Burgundy/Champagne visit

We won a trip to Champagne and Burgundy in a charity wine auction — very excited! We’ll obviously defer to the host’s expertise and places where he has preferential access, but should he inquire if we have any special requests, I’d like to actually have an answer to that question!

Which producers do you suggest inquiring with our host about? Our host - the donor to the auction - is a well known wine merchant in the States and will be leading the trip himself. Not knowing how hard it is to get a visit at various Domaines, the names of potential visits on the lot description (Salon, Bollinger, Leflaive, Ponsot among them) lead me to believe he has the connections to open most doors — or that it would definitely be worth asking if something is not to be missed.

So, from those who have made the “pilgrimage,” any suggestions we might make of our host?

Those sound like super connections, and I imagine you may be doing more than barrel samples! Are there favorite domaines of yours? It may be worthwhile mixing and matching some of those domains with the trophy list. I am planning a trip to Beaune now and many producers whose wine I buy are not available to see me. This trip could be a way for you to visit your favorite producers and establish rapport for those future visits as well. I will probably end up hiring a guide for a day who has access to a variety of producers, and may end forgoing some trophy visits in order to visit the producers who I drink more regularly.