GRAPE ESCAPES – BESPOKE INDEPENDENT CHAMPAGNE TASTING TOURS
Champagne Tasting Tours, Holidays and Trips
Grape Escapes is a specialist European wine tour operator, offering a broad range of wine tasting tours and trips to the vineyards in the main French wine regions: Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, The Rhône and The Loire and selected regions in Spain and Italy.
Bespoke, Independent Breaks
In addition to the scheduled tours that we organise, we assist individual travellers to plan independent trips, such as honeymoons, wedding anniversary tours, birthday celebrations, or other special holidays.
We have assessed many of the hotels, restaurants, wineries and other activity providers in the regions and have selected only the best so you can be certain that there will not be any nasty surprises when you arrive. If you want to have your ideal trip without any stress, talk to us. We can prepare private, bespoke itineraries for any budget from £800 to £20,000 per trip. We will discuss your requirements with you in detail and send you a draft proposal and can then arrange everything including booking your hotel and travel, sending you maps, city plans, restaurant and vineyard recommendations and an itinerary so that your trip goes smoothly.
Example Itinerary - VIP Birthday Trip to Champagne
We recently arranged a bespoke trip for Daryl, who wanted to surprise his wife with a VIP Birthday trip to Champagne. Here is what they did:
After taking the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais, Daryl drove his wife to the 5* Château les Crayères in Reims, where they checked into a luxurious Imperatrice Suite. After settling in at the Château and freshening up, they took a short walk to Chapagne Ruinart, where they were given a full tour of the beautiful cellars, which are classified as an historical monument. The tour concluded with a tasting of two Champagnes, Dom Ruinart and Dom Ruinart rosé.
The evening was free for them to relax at the Château and explore the extensive grounds. They particularly enjoyed a glass of Champagne or two in the “La Rotonde” bar, which overlooks the wonderful seven hectare park.
A gala five course dinner was then served in the Château’s gastronomic restaurant, “Le Parc,” which is arguably the best restaurant in North-East France. Each course was accompanied by a different Champagne, which was matched specifically to the dish.
On day two, after breakfast, Daryl and the Birthday Girl were met at the hotel by a knowledgeable local guide, who accompanied them on a tour of the region in a luxury chauffeured car. First stop was Epernay, to visit the grandest of Champagne Houses, Moët and Chandon. Here, they were taken on a private VIP Dom Perignon tour, where they visited some of the oldest areas of the cellars which are seldom visited by the public. A tasting of Dom Perignon concluded the visit in a private reception room at the Moët mansion.
A gourmet four course lunch was then served in a top local restaurant, accompanied by Champagne, wine, water and coffee.
The tour continued with a visit to a small, family-run producer of Grand Cru Champagnes for a full tour of the fascinating Champagne making process from vine to bottle, and at least three tastings including vintage Champagne.
Ending the day with a “bang”, Daryl and his wife were taken out into the vineyards where enjoyed their final tour as the guests of another Champagne maker. As well as having a tour of the property, they both learnt Sabrage (the art of opening the Champagne bottle with a sword). Since they each opened a bottle, they then needed to drink at least some of the Champagnes that had been opened!
After returning to the Château, our guests enjoyed a light supper at the Château’s gourmet brasserie, “Le Jardin.”
The next day, after a leisurely breakfast, Daryl and his wife checked out of the Château and made their way back to the UK, taking the Eurotunnel from Calais to Folkeston.
Contact Us
For a quotation for your bespoke trip, please call us on 08456 430860 or e-mail us at info@grapeescapes.net.