Since I started writing about wine, close to fifteen years ago now, one facet has remained constant: I write what I want to write. While that might not seem all that earth-shattering to most people, the thought of being told what to write by, say, an editor, seems a little daunting to me. What if I don’t care about the subject? Or worse, what if I don’t know anything about it?

Honestly, that second point is probably attractive, at least to me, since I am a researcher, by nature, and learning something new is almost always appealing to me.

Over the last couple of years, though, I have been writing for the Chicago Wine Press, a website managed by W. Peter Hoyne, a wine writer and generally good guy (despite his affinity for Chicago sports teams and, even worse, the University of Michigan), whom I met on one of my various wine press trips.

From time to time, he reaches out and assigns me a topic for an upcoming issue of the Chicago Wine Press, and almost all of them have been related to cycling. And that is perfectly fine with me; my association with wine was largely conceived on the saddle of a bike and just about every trip I take to wine country these days I schlep along a bike with me.

This month, the Chicago Wine Press honors Dan Duckhorn, champion of Merlot in California, who passed away in March. For the issue, Peter (I have no idea what the “W” stands for) asked me to write another article, this one about cycling through the vineyards of Bordeaux, specifically from Pomerol to Saint-Émilion, the two renowned towns on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, where the wines are typically mostly made from Merlot.

One small problem: Pomerol and Saint-Émilion are a mere six kilometers apart. Not even four miles. While I certainly don’t put in as many miles as I used to, calling a 6k distance a “ride” is a bit of a stretch even for the most casual of bike riders.

Nonetheless, I took the assignment and rode with it (sorry), broadening the ride just a bit, and having a bit of fun along the way. It is a quick read, so please go over and check it out (clicking on the screenshot below will take you there)!