Adventures in Wine Tasting

Today I have been daydreaming. My new Food & Wine arrived and feeling a little bit of the Monday blahs, I poured over it . . . for hours. One of the tasty tidbits I uncovered was in the News & Notes section. Just a brief paragraph about wine travel and a company that specializes in wine "adventures," and since I haven't actually taken a vacation since my honeymoon, I just had to check out Zephyr Adventures for myself:

Wine country travel is extremely popular and for good reason. The beautiful scenery combined with excellent lodgings and restaurants makes for a great vacation. However, most visitors to wine areas spend more time on their rears than we like in a vacation, as they shuttle from hotel to winery to restaurant. We've added a whole new element to wine touring, as we stay active - on foot, bike, horseback, and canoe.
At the same time, these tours are as much about the wine as the activities. We have private wine tours, conversations with local vintners, exclusive walks through the vineyards, and other opportunities to intimately get to know the wines of the region.
You need be neither a strong athlete nor a wine expert to enjoy these adventures, as we have tailored them for almost all audiences. And you can't go wrong with the [following] seven wine regions, so pick your favorite and join us in 2008!

Burgundy Walking June 8-13, 2008 $2300
Oregon Multisport August 10-14, 2008 $1900
Sonoma Vineyard Walking August 24-28 and October 26-30, 2008 $1900
Spain Multisport September 7-13, 2008 $2600
Italy Hike & Bike September 26 - Oct 3, 2008 $2700
South Africa Hiking October 10-18, 2008 $3200
Chile & Argentina Multisport Novem. 8-15, 2008 $2700

All Adventures include double occupancy lodging, dinners, breakfasts, guides, van support, local transportation, a Zephyr souvenir, and a Pre-Departure Packet. Trekking Adventures also include most lunches but one dinner is often on your own. Most trips include instruction in the activities on that adventure. Equipment is included for some activities: mountain biking, kayaking, horseback riding, and river rafting.
From www.zephyradventures.com

Though most of my travel incorporates some outdoor activity--and all of my travel includes wine tasting, I think this is an innovative and exciting way to really focus on both and to more fully experience a country or wine region. So, where shall I go next?

April 7, 2008

Adventures in Wine Tasting

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