Our summer issue sees us take a Tour de France – including the best wine hotels – with a particular focus on regions undergoing change.

Twenty years ago, collectors looking for wines to lay down and cellar were in thrall to Bordeaux. Gradually, though, consumer tastes moved away from big, bold, Cabernet-dominant wines and towards lighter, authentic, artisanal wines from small sites – which all led to the Côte d’Or. Nina Caplan tells the story of how Burgundy became the darling of the fine wine world. Champagne, too, is undergoing change, and Alice Lascelles chronicles the region’s bold mood of experimentation, from the championing of forgotten grape varieties to the making of still wines. Meanwhile, back in Bordeaux, we visit an A-list château daring to do things a little differently.

If you’re really seeking revolution, you might think Cuban rum would be the place to go, but as our aged rum tasting shows, this spirit can be as long-lived as any. Add in our stories on how distillers are embracing ever more extravagant cask ageing, and the rise of high-end whisky at auction, and it’s almost as if the spirits world is embracing tradition as the wine world becomes more radical. Revolutionary times indeed…