Vino Voyages: Culinary Travels with Leslie Sbrocco
As a result of many of you in class who wanted to do wine travel, I partnered with travel agent extraordinaire, Michele Abrate. She was in all three classes so I’m sure you met her. Michele has been a travel agent for three decades and has a background in organizing high-end trips to France among many other global spots. Focused on culinary travel, she has escorted her clients from Tuscany to Vietnam and nearly everywhere in between.
We got together and concocted an idea for a unique trip this fall. My contacts allow us to get special access to wineries and Michele is the magic-maker on the detail/travel end of things. We would visit fantastic wineries, eat at great restaurants, shop at local markets, and generally have a one-of-a-kind experience!
The trip is in the beginning planning stages, but before we go any further, we wanted to see who was seriously interested. Timing is crucial now as we’d need to decide and get deposits in June in order to finalize plans.
Below are general parameters:
Suggested itinerary:
Oct 17: Depart US for Paris
Oct 18: Arrive Paris in the am, connect to TGV at Charles de Gaulle and head to Provence. Trip is 2 hours 40 minutes. Welcome Apero at hotel and early dinner.
Oct 19: Full day in Provence tasting wine at several superstar wineries including Chateau d’Escalans and Chateau St. Maur
Oct 20: Cooking class/lunch at Oustau Baumaniere in Les Baux. Jean Andre has two Michelin stars!
Oct 21: Wednesday morning market in St. Remy. Picnic with wine and afternoon tasting
Oct 22: Fly from Marseilles to Bordeaux, possible early lunch in the beautiful city of Bordeaux
Oct 23: Full day Bordeaux — Day in right bank visiting famed hillside village of St. Emilion and head to world class wineries
Oct 24: Full day Bordeaux –Day in Entre-deux-Mers with wineries and visit to historic sites in the city
Oct 25: Full day Bordeaux — Day in left bank visiting top wineries
Oct 26: Depart Bordeaux for Paris or home.
**The trip would only be able to accommodate 10-12 people
**Approximate Cost: approximately $4,500-5,000 per person (double occupancy). This would include just about everything except the international airfare to and from France, and maybe one dinner.
If the trips are popular, I would like to host one in Spain and another in Italy next spring and fall.
Also, I’m looking at a mid-August overnight trip to Napa with a great itinerary. Will keep you all posted on that.
PLEASE LET US KNOW ASAP AS WE NEED TO GET MOVING.
Can’t wait to hit the road with you all! Trust me…you’ll never be the same.
Cheers!
Leslie