https://www.hexagonvins.com/welcome daily 1.0 2025-03-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1501098146980-FJNYOUXZD5X8TPOOK7ST/image-asset.jpeg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying - What are the goals? I’ll share stories from my 30+ years of wine travels in France. And the stories of the people and places where the wines were grown, the food that excites, and the wines we drink. Some of the stories were used in an online course I taught for 8 years with geologist colleague David Howell thru Stanford University Continuing Studies“Geology and Wines of California and France”. Other stories are targeted to #Hexagonvins, an Instagram feed where wine images and text are starting points for conversation about wines where “amateurs” (lovers) of wines can compare notes. I am not a rich guy. My special interest has always been to find, learn about and enjoy wines that are excellent and NOT expensive: wines that are batting above their price level. Anyone can spend lots of money and expect to get a good wine, though not always the case. I search for wines that represent the place where they were grown, are good deals and of superior quality. It’s so satisfying to find the gems. Fortunately there are many out there if you learn what to look for. You know the adage: the harder I work the luckier I get. So Hexagonvins.com is where I gather my homework, where I track the data, where I compare notes, where I search the maps of wine country and decide where to explore for the good deals. It’s all an adventure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1501098262390-ZHFGHGD0OZW7X7T9ZNQ8/hexagonvins Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying - What is Hexagonvins? Hexagonvins is for lovers of wine, especially lovers of French wines. Every bottle of wine has a story. And the story unfolds a bit differently every year as the new crop is converted into wine reflecting conditions during that vintage. I am fascinated by this and determined to learn more about why wines are the way they are. The place where the grapes are grown makes all the difference. It has history — the geologic history of how the soils, the hillsides, the drainage, the climate all evolved into what they are today. Then there is the selection of grapes. Why does chardonnay or pinot noir prosper in one place but not another? It’s because growers paying attention tried countless experiments and found, over time, that certain grapes work best at each place. How did that take place, and how is it changing today? Look at a map of France. It has six sides. Draw the lines: the north along Belgium and Luxembourg. The east along Germany, Switzerland and Italy, the Alps. The southeast of the Mediterranean. The south along the Pyrenees and Spain. The west, the Atlantic Ocean from Spain up to Brittany. And the northwest, from Brittany back up to Belgium. It is a hexagon. “Vin” is French for wine. Vins, the plural form, are wines. Hexagonvins is all about wines from l’hexagone, from France. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/2d1ad831-dd6a-4918-b34d-d3958c1c442c/IMG_6847.JPG Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1501100059236-MPPRA15HQTYZ13G0G886/Studying+the+map+with+Vacheron.jpg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying - Who am I? I am Doug. My French friends pronounce my name Doog. Think of me as Hexadoog, the Doog who loves French wines. I’ve been traveling through France every year for the past 30 years exploring its diverse wine regions, meeting winemakers, checking out the geology and terroir of France’s wine country, making friends who share these interests, and doing my share of tasting through the vintages https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1501098942502-JKBJ0ADDSIKY9QODQLYI/image-asset.jpeg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1501100183609-K9NEPB54UJ2OD94KLD5I/Barrel+tasting+at+Screaming+Eagle.jpg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying - How to solve the mystery? It’s a mystery where I can start at the end of the story with the wine in its bottle. I know the outcome. And then work my way back to the beginning of the story to learn more about why that wine is the way it is. This mystery library has nearly infinite volumes so the delight in storytelling never ends for me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1576536367367-AO84JQBGER95MYUWC2DS/IMG_4663.jpeg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying Grand Cru vineyards of ancient St. Émilion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1576535755788-K5C8VCPY68EPQVU32XA1/Collioure+boats.jpeg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying Catalan fishing boats on the harbor in Collioure https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/fe72639c-f413-46b4-88a5-7fbe1cc6aeec/LoireNearAmboise.jpg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying Loire River near Amboise https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1576536558026-N8HSJBJ875MO0JLJZ6FK/IMG_4663.jpeg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying Vineyards and ancient village of St. Émilion in Bordeaux’ Right Bank https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1576536192578-FDCE6AOB7JSY1E602VQA/Ch+Lafon+Rochet.jpg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying Château Lafon-Rochet in St. Estephe https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1501088134573-5T55556P6VF1LGI2G7IW/Sancerre+vineyards.jpg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1501092682711-PO1WGEMRVKF311DYBPG6/7+Chinon+wines+%26+soils+Baudry.jpg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1501096772291-6PAVAI7GUMO03SWMGUHZ/Loire+treasures+by+Franc%CC%A7ois+Chidaine.jpg Welcome to Hexagonvins - Adventures in French Wine Drinking & Buying https://www.hexagonvins.com/blog daily 0.75 2017-07-26 https://www.hexagonvins.com/my-favorite-wines-august-2017 daily 0.75 2025-03-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1617479614512-G8HZQOIJN6Y2X6QTOUKY/Chablis+Fevre+bottles+tasting.jpeg My favorite wines: 2017-2025 Domaine William Fevre Chablis tasting https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1617479833922-FNR5DJ9HBOIFJ7IBB9GN/Domaine+du+Bagnol+Cassis+rose%CC%81.jpeg My favorite wines: 2017-2025 Domaine du Bagnols 2019 Cassis rosé https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1617479484279-9X5B8GXZAG8XBVZA3K5A/Aix+en+Aix+fountain.JPG My favorite wines: 2017-2025 Aix-en-Provence “AIX” rosé https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1617480275290-DHI53J5HR9P39RG829CK/Oursin+%26+huitres+%40+Cassis.JPG My favorite wines: 2017-2025 Oursins & Huitres with Dom. du Paternel Cassis blanc https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1617479942905-9X05KZ27H6UXCXV3EYZK/Glass+of+red+wine.jpeg My favorite wines: 2017-2025 Fabulous red: Dom. la Garrigue Côtes du Rhône “Cuvée Romaine” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1617479344849-LDR8E39ZWNYPIQ9M9NJ8/girardin+chambolle+musigny.jpeg My favorite wines: 2017-2025 Vincent Girardin 2005 Chambolle Musigny https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/595d0be6099c0165c82ebb3e/1617479690800-PHRCWOHVR1YLHT4EDJE6/Chablis+w+oysters.jpeg My favorite wines: 2017-2025 Chablis 1er Cru and oysters