Where Wine Will Take Me in 2026

This 2026 luxury wine travel guide offers exclusive insights into the best destinations and experiences, curated by Jamie Knee.

Welcome to a new 2026 chapter of Petite Wine Traveler, a year of luxury wine travel stories designed to slow you down, spark your curiosity, and take you deeper into the places wine is made, lived, and loved. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler, wine enthusiast, or someone who simply dreams with a glass in hand, this guide reveals where wine will take me in 2026 and why these journeys matter.

This year, my focus is not only on seeing wine regions, but on listening to them, staying longer, tasting more intentionally, and understanding not just what wine tastes like, but why it tastes that way. This is luxury wine travel rooted in place, culture, atmosphere, and human connection.

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A Year of Quieter Roads and Deeper Glasses

In 2026, I’m drawn to regions that whisper rather than shout. Places whose stories unfold slowly and linger long after you leave the vineyard.

Spain: Rioja & the Basque Country

I return to Rioja not just as a traveler, but as a Certified Rioja Wine Educator and Spanish Wine Scholar. In winter and early spring, Rioja’s vineyards rest and reveal their intellectual soul — the perfect backdrop for deeper conversations about terroir and tradition.

,From Rioja’s hill towns to the vibrant food culture of the Basque Country — where Txakoli glimmers by the sea and pintxos tell their own tales, these regions offer a sensory map of history, flavor, and place. I’ll be sharing these stories intimately here, as crafted guides like: https://petitewinetraveler.com/rioja-wine-region-guide/

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Paris in Spring: A Wine Lover’s Home Base

Springtime in Paris is a quiet luxury I return to year after year. From here, vineyards feel beautifully within reach — Champagne, the Loire Valley, Burgundy, and Alsace radiate outward by train. Using Paris as a base allows me to experience wine travel with ease and romance: shoes dusty from vineyards, a carefully wrapped bottle in hand, the city’s hum welcoming me home.

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Kraków & Emerging European Wine — Poland

In March, I will be speaking at a wine travel conference in Kraków, Poland, at a moment when the country is defining itself as an emerging European wine region. I’m especially intrigued by: crisp white varieties gaining momentum, experimental plantings of hardy hybrids, and classic grapes like Pinot Noir finding fresh interpretations.

Poland’s wine story is unfolding in real time, and I look forward to sharing that with you here. https://www.iwinetc.com/iwinetctalks/wine-as-a-passport-how-to-build-global-brand-experiences/

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Judging, Listening, and the Wines of the West Coast

Back on the other side of the globe, I’ll continue judging wine competitions across:

• Northern California
• Sonoma, California Central Coast & Southern California
• International venues

This year offers chances to explore return visits to:

• Sonoma’s fog-softened Pinot Noirs
• Paso Robles luminous hills and Rhône-style blends
• Santa Barbara’s cool climate elegance
• Napa’s bold yet refined Cabernets

Through judging and deep sensory focus, these experiences ground me in seasonality and place.

Wine Judge: https://www.winejudging.com/judges/list/media/jamie-knee/

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Italy, Always Italy — and the Mediterranean

Italy remains a perennial source of inspiration. In 2026, I plan extended visits to:

• Tuscany
• Piemonte
• Corsica
• Sicily
• Campania
• Malta and others!

If you love Italian Wine Travel: https://petitewinetraveler.com/montefalco-wine-travel-guide-umbria-italy/

Wine here is always a conversation, between soil and soul, tradition and innovation. I’m especially excited to return to Roero, where I’ll be:

• Speaking about the region’s wines, Roero Arneis and Roero Rosso and culture
• Hosting Italian wine dinners dedicated to its terroir

Roero is a place that rewards curiosity and deserves its own chapter in any well-curated wine travel story.

Join me as I present the Wines of Roero: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTjSyFVAbvE/?

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Festivals, Panels & Conversations

In 2026, I also look forward to engaging dialogues that happen off the tasting room floor — at festivals and on panels. I’ll be moderating at Fest Forums, where wine, storytelling and experience converge.

These moments offer a behind-the-scenes perspective on how wine culture is shared with the world — and how we interpret it for you here.

Festival Presenter: https://www.instagram.com/p/DUt6vQAgVNS/?

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What to Expect in 2026

• Dreamy, transportive luxury wine travel stories
• Slow, sensory narratives from emerging and established wine regions
• Soulful stays that emphasize depth over spectacle
• Thoughtful food and wine pairings anchored in local culture
• Conversations with winemakers, chefs, growers and cultural custodians

Some weeks we’ll wander to distant corners of the wine world. Other weeks, we may simply set a beautiful table, open a meaningful bottle, and let imagination do the traveling.

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A Toast to the Year Ahead

Thank you for being here, for reading, for dreaming, for exploring through these stories. Wine travel is not just about where we go; it’s about how we see, how we listen, and how we remember. My hope is that this year’s travels feel like soft pauses in your week, gentle invitations to slow down, savor deeply, and travel richly.

Here’s to quieter roadways, deeper glasses, and the beauty between the moments.

Jamie Knee | The Petite Wine Traveler

Luxury Wine Travel Writer & Global Wine Communicator