Wineries & Bars Archives -

5 Champagne Wineries to Visit for an Excellent Tasting

Champagne has always been a wine region that was rather high on our list to visit, and we were lucky enough to spend a few days in the region in late 2025 on our way to Alsace to check out the Christmas markets.

Although our time in the wine region was a bit more brief than we otherwise would've liked, we got a chance to visit five truly amazing wineries in Champagne to get our fill of spectacular traditional method sparkling wine.

From classics with world-famous cellars to new gems that redefined what world-class Champagne truly means, we hit a really nice cross-section in these wineries during our visit!

As with all of our winery roundups, this article only features the Champagne houses we personally visited when traveling in the region. We look forward to visiting more in our next trip to Champagne!

Note: Most producers in Champagne require advanced reservations. Some larger houses may have on-site bars for walk-in tastings; however, we booked all of our tastings well in advance. Reconfirm these details prior to visiting as Champagne houses can and do book up in advance.

Like most Nordic countries, Finland is a controlled alcohol state. This means that for all alcohol above a certain ABV (in this case, 5.5%), you have to visit a state-run shop to purchase your products.

We always find these areas interesting to visit as we like to see what kind of products that are offered, their price points, and any other interesting details visitors may want to know.

For higher-ABV products in Finland, you'll want to visit a local Alko store for beer, wine, and spirits. After visiting a few in Helsinki, employees unanimously told us one thing- go to the Arkadia location. The flagship store in the brand is one of the largest in Finland and, to paraphrase one rep we spoke to, the envy of all Nordic countries.

This high praise set the bar really high for us, and after visiting, we have to admit, we'd love an Alko Arkadia in our own state too. Yes, it is that good!

We always like to find great wine stores when we travel to see what life could be like if we didn't live in the lovely controlled state of Pennsylvania.

When we made a weekend trip to New York City, we knew what store we had to check out- Astor Wine & Spirits.

This one had a reputation as one of the finest wine stores in New York, and we had even ordered deliveries from them from time to time. So as (admittedly infrequent) customers, we knew this would be a pilgrimage-style spot for us.

As much as we liked the wine selection here, the spirits were also just as, if not more, impressive!

As a Pennsylvanian, you can imagine that I have some pretty strong opinions about our state-managed wine and liquor stores. They are, well, not that great and leave us yearning for more.

This is perhaps best felt when we go to other states that have massive entities selling all things wine and spirits, and in the USA, we get this feeling the most when visiting Total Wine.

A giant grocery store of wine, and some even with a huge spirits selection as well? This one really should be in all 50 states.

Systembolaget is the Swedish, state-run liquor company. Effectively meaning “the System Company,” Systembolaget controls virtually all alcohol sales greater than 3.5% in Sweden- so, everything apart from limited low-ABV content beer and other similar products.

Naturally, we had to head into a Systembolaget when in Stockholm to see what the stores are all about and find out what the wine selections are like!

Monopoly states for alcohol sales are interesting. We would know- our home state of Pennsylvania has state-controlled liquor sales and has only recently opened up the distribution of wine and beer.

So when we visited Norway and read about their strict control of alcohol, we knew a bit about what to expect.

As it turns out, their state liquor store, Vinmonopolet, is actually pretty good in terms of selection and price- the latter by US standards at least. The only downside? The stores are few and far between!

When traveling in Sicily, you really need to check out some wineries. But there is far more to Sicily than the famous wineries on Mount Etna, and other regions like Vittoria, Marsala, and the island of Pantelleria also make some absolutely beautiful wines from grapes like Nero d'Avola, Frappato, Nerello Mascalese (Etna), Zibibbo, fortified Marsalas, and so many more.

Over my two visits, I have had the chance to explore several wineries in Sicily, primarily focused around Marsala and Etna regions in particular.

So, in this one, I thought I'd share a bit more about each of the wineries we've personally visited and what you can expect at a tasting! Be sure to check back in the future as we will update this article when we return to Sicily and check out more producers.

Note: As with all of our winery guides, the following are a selection of Sicilian wineries we've personally visited- particularly in the Etna and Marsala areas. These are just a starting point as there are many great wineries to check out all over Sicily! It is also worth noting that many of the wineries featured in this article are available in the USA on companies like Wine.com. When tasting, we did a quick price/availability check to maximize our shopping experience.

Normally when we travel via an airport, we often make a beeline straight for the lounge in order to get the lovely perks of a quiet space and, perhaps more importantly, free alcohol.

But every so often we are unable to get into our lounge of choice, typically during peak hours when the demand is at its highest and the wait for entry is longer than our time in the airport outright.

In these cases we head to a paid bar to get over our pre-flight jitters, and one such bar we only recently started visiting was the wine chain Vino Volo. If you have ever been curious about what this airport staple is like, this one is for you!

When we booked our trip to northern Italy to go wine tasting, we knew we wanted to check out a great cross-section of wineries in Piedmont.

Naturally, our first thought went heavy into checking out Barolo wineries to find out why the region is so acclaimed for Nebbiolo. But as Piedmont is more than just Barolo, we also set our sights on trying out other grape varieties like Barbera, Dolcetto (in Dogliani, specifically), Moscato (in Asti), traditional method sparkling wine, and other styles of Nebbiolo like Barbaresco and Langhe Nebbiolo to name a few.

As such, we hit an array of styles of Piedmont wineries and wanted to share a bit about each that we personally visited in this one!

Note: Most wineries in Piedmont require advance reservation when visiting. Wineries that appeared to allow walk-in tastings are noted, but please confirm this prior to visiting as tasting rules and booking requirements change regularly. To check out our full guide to planning a wine tour in Piedmont, click the previous link!

When it comes to drinking wine in our home of Pittsburgh, PA, we have no shortage of great wine bars to check out (we've been to many of them on our city blog at the previous link).

But only one wine bar stands out as being our very favorite- Allegheny Wine Mixer in Lawrenceville.

This wine bar has all of the things that we love when going out for a glass of wine in Pittsburgh- an intimate ambiance, a stellar by-the-glass menu that changes regularly, competitive prices, and so much more.

So in this one, we thought we'd share a bit more about the best wine bar in Pittsburgh!

5 Champagne Wineries to Visit for an Excellent Tasting

Alko Arkadia is the Flagship Store Not to Miss in Helsinki

Astor Wine & Spirits is a Gem in the Heart of New York City

Total Wine is the Grocery Store of Wine Want Everywhere

Systembolaget Offers State Sold Wine and Spirits in Sweden

Vinmonopolet for National Wine and Alcohol Sales in Norway

7 Wineries in Sicily to Check Out When Exploring the Island

Vino Volo Review – Is the Airport Wine Bar Chain Worth It?

11 Wineries in Piedmont to Check Out When Visiting

Allegheny Wine Mixer is the Best Wine Bar in Pittsburgh