It is seven o’clock in the morning and the harvest team is already at the finca. Summer is at its peak but so are the grapes. This is where one of the first harvest seasons in Europe takes place, at the same time as the Canary Islands and Montilla-Moriles in Córdoba, which is in Southern Spain. The vineyards are not at all easy to reach. They grow on a hillside with slopes of almost 50 degrees.

I think wine tours can just suck. The idea conjures images of busloads of tourists piling into a tasting room for some perfunctory explanation about a few marginal wines. What could be worse than that?

So I resisted the idea of subtracting three days from our time in Languedoc for a short tour of Burgundy. I’m also, by the way, an advocate of “longer is better” when trying to learn about a region.

As it turns out, I was wrong. Very wrong.

Montréal has been a famous destination for hosting numerous music, entertainment, and cultural festivals. The metropolis of Quebec is becoming more and more recognized for its vibrant culinary scene. Indeed, a few of Montréal’s restaurants offer some of the best values for your money in North America. The wine scene has followed in this path of quality and now if you want to enjoy a nice glass, Montréal boasts plenty of great wine bars!

If you are aware of Michigan wine, you more than likely think of Traverse City and the wineries at the northern reaches of the Lower Peninsula. Well hold onto your hat, because the region that hugs the shore of Lake Michigan southwest of Grand Rapids is poised to emerge as a top wine-tourism destination.