As 2008 fizzled, frustration plagued my professional psyche. After three years in this business, I had not set foot in the motherland. I savored the wines, memorized the maps, pored over the tomes, and practiced the language. Yet, my education and expertise remained incomplete. “Go to France!” clients and friends exclaimed. Mentors assured me that it would “all make sense” and “really come together” once I could see the soil, walk the vineyards, and meet the makers. I swore to myself, “It’s time to go!! Next year is the year!!!”

But such travel prospects looked grim. On a budget stretched thin by academic pursuits, I’d make it about as far as SFO. The world economy waned, and sales slowed. Distributors coped by scaling back, rather than wooing retailers via all expense-paid tours abroad. In the face of such rough times, I didn’t just lower my expectations. I took tenuous comfort in the blessing of gainful employment, and I instinctively prepared myself for a worst case scenario.

In the midst of the holiday rush, Victor called me into an ominously early morning meeting. Just the two of us, well before open hours, we sat down together in the upstairs tasting room. I braced myself for the news.

“How would you like to go to France?” he asked.

I cried.

I leave on January 18th, three days before my 30th birthday. I will travel with Michael Sullivan, the owner of, and buyer for, Beaune Imports. VVW has worked with Michael’s company since the month he started, twenty years ago. Many of his suppliers occupy mainstay status in our shop, and are considered among the world’s finest: Dagueneau, de Montille, Lafon, la Tour… His portfolio also boasts new discoveries and rising stars, like R.H. Coutier. Michael represents Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy, the Rhone, Provence, and the Languedoc. Over the course of sixteen days, we will visit many domaines.

Not only does our roster of appointments make me swoon; our particular timing excites me. France’s individual artisans, as well as the country’s winemaking community at large, face provocative issues and profound changes over the next few years to come. We lost a most admired innovator in Didier Dagueneau. How will his son, Benjamin, carry forth with tradition, yet place his own signature on Loire production? The borders of Champagne’s AC have been expanded, and yield restrictions are now more lenient. In a category once totally dominated by the industrial products of the Grandes Marques, tiny farmer/winemakers like Agrapart are chipping away at market share, slowly tipping the scales in favor of terroir-driven bubbly. And, of course, Burgundy is always on my mind. With the 2005 juggernaut well behind them, how will our favorite vignerons respond to stalled emerging markets? Can the American consumer finally look forward to some price relief? Perhaps most importantly, I want to know who succeeded, and who fell short of the mark, in the 2008 vintage.

Many of you have a much longer history with these properties and their wines than I do. Given the chance, you’d probably ask your own questions of the owners and makers. I will have access to e-mail while away. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you’re curious about anything at all. My itinerary is detailed on this website, so you will have advance notice of my adventures. I will also post my day-to-day impressions of our visits.

À tout à l’heure!
Rebecca, rebecca@vinvinowine.com