Champagne Ployez-Jacquemart, Ludes, Montagne de Reims, France

Wine: I love these wines--there is just so much going on in them! The style in general is rich and more concentrated yet incredibly fresh. Laurence Ployez is the 3rd generation vigneron in this family domaine. She uses only the 1st pressing for all of their champagnes and doses around 3-4 grams. There is a network of amazing tunnels beneath the domaine where the bottles sit for lees aging for a minimum of 3 years and up to 10+ years for the vintage wines. One level of tunnels sits 25 meters below ground and underneath another set of tunnels. Walking through the tunnels feels like walking back in time as you come across each stack of bottles and see the signs indicating the harvest year or cuvée number. 

Tasting of 4 wines: 1. Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs NV--but mostly 2006 harvest (citrus, brioche, fresh-baked bread, melon, apple). 2. Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs 2005 (hard cheese, salty, brulée, orange brioche, citrus). 3. Extra Brut 2005 1/3 chardonnay/1/3 pinot noir/1/3 meunier (wild strawberry, caramel, brioche, white mushrooms, round). 4. d'Harbonville 1998 Brut 100% chardonnay (fermented in oak, Chassagne-Montrachet with bubbles, mind-bogglingly good - tasted the 1999 too and it was even better). 

My take: Champagne is magic and this place proves it. Their caves are full of history and atmosphere. The wine making is impeccable. The tour is an excellent primer on the champagne method and is really fun too (the tunnels!).  A must in Champagne! More on Ployez-Jacquemart. 

Champagne Roger Manceaux, Rilly-La-Montagne, Montagne de Reims, France

Wine: Fourth generation grower-producer, Patrick Manceaux farms 12 hectares in premier cru and grand cru villages in and around Rilly-La-Montagne in the Montagne de Reims area of Champagne. He makes blanc de blancs, rosé and blanc de noirs and the styles range from delicate and fresh 100% chardonnay to fuller-bodied, more robust blends of 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay (plus a demi-sec for dessert or foie gras). He makes 90,000 bottles from his own grapes, which takes 70% of his grapes; the other 30% he sells to 2 well-known champagne houses.

Tasting of 5 wines: 1. Brut Cuvée Reserve 45% Pinot Noir/30% Chardonnay/25% Meunier, 9g sugar (red fruits & biscuits). 2. Brut Rosé 55% Pinot Noir/35% Meunier/10% Chardonnay, 9g sugar (ripe strawberry, raspberry, white pepper). 3. Brut Grande Reserve 50% Chardonnay/50% Pinot Noir 7g sugar (lemon, red fruits, biscuits). 4. 2009 Brut Millesime 50% Pinot Noir Grand Cru/50% Chardonnay 1er Cru, 45-60 yr-old vines (honey, red fruits, brioche, lemon cream). 5. Heritage 2006 60% Pinot Noir/40% Chardonnay, Oak-aged (floral, tropical, brioche, orange brulee, round). 

My take: Education-packed tour! Patrick is transparent, enthusiastic and patient with question-asking. If you really want to understand how champagne is made, this is your tour. The Manceaux champagnes are lovely and fruity and classic. You can also stay at their grand house (the most beautiful house in town!) that adjoins the winery. More on Roger Manceaux and staying at Le Palais Champenois.

Lost Draw Cellars, Texas High Plains AVA, Texas, USA

Wine: When I asked several producers and winery staff what other winery I should visit, hands down the answer was Lost Draw. Andy Timmons, who started as a peanut and cotton farmer, founded Lost Draw in 2013. He is revered among the top TX producers as he has been growing their grapes for 10 years in the High Plains AVA (where a big portion of the best TX grapes are grown because they mature well in the hot, sunny climate, but they also retain enough acidity to balance the ripeness due to the higher elevations and cool nights). Andy works with winemaker Kim McPherson, who runs his own winery and whose father is one of the founders of the modern TX wine industry, to make his wines. And they are delightful. 

Tasting of 6 wines: 1. 2014 Roussanne (citrus, stone fruits, bright and crisp--surprising for the usually rich roussanne!) 2. 2013 French Colombard (green apple, citrus) 3. 2014 Viognier (ripe peach, tropical) 4. 2015 Cinsault (strawberry jam, white pepper, beaujolais-style) 5. 2014 Tempranillo (cherry, raspberry, earthy) 6. 2014 KindRed: Sangiovese, dolcetto, barbera, montepulciano (strawberry, plum, herbs).

