No need to count your units touring the Margaret River in a
chauffeur-driven 1955 Bentley. This region in Western Australia is one of
the New World’s newest producers and responsible for only 3 per cent of
Australia’s wine, yet its 80-odd boutique wineries constantly carry off
prizes for their first-class chardonnays and cabernets. Cape Lodge, three
hours’ drive south of Perth, is a luxury 20-room hotel with restaurant and
14,000-bottle wine cellar and is surrounded by vineyards – the perfect base
to explore the region. Three nights’ B&B at Cape Lodge and two in
the Outram townhouse hotel in Perth, with four days’ car hire, are from
£481pp. A one-day Wine Lovers Bentley tour is about £325 (per car), as part
of a tailormade tour with Bridge & Wickers (020-7483 6555, www.bridgeandwickers.co.uk).
Escape our winter and enjoy the mellow warmth of harvest time in the Cape
on Arblaster & Clarke’s tour of South Africa, escorted by a wine expert.
It departs on February 15, and starts in Cape Town, taking in the Cape of
Good Hope and the wineries of Constantia and Stellenbosch to taste top-class
pinot noirs and chardonnays. A nine-night tour is from £2,499pp, including
fights, B&B in four-star hotels and eight meals with wines. Details:
01730 263111, www.winetours.co.uk.
Work up a thirst walking through the Tuscan countryside on a Chianti:
Walking & Wine holiday with Exodus. The week is based in a farmhouse
near San Gimignano that produces its own wine. The tour is escorted, with
walks to quaint hilltop villages, wineries and historic ruins, and there are
also trips to Siena and Volterra. Alternatively, just laze by the pool and
sip a fine glass of red. Departures are from April to September, from
£717pp, including flights and most meals, with Exodus (0870 9500029, www.exodus.co.uk).
Set your nose the ultimate challenge tasting the 33 Grands Crus of Burgundy
on a leisurely journey on the Saône from Mâcon to Dijon, departing on July
20. Six nights aboard the Orient-Express barge, Napoléon, includes wine
classes, tastings, gourmet meals and excursions to châteaux, vineyards and
markets for 12 passengers. Minibuses are standing by for forays ashore,
unless you’d rather borrow one of the boat’s bikes. The Semaine des Grands
Crus costs from £3,510pp, including train travel from London via Paris and
all meals, wines and excursions. Details: 0845 0772222, www.orient-express.com.
Don’t just drink wine, wallow in it at Caudalie Vinothérapie spa at the Hotel
Marqués de Riscal in northern Spain, where treatments are concocted
from grape extracts. The hotel, designed by Frank Gehry, who was responsible
for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, is set in the heart of rioja country at
the village of Elciego, and its curious twisted roof represents the flow of
wine. Tours of the Marqués de Riscal winery and the 3.8 million-bottle
cellar take place three times a day. A three-night stay with breakfast, car
hire and flights to Bilbao is from £1,034pp with Kirker Holidays (020-7593
2288, www.kirkerholidays.com).
Take a boat crawl of the whisky distilleries of Arran and Campbeltown
from Holy Loch, near Dunoon. A cruise aboard traditional wooden fishing
boats, the Glen Massan and the Glen Tarsan, converted to include six double
ensuite cabins, is from £6,500 for up to 12. The cost includes all meals and
whisky tastings with Rural Retreats (01386 701177, www.ruralretreats.co.uk).
The Marlborough region of New Zealand has abundant vineyards, so why
not have a go at hand-blending your own bottle of wine at one of them?
Montana Brancott Winery is offering the chance to spend five days learning
about viniculture from grape to wine glass in a competition in conjunction
with Travelmood and Air New Zealand. Try your luck at www.montana.co.nz/vintageexperience
by December 31.
Stroll out and find Melbourne’s finest food and wine on an
early-evening Sommeliers City Walk. “Generous wine samples”, menu tastings
and wine notes are provided by sommeliers at three restaurants to groups of
four to eight on a two-hour tour starting at 5pm every Tuesday. The cost is
about £57pp with Hidden Secrets Tours (www.hiddensecretstours.com).
Crystal Cruises has taken on board the “modern mixologist” Tony Abou-Ganim –
late of the Bellagio in Las Vegas – to put a kick in the ships’ bar menus.
Bow Thruster and Mango Caiproska are two of the fresh fruit-filled cocktails
that will be shaken and stirred next year. Sip some on a nine-night Mexican
Riviera fly/cruise on Crystal Symphony departing February 24 (from
£2,316pp). Details: 020-7287 9040, www.crystalcruises.co.uk.
Tour the wineries of Argentina and Chile on one of the new small-group
tours devoted to food and drink from Journey Latin America. The 16-day trip
includes visits to vineyards in the Colchagua Valley and districts of Maipú
and Luján de Cuyo, a cheese farm and markets. From £2,580pp, including
flights (and some meals), departing on April 14. Details: 020-8747
8315, www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk.
Wobble round the Cider Route on a bicycle – a 25-mile circuit in the heart of
the Pays d’Auge in Normandy. Follow the Route de Cidre signs
past orchards and through quaint villages dropping in wherever you see “Cru
de Cambremer” to taste the slightly bitter local cider, calvados and
pommeau, the Norman apéritif. See www.cambremer.com
and www.calvados-tourisme.info
for details and accommodation.
What about Canadian wines, eh?
The Niagara region is down the street from big-city benefits of Toronto !!
Equally, the Okanagan Valley in Brit-Columbia. No more off the beaten track than other places mentioned.
Robb Landers, ruislip,
No South Australia? Heavens - I enjoyed two weeks there of fabulous wine, fabulous food, and wonderful accommodation. All so much cheaper than Sydney. I'd go again at the drop of a hat, and spend my dying days in the Penfolds winery !
Jeremy Poynton, Fromeville, 51st State