© S. Peter Smith, 1995
Ron Loutherback, owner of the hugely successful Wine Club wine stores has asked us to take his customers and staff on the "ultimate" wine tour of Bordeaux this fall. We'll run a Harvest tour in September, and another in October during vinification, my favorite time of year.
These are extraordinary tours. The groups are larger than normal, with around 25 people per group. It won't be quite as intimate of course, but we've more than made up for this by the events we've planned. Each tour includes no less than 6-8 gourmet meals in chateaux such as Angélus, Pichon Baron, Lynch-Bages, Domaine de Chevalier, Beychevelle, Montrose and Palmer, to name a few. Not only are we the private guests of these chateaux, but this is during the busiest time of year, when they're normally completely closed to the public. With the Wine Club's mailing list of 90,000 people these tours will sell out very fast, so call us for details.
More than anything this outstanding welcome proves that we really are the most respected wine tour operators in the business. We've earned this respect by our attention to detail and passion for the winemaking process, and of course by continuing to bring the most enthusiastic and appreciative visitors with us. Everyone claims they have special relationships that make their visits special; here's the proof!
Word from our friends in Bordeaux is "it ain't going to be cheap!" At the time of writing generic Bordeaux have been released on futures considerably higher than the 94's. The classifieds and Grands Crus are not yet out, but there's a definite buzz that prices maybe as much as 20 or 30 per cent higher than the 94's - WOW!
The bigger question for me is what will happen to prices of the 94's. My hope is that the 95's will get such a dose of media hype that the 94's will be forgotten, forsaken and left by the wayside - for us!
That's what a lot of you have been asking us over the past few years. My answer was that I didn't think guided tours were that necessary, and I didn't have enough knowledge of the area myself. I've changed my mind.
I just came back from a trip through Napa, Sonoma and the Central Coast. I found the California vintners only too happy to take our reputation for caring for serious wine lovers and give our guests special tours of their facilities. In addition, I found that I do know a fair bit about California and her wines; I was just being my usual humble self! More to the point, we can use our attention to detail and expert tour planning just as well here as anywhere.
So... you guessed it, we're going to start tours in California. Our plan is to concentrate more on the Central Coast for guided trips, as it's less known and is producing some really exciting wines. We can do the same up north, but we figure maybe self-drive itineraries may be all that's needed in Napa and Sonoma. We'll see; EMAIL US AT info@avalon-tours.comAND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!
I first tasted Norm's wine just a couple of months ago at the Orange County Wine Society's annual tasting. The first sniff of Cottonwood Canyon's 1991 Chardonnay walloped me right back to the cellars of Burgundy. Somehow Mr. Beko has managed to produce a Chardonnay that has huge depth and complexity, a balance of citrus and tropical fruits that are perfectly matched with his use of oak, and a lovely rich finish with enough acidity to keep the butter and cream lingering for a long while. His Pinot Noir is almost as impressive, again in a very Burgundian style, but the Chardonnay.... well as you can see I can't stop talking about it!
Key points: yield of 2.7 tons/acre; controlled botrytis; lees contact; 80% French oak, partial malolactic fermentation.
Norm's incredibly open, and if you visit with us at his new caves in Santa Maria you'll taste individual lots from barrel to see how he makes his selection - like all the best vintners, by taste. He's got to have a secret hidden somewhere, but I don't know what it is! The other secret is how to find his wine - call us and we'll help. 2,000 cases of wine of this caliber at $25-$30 a bottle doesn't last long!
We have the answer for the perfect combination tour; a week on the wonderful hotel barge Le Papillon or Julia Hoyt, followed or preceded by a wine tour with us.
Papillon plies the canals of Burgundy, while the crew ply you with wine and gourmet food. Kate Ratliffe runs the excellent Julia Hoyt and also a great cooking school, south of Bordeaux.
Call us to arrange a combination tour, or to book a trip on either barge.
The barges are chartered for groups only, and can take up to six guests.
If you're in Southern California on June 12 or 16, don't miss this super event. There is an auction limited to 450 people on the 12th, and over 2500 people are expected for the tasting (300 wines) and fair on the 16th.
One of the major auction items will be a 6 night Bordeaux tour, plus 2 nights at the Rives de Notre Dame in Paris, donated by Avalon Tours.
Check the small print! We know a lot of you are very sensibly comparing different wine tour specialists before making a decision. We urge you to look for the following:
How many meals are included in the price?
What wines are included with the meals?
Who actually leads the tour?
Standards of hotels and transportation?
Above all, call past guests for references!
If you really enjoyed your tour, how about trying to get your favorite magazine or newspaper to do an article on us?
If you think we deserve it, a letter to the travel or wine editor really helps us a lot - copy any letters to us so we know where to follow up - thanks!
Any great chef is forever grateful for a good word to Michélin if you have the time:
Pneu Michélin, Services de Tourisme
46, Ave. de Breteuil
75324 Paris
October 1997 - Bordeaux Harvest