Wine as a Passport: The Summer Events I Cannot Stop Thinking About
The hotels, glasses, and beautifully staged moments defining early summer. By, Jamie Knee
Dear friends,
Welcome back to another beautiful, dreamy Sunday.
Certain moments on the calendar feel larger than the event itself.
They become whole worlds for a few days. The harbor fills. The hotel bars begin to buzz. Linen comes out of the wardrobe. The right cities glow a little brighter. And suddenly a race, a match, or an art fair becomes something much more seductive, a full atmosphere shaped by place, hospitality, and the glass in your hand.
That is the part of summer I think about most.
Monaco is the clearest example. The Grand Prix happened last weekend, and I was sorry to miss it this year because it remains one of the most unforgettable luxury travel experiences I have ever had. I have seen it up close onshore and from a yacht, and there is truly nothing like staying on a ship in the harbor with such close access to the race and all that shimmering Monaco energy. If I were doing Monaco properly, I would stay at Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo or Hôtel Hermitage, and I would drink Champagne or a pale Provençal rosé at lunch with seafood and sunlight.
Le Mans offers a very different kind of glamour, one built on endurance, history, and precision. This is where I want a more serious glass, a Loire Cabernet Franc or a bright, mineral Sancerre, something with structure and backbone to match the setting.
Royal Ascot feels wonderfully theatrical in its own British way, all pageantry, dress codes, and beautifully choreographed social ritual. The wine can stay classic there, but it is really the luncheon, the gardens, and the ceremony that make it feel so complete.
Basel, during Art Basel, the mood quiets. Luxury there feels more collected, more restrained. I imagine a grand hotel, a late dinner, and a sharply cut white or grower Champagne, something poised and articulate enough for a city built around taste.
Then there is the Milan, and it’s summer fashion shows. This city always sharpens the appetite. This is one of those cities where I want to stay somewhere polished like Four Seasons Hotel Milano or Bvlgari Hotel Milano, begin with Franciacorta at aperitivo, and perhaps slip away the next day by train to Como, Varenna, or Bergamo for lake light, a beautiful lunch, and one more elegant glass. Milan never feels like only a city. It feels like a doorway into northern Italy.
Wimbledon belongs to a different register altogether, green, orderly, and unmistakably British. Here I want Pimm’s, of course, that classic British gin based liqueur lengthened with lemonade and poured over ice with fruit, mint, and cucumber. It is light, celebratory, and perfectly suited to tennis, strawberries, and an English summer afternoon.
I always think of Henley as one of the loveliest expressions of the season, all river light, linen, conversation, and polished hospitality. This is where English sparkling wine feels exactly right. A glass of Nyetimber or Bride Valley seems made for that mood.
And then there is Goodwood, which has its own more editorial kind of glamour, motorsport, estate beauty, and the sort of country house elegance the British do so well. I would want a beautifully chilled rosé there, something dry, graceful, and meant for long daylight hours.
What fascinates me most about all of these events is that they are never only about the headline.
The race is not the whole story. The match is not the whole story. The fair is not the whole story.
The real story is where you stay, what is poured, who you are with, and how the destination absorbs the event and turns it into memory.
That, to me, is where luxury travel becomes irresistible.
Until next Sunday, may your glass continue to guide you, your curiosity remain wide open, and your travels be filled with beauty.
With love from the road, xo
Jamie Knee
I write, speak, and present for the wine and travel world, partnering with destinations, wineries, and hospitality brands to tell stories that bring people closer to place through culture, beauty, and the glass.
Your spritz moment outside the Duomo- jealous!! :)