My take: Highly recommended. You can geek out on the delicious LD single varietal wines (and get to know those grapes' characteristics) or enjoy how grapes play off of one another in their blends. The tasting room is in Fredericksburg. CJ runs a laid-back experience that can be as fun or informative as you'd like. More on Lost Draw. 

Quinta do Vallado, Douro Valley (Porto), Portugal

Wine: Delicious wines by a highly respected winery owned by the same family since the 1700s. Put on the map and fostered by Doña Antonia Adelaide Ferreira, a woman, running a winery in the 1800s. An entrepreneur, an advocate for keeping vineyards under local ownership and an early adopter of technology to protect against phylloxera, she helped establish Port and the Douro as the superior, renowned region it is today. Ferreirinha was a total badass. 

The basic wine tasting includes 5 wines: 1. Vallado White (rabigato, códega, viosinho, gouveio & arinto), 2. Vallado Red (touriga franca (25%), touriga nacional (25%), tinta roriz (25%), sousão (5%) and mixed old vines (field blend! 20%), 3. Touriga Nacional 100%, 4. Reserva Field Blend (vines more than 100 years old, 45 grape varieties--how cool is that--predominately tinta roriz, tinta amarela, touriga franca & tinta barroca), 5. 10 Year Tawny Port (Mix of old vines).

Food: There is a restaurant on the Quinta Do Vallado property in the boutique hotel. It's a fixed price menu and includes 4 scrumptious courses plus wine and port. Hell of a value especially for the quality! (This sums up eating and drinking in Portugal in general!)

My take: This is a top-notch experience. The hotel is wonderful. The restaurant great. And the winery tour was fabulous; it's one of the best I've ever had. It took more than 2 hours including the tasting. I am fascinated by their embrace of modern techniques while also maintaining traditional ones and running these processes side-by-side. More on Quinta do Vallado

Quinta do Crasto, Douro Valley (Porto), Portugal

Wine: One of the best-known and respected producers in the Douro, the winery is in a spectacular setting. The drive (approaching from the north or also from Pinhao to the east) through villages and vineyards perched along the mountain valleys is stunning. The tasting includes 5 wines: White blend, red blend, superior red blend, Roquette & Cazes red blend (partnership with a French winemaker) and a ruby port. Tastings occur in the living room of the main house, which adds a very comfortable, homey feeling that is rare especially at a winery of this size. Blending is very common in Douro although many producers make single varietals now too. Crasto white: gouveio, viosinho and rabigato. Crasto red: Tinta roriz (tempranillo), touriga franca, touriga nacional, tinta barroca. Superior blend: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Souzão, plus some field blend! R & C blend: 60% Touriga Nacional, 15% Touriga Franca and 25% Tinta Roriz. Ruby Port: (60+yr-vines) 60% Touriga Nacional, 15% Touriga Franca and 25% Tinta Roriz. 

My take:  It's near several other great producers so you can make a wonderful day of visiting and tasting. The oldest vineyards (75 to more than 100 years) at this estate have vines that are undergoing DNA testing to determine what the grapes are. They use these vineyards for "field blend" wines. I love that they are making fab wines without knowing for sure what the grapes are! More on Quinta do Crasto

Quinta do Soalheiro, Moncão & Melgaço (Minho/Vinho Verdo), Portugal

Wine: I love these wines. Soalheiro was the first winery to make wines from the alvarinho grape in the region. They make 11 wines, mostly based on alvarinho. My favs are the Alvarinho Primeiras Vinhas and the Alvarinho Reserva (aged in French oak).  

Food: You can do a wine tour and tasting that includes their house-made sausage made with local pork called Bisara. They have a separate business just down the road called Quinta de Folga where they make sausage and grow a gorgeous organic garden. The sausage was some of the best I've ever tasted. 

My take: Highly recommended. This was a lovely experience. Down-to-earth, very friendly family. Beautiful facilities in a wonderful landscape. We played with the dog while we tasted the wines, ate the amazing sausage and treats from the garden. More on Soalheiro. More on Quinta de Folga.