I just finished some research in advance of my trip to Burgundy and the Rhone. Finally, I am taking the French Wine Society’s Masters Program in Rhone wines after a short trip to Beaune in Burgundy. So, Business Insider tells me that I should not visit and taste the overpriced wines of Burgundy. I might agree that many Burgundies are overpriced. But where to go instead? Business Insider has the answer: Traverse City, Michigan, a locale increasingly known for its Pinots.

Imagine my disappointment in having booked a trip to France, without knowing that I can get more reasonably priced Pinots in Michigan.

And my decision to go to the FWS school in the Rhone? Again a mistake. I should go to the “Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.” Turns out that it is one of the oldest wine making areas in the world, but relatively new to the increasing growth of French Rhone varietals like Syrah and Cinsaut.

Plans are made and hotels booked. But, my experience in Burgundy and the Rhone will certainly be more hollow now that I know Michigan and Lebanon offer more.

Life is a series of lessons and I will try to suffer through this terrible mistake.