri cellar with rows of buried clay vessels.
  • by Greg Martellotto

Georgia Wines: 8,000 Years of Tradition, A Modern Renaissance

Eight thousand years of unbroken winemaking, clay qvevri buried in the earth, and amber wines...

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Bordeaux
A Wine Lover’s Guide to the Bordeaux Wine Region
  • by Greg Martellotto

A Wine Lover’s Guide to the Bordeaux Wine Region

Bordeaux proudly wears the crown as France's wine capital, celebrated globally for its exceptional wines...

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Baja California
Baja California Travel Guide: Explore this Unique Mexican Wine Region
  • by Greg Martellotto

Baja California Travel Guide: Explore this Unique Mexican Wine Region

Are you a wine and food lover? Consider Baja California as your next destination. Baja...

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Napa Valley
A True Wine Insider’s Guide to Napa Valley: The Ultimate Guide to Napa Valley 2025
  • by Greg Martellotto

A True Wine Insider’s Guide to Napa Valley: The Ultimate Guide to Napa Valley 2025

Napa Valley landscape There are literally hundreds of wineries and restaurants to visit in Napa...

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Italy
Local Wine & Dining in Rome | Travel Guide for Wine Lovers
  • by Greg Martellotto

Local Wine & Dining in Rome | Travel Guide for Wine Lovers

Rome & Lazio – A Local's Guide for Wine Enthusiasts Rome, the Eternal City, is...

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