Burgundy
Burgundy
The Burgundy (Bourgogne) region runs from Auxerre in the north down to Macon in the south, or down to Lyon if the Beaujolais area is included as part of Burgundy. Chablis, a white wine made from Chardonnay grapes, is produced in the area around Auxerre. Other smaller appellations near to Chablis include Irancy, which produces red wines and Saint-Bris, which produces white wines from Sauvignon Blanc.
Some way south of Chablis is the Cote d'Or, where Burgundy's most famous and most expensive wines originate, and where all Grand Cru vineyards of Burgundy (except for Chablis Grand Cru) are situated. The Cote d'Or itself is split into two parts: the Cote de Nuits which starts just south of Dijon and runs till Corgoloin, a few kilometers south of the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges, and the Cote de Beaune which starts at Ladoix and ends at Dezize-les-Maranges.
The wine-growing part of this area in the heart of Burgundy is just 40 kilometres (25 mi) long, and in most places less than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) wide. The area is made up of tiny villages surrounded by a combination of flat and sloped vineyards on the eastern side of a hilly region, providing some rain and weather shelter from the prevailing westerly winds.
Jura
JURA
Jura is a department in the east of France named after the Jura Mountains . Historically, Jura belonged to the Free County of Burgundy, known in French as the Franche-Comte.
Dole was the capital until the region was conquered by Louis XIV and it was moved to Besancon. It is now a sous-prefecture of Jura.
As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the southern 2/3 of Jura spoke a dialect of Arpitan language. It continued to be spoken in rural areas into the 20th century.
Jura is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Franche-Comte. The departments of Jura, Doubs, and Haute-Saone form the modern Franche-Comte region of France. The prefecture (capital) is Lons-le-Saunier.
Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including Monviso, where the Po rises, and Monte Rosa. It borders with France, Switzerland and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Aosta Valley and for a very small fragment with Emilia Romagna. The geography of Piedmont is 43.3% mountainous, along with extensive areas of hills (30.3%) and plains (26.4%). Piedmont is the second largest of Italy's 20 regions, after Sicily. It is broadly contiguous with the upper part of the drainage basin of the river Po, which rises from the slopes of Monviso in the west of the region and is Italy’s largest river.
Piemonte wine is the range of Italian wines made in the province of Piedmont in the northwestern corner of Italy. The best-known wines from the region include Barolo and Barbaresco. They are made from the Nebbiolo grape. These wines are ideal for storage and a well-aged Barolo for instance may leave a feeling of drinking velvet because the tannins are polished and integrated more and more into the wine. As the wine matures the colour becomes more brownish and rust-red.
Other popular grapes used for red wine production are Barbera and Dolcetto. Wine made on the Barbera grape is often fruity and delicate with less tannin than wine made from the Nebbiolo grape. Dolcetto on the other side, is not as the name indicates sweet,Dolcetto means just a little bit sweet. (dolce is Italian for sweet). The grape gives fresh and dry red wines with some tannin. The wines made on the Dolcetto grape should be consumed young.
Champagne
Champagne
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term "Champagne" exclusively for wines that come from this region located about 100 miles (160 km) east of Paris.
The viticultural boundaries of Champagne are legally defined and split into five wine producing districts within the administrative province: Aube, Cote des Blancs, Cote de Sezanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallee de la Marne. The towns of Reims and Epernay are the commercial centers of the area.
Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area (8,280 km2), and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km2 (total population in 2006: 1,815,488; 1 January 2008 estimate: 1,836,000). Alsace is located on France's eastern border and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. The political, economic and cultural capital as well as largest city of Alsace is Strasbourg. Because that city is the seat of dozens of international organizations and bodies, Alsace is politically one of the most important regions in the European Union.
Having been early and always densely populated, Alsace is famous for its high number of picturesque villages, churches and castles and for the various beauties of its three main towns, in spite of severe destructions suffered throughout five centuries of wars between France and Germany.
Alsace is furthermore famous for its vineyards (especially along the 170 km of the Route des Vins d'Alsace from Marlenheim to Thann) and the Vosges mountains with their thick and green forests and picturesque lakes.
Austria
Austria
Small is beautiful – that is what best describes Austrian wine, when put into international perspective. There are no run of the mill wines, but rather a rare speciality. Austrian wine is one of the most interesting phenomena happening in the world right now. The wines are found on every good wine list, are appreciated by wine experts and highly acclaimed by journalists. It is not uncommon to talk of an Austrian wine wonder.What is it, that makes Austrian wines so special? There are many reasons and the sum of all these factors has paved the path for the sensational quality boom over the past couple of decades. A prime reason is a tradition of winemaking, and grapevines have been cultivated in the same viticultural regions to be found in today's Austria for many thousands of years. Vines are synonymous with the landscape, the culture and daily life. This also applies to the typical Austrian grape varieties, and there are widespread plantings in the regional wine-growing areas. Coupled with ideal geological and climatic elements, the vines enjoy the best conditions essential for making authentic, distinctive wines with character and personality. The concept behind this success story plays a vital role. The Austrian vintners and producers have all comprehended how important it is to successfully combine traditional viticulture with modern vinification processes. The motto is, quality without compromise and the result was success without exception.
Wine Tours to France
Burgundy , Alsace, Champagne, Jura
• Exclusive tour to the famous cellars and vineyards of France!
• Visiting the best wine cellars
• Visiting the charming places of the France regions (Burgundy, Alsace, Champagne, Jura)
• Tasting wines and walks along of the famous vineyards
• Individual tours to France by request
Wine Tours to Italy
Barolo, Alba, La Morra, Asti, etc.
• Exclusive tour to the famous cellars and vineyards in Piedmont!
• Visiting the best wine cellars
• Visiting the charming places in Piedmont regions (Barolo, Alba, La Morra, Asti, etc.)
• Tasting wines and walks along of the famous vineyards
• Individual tours to Italy by request
Wine Tours to Austria and Czech Republic
Retz, Poysdorf, Krems, Valtice, Lednice, Znojmo etc.
• Exclusive tour to the famous cellars and vineyards in Lower Austria and South Moravia!
• Visiting the best wine cellars
Wine Tours to Austria and Czech Republic
• Visiting the charming places in Lower Austria and South Moravia: Retz, Poysdorf, Krems an der Donau, Herrnbaumgarten, Jetzelsdorf, Valtice, Lednice, Znojmo etc,
• Tasting wines and walks along of the famous vineyards
• Individual tours to Austria and Czech Rep. by request
