Clink your glasses to the Queen’s 60 year reign on a three-night escape to Champagne or Bordeaux over the Diamond Jubilee weekend. Wine tour specialist Grape Escapes is running exclusive tours over the celebratory weekend from 2-5 June offering guests a regal few days of their own with exclusive Champagne House and winery visits, multiple tastings and vineyard trips. Tour prices start at £629 per person in Champagne and £569 in Bordeaux.
A Deluxe Meet the Maker tour in Champagne
The Deluxe Meet the Maker tour, which is based in Reims, starts with a ‘deluxe’ day where guests are escorted in a luxury mini coach to Veuve Cliquot for tastings of the Prestige Cuvee, La Grande Dame. Guests will also be given an exclusive Dom Perignon tour at Moët and Chandon, which isn’t available to the general public. The visits will be topped off with tastings at a Grand Cru Champagne House and a gourmet four-course lunch at a top local restaurant with accompanying Champagne.
Guests will also be able to meet the personalities behind the bottle on visits to three family run Champagne Houses and a large, prestigious House, where there will be opportunities to talk to the winery owner and a broad range of tastings. They will then be invited to dine as guests of one of the estates with Champagne straight from the cellar.
The starting price of £629 per person includes three nights bed and breakfast accommodation at the Hotel Bristol in central Reims, all tours and tastings, the gourmet lunch, estate meal and return Folkestone to Calais Eurotunnel crossings for a car and two passengers. Upgrades to Château accommodation are available.
Médoc and Saint Emilion tour in Bordeaux
The three night trip to the Médoc and Saint Emilion wine producing areas surrounding Bordeaux will ensure that guests taste the full spectrum of the region’s wines.
One day will be spent in the Saint Emilion area where there will be the opportunity to taste wines from a number of different terroirs. This includes one of the top Grand Cru Classé vineyards, as well as the best producer in one of the vineyards surrounding St. Emilion. Multiple tastings will be followed by a four-course gourmet lunch in the UNESCO classified town of Saint Emilion.
The following day is spent in the Médoc where guests will travel along the “Route des Chateaux” passing the top Bordeaux wine producers, such as Latour or Mouton Rothschild. There will be a visit to one of these producers for tastings of their superlative wines followed by a three-course lunch in a premium local restaurant. The day will finish with a visit to a Cru Classé vineyard and a winery in the village of Haut Medoc for further tastings.
The price of the trip starts at £569 per person including three nights bed and breakfast accommodation at the three star Mercure Bordeaux Hotel in the city centre, all tours and lunches. The price excludes transport to the area and accommodation upgrades to four and five star hotels are available for an additional price.
Book at www.grapeescapes.net or call 08456 430 860.
