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Wine Tours & Vineyard
Tours

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Wine Tours - Let's face it, wine tours of any age.old
or modern are a great way to sample a lot of good and not-so-good
wines from a particular wine
region in a short space of time. We should be clear, the
idea behind wine tours is so that a large selection of diverse
wines of a specific region are tasted, not so that you can get
wasted. So, please, remember the real intent of this day's journey
and act accordingly.
In
the 'good old days', when this writer was young, wine tours
meant driving around a wine
region looking for signs such as "Cellar Door Open
or "Wine Tasting" and so on. At each of these you
would detour into their parking lot, follow the signs and taste
the products on offer. By the end of the day, you had thoroughly
enjoyed yourself but probably were considered a danger on the
road. Then came the era of Drink/Driving Laws and Maximum Blood
Alcohol Levels. Now, there had to be someone at the wheel who
was content to watch the others enjoy themselves. This was no
fun. After all, the purpose was for wine tasting, not watching
wine tasting. Arise the entrepreneur and welcome the modern
Wine Tour.
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Just you,
me & thee - Wine Tours of the past
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A typical
small group guided tour
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The
modern Wine Tour has to be one of the greatest experiences
that you can have if you already enjoy wine or if you
are new to wine and truly want to get your feet wet in
a hurry. Every wine region
in the world today has entrepreneurs offering wine tours.
Wine tours put simply is having a designated driver (guide)
who takes a group of enthusiastic samplers (you and some
friends?) on a pre-organized visit to a number of wineries
and/or vineyards (guide's selection or yours) with time
spent at each facility sampling some of their offerings
(usually of your choosing). Yes they charge but it is
usually far less per person than the fine.
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In most wine regions,
there are usually several different types of wine tour
on offer. You will almost always find the high-end,
fully customizable, limousine version. These are the
creme-de-la-creme. You will find that the guide is very
well versed in the industry, has exceptional local kn
knowledge, will help you select the best wineries and
vineyards to visit and often help you choose the best
for tasting. These tours often also have access to private
tasting rooms. Wine tours of this type will more often
than not have appropriate between stop cleansing food
and drink so that you get the most out of each experience.
In short, you will want for nothing.
Now,
if the top of the line wine tour is not for you, then
you will have several other choices ranging from small
somewhat-customizable group tours, all the way up to
large predefined bus tours. Personally, we think that
the small group tour that you can have some say in where
you go is often the most fun and the best value for
money.
But
the reality is that wine tours of any type are what
you make of them. No matter whether you choose a small
or large tour, it is inevitable that you will become
part of a small group and find yourself sharing your
thoughts with people that you probably never knew yesterday.
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Your
very personal guided tour above) or take the whole family
(below)
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Be
sure to choose a wine tour that matches your budget.
If you don't, you will find yourself spending the day,
consciously and sub-consciously, worrying about the
cost instead of having a carefree time and enjoying
the whole experience that wine tours have to offer and
whatever you do, don't forget the your evening attire.
Sexy
Lingerie and Intimate Apparel
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If you are planning a vacation, weekend or day trip to
the wineries or vineyards of the United States, you may
find our U.S.
States Wineries Directory a valuable asset as
it will link you directly to list of wineries and vineyards
in each state or territory together with location and
contact information and links to their own web-sites |
Vineyard Tours - The vineyard tour is a completely
different journey in the world of wine. Vineyard tours
are usually something offered by larger vineyards or small
boutique wineries. The purpose of the vineyard tour is
to guide you through a journey of exploration of the entire
grape growing and wine-making process as used by the specific
organization. This may be quite different depending on
whether it is a large vineyard operation or a small boutique
winery. The tour can take anything from 1 hour to half
a day. You will be thoroughly immersed in the industry.
If you were to take two or three of these tours, you will
find many similarities but also some unique features of
each. It is far to say that you will probably only indulge
in such a tour once or twice in each wine
region that you visit primarily to learn about the
regional differences. |
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In most cases, vineyard tours allow you the privilege
of conversing with an industry expert. You will find
them eager to answer your questions about their vineyard
and wine-making process. This can also be a great time
to get some insider tips for that wine cellar that you
are planning. Vineyard tours.also have a distinct advantage
in that they are usually quite inexpensive and they
always end up in the tasting room. Tell me that you
aren't ready to taste the whole range of offerings after
walking around the vineyard smelling the grapes in the
fresh air and then the processing areas being immersed
in the aromas of fermenting grape juices, all the time
listening to a amazingly knowledgeable guide who is
also fully trained in the gentle art of persuasion.
Go ahead, be persuaded, this may well be your first
steps to the realization that Wine is the Essence of
Life. From our perspective, we believe that vineyard
tours are the best wine tours that are offered and will
always choose them.
Pick your day to join a vineyard tour. Weekends are
usually very busy - you could have as many as 50 people
in the group - Not fun!! Weekdays are the best for wine
tours generally. Psst, don't hog the floor!!
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