GRAPE ESCAPES - WINE CLUB WINE TOURS
When you enjoy tasting wine each week with your friends or colleagues in your local wine club, you often dream of taking your wine tasting to the next level - drinking it with the people who made it, in the cellars where it was lovingly created!
Well, at Grape Escapes, we can help make this dream come true. We arrange wine tasting tours for a number of wine clubs each year. These are often bespoke, private trips to the region of their choice, lasting from a short weekend to a longer five or six night tour.
Recent trips we have organised have included a six day trip to Champagne for a wine club in Birmingham, and a five day trip to The Rhône for a Supermaket Branch Wine Club.
Supermarket Branch Wine Club:
We recently had the privilege of working with an upmarket supermarket, who wanted to combine a fun wine tour with some wine education. The trip we put together included a number of wine based seminars, with both theory and hands on tutoring (tasting). This enabled them to access funding from the supermarket for the trip. Here are the highlights of their trip:
SOUTHERN RHÔNE WINES - INTRODUCTORY COURSE
- 15 hours of tuition and in depth course materials
- Tutored tastings of over 35 Wines in the wineries and vineyards in which they are made
- Enjoy a relaxed and sociable atmosphere with the owners and wine makers from this historic wine making region
Our popular Grape Escapes Southern Rhône Wine Introductory Course is designed as a practical introduction to wine and wine tasting. We don't assume that you have any particular knowledge of wine, only that you have an interest in it. This is a specialist Rhone Wines course.
COURSE OUTLINE
The course consists of five three hour sessions across two and a half days. These sessions are based in vineyards and wineries and include tastings of five to ten wines in each session. Two of these sessions include meals to allow participants to experience the wines in their natural environment (alongside food). Session topics are:
- Appellation System and Tasting Techniques - French appellation system in general, Southern Rhône appellation system in particular. French wine labelling. Basic tasting techniques. Tutored tasting of eight to ten wines covering the Southern Rhône hierarchy
- Terroir – Vineyard Visits - Importance of terroir to French / European wines. Relationship between terroir and the appellation system. Tasting of six to eight wines (in the vineyards) demonstrating influence of terroir. Rhône grape varieties (part ‘class’ based in a winery)
- Rhône Grape Varieties - This session is part ‘class’ based in a winery. Description / history / tour of domaine (used as venue for class). Rhône permitted red and white varieties. Tasting of six to eight wines demonstrating influence of different grape varieties
- Vine Growing - Vineyard and Domaine visits. Key vineyard activities essential for achieving premium quality fruit. Discussion of hand versus machine harvesting. Organic and bio-dynamic activities. Causes of vintage variations. Domaine visit for a vertical tasting of several wines
- Wine Making - This will include a tour of two domaines’ wineries. Different winemaking techniques and influence on wines. Tasting of four to five wines from each domaine
At the start of the course, we will provide you with a list of the wines to be tasted and a manual containing comprehensive notes on the topics covered including the practical issues, maps of the wine region and tasting sheets on which to write your tasting notes.
COURSE STYLE
People come on our courses for different reasons. Some are keen to gain knowledge of wines, wine regions and wine making, some want to learn the art of tasting, while for others the emphasis is on relaxing with some well chosen wines after a hard day's work! Our course planning takes these things into account. The courses are well structured with plenty of time built in for student participation. The class based sessions will be informal and are generally held in wineries where the learning continues to be experiential. A different domaine is used for each class based session.
WHAT WILL YOU GET FROM THE COURSE?
By the end of the course, you will have a good understanding of how grapes are grown and how different styles of Rhône wines are produced. You will have developed your skills as a wine taster and be able to assess the relative quality of wines tasted as well as spot some common wine faults.
KNOWLEDGE LEVEL
The course and the content of all the discussions is aimed at people with a basic or intermediate level of wine knowledge. For those with an advanced knowledge of wine (WSET diploma graduates or similar), please contact us for details of the Higher level course.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The learning objectives for this course are as follows:
- How to taste wine and get the most out of each glass
- Understand the French appellation system, specifically that in the Rhône, and French wine labelling
- Relationship between terroir and appellation
- Gain knowledge of the different Rhône grape varieties
- Grasp the fundamentals of vineyard activities that ensure premium quality fruit is obtained
- See the different results from hand and machine harvesting
- Discover what causes variations in different vintages
- Learn the different techniques for making wine and what influences these have on the final product
Call us now on 08456 430 860 to arrange your ideal Wine Club wine tour
We will discuss your requirements and budget and then provide you with an outline proposal without obligation. We can develop an itinerary to match any budget from as little £250 per person to over £1,000 per person.
All of our Wine Club wine tasting tours are designed with flexibility in mind, so you can choose how you wish to travel (drive, train or fly), what grade of accommodation you would like, and how long you wish to stay etc.
With Grape Escapes, you can be sure that we will arrange an excellent itinerary for your Wine Club, in brilliant surroundings with welcoming wineries and Champagne makers, great wines and top class meals.