Experience the Treasures of Europe…
Great wines and hidden vineyards… Savvy shopping for antiques, vintage and design… Vibrant regional cuisine… Authentic Christmas markets… Up-close encounters… Art, music and local culture. Featured in USA Today, Country Living and Australian House and Garden…
German Pinot Noir Road Tour –
With Tasting Led by David Schildknecht
Aug. 25 – Sept. 1, 2013
The German Wine Country Tour for Pinot lovers. Limited to a small number of travelers. Reserve now…
REVOLUTION IN RED German Rieslings have gone cult. German Pinots aren’t far behind.
Stay ahead of the curve and join a small group of wine enthusiasts on a tasting tour this August to savor the bounty and beauty of Germany’s great undiscovered Pