The right introduction
A vetted directoryof private wine guides.
For travelers who've outgrown standard wine tours.
The guides listed here bring deep wine knowledge, producer relationships, and an approach built around your interests. We vet for all three.
Not a booking platform. An introduction.
The standard wine tour
You've outgrown the standard wine tour.
Most wine tours are built around a set itinerary that has to work for everyone. Once you have your own questions, preferences, and producers you care about, the right guide becomes as important as the places you visit.
What we vet
The right guide changes the trip.
Wine Knowledge
They don't start with the basics. They meet you at your level and build from what you already know.
Producer Relationships
Some of the most worthwhile visits aren't publicly bookable. Access comes through relationships built over time.
How They Work
They ask about your wine interests, where you've traveled, and what you want from the day before they build it.
We don't list everyone. We list the guides worth the trip.
How it works
One
Find your guide.
Browse by region. Every listing shows the guide's wine background, producer relationships, and how they work.
Two
Inquire directly.
You contact the guide, not us. No markup, no commission, no middle layer.
Three
Plan with your guide.
Your guide builds the day with you, drawing on their relationships in the region.
From the directory
Meet some of the guides we've vetted.
Burgundy
Burgundy Discovery
WSET certified · Wine industry background
Stephen has been based in Burgundy since the late 1990s, arriving via a post at Château de Berne in Provence and then a decade as a sourcing agent and wine broker out of Dijon.
View listing → TuscanyMontalcino Wine Tours
Alessandro: certified sommelier, Brunello estate owner Giovanni: sommelier background, 20+ years in Montalcino Mario: formerly at a major Montalcino estate
Giovanni, Alessandro, and Mario are from Montalcino.
View listing → TuscanyWineafterwine – Simone Vergamini
AIS Sommelier · Best Sommelier of Tuscany 2023 · Three-time podium finisher, Best Sommelier of Italy (2018, 2021, 2022)
Simone is, by the measure of his peers, the strongest sommelier credential in this part of Tuscany.
View listing →
Regions
Eight regions. Vetted guides in each.
Behind the vetting
Someone has to know what to look for.
Every guide is evaluated by Michelle Ryan, who holds WSET Level 3 and French Wine Scholar credentials and has more than 20 years of wine travel across Europe.
Every listing is vetted against the same three criteria: wine knowledge, producer relationships, and how the guide works with travelers. Good reviews alone aren't enough.
There is no fee to be considered for a listing, and we take no commission on anything a traveler arranges directly with a guide. Listing decisions can't be bought.
The letter
Start with The Access Guide.
How private wine visits in Europe actually work, and how to find the person who can get you in. Free when you join the letter: an occasional email when a new guide passes vetting, plus notes from the regions. No schedule, no filler.
Unsubscribe anytime. We never share your email.
They're expecting you.
Find your guide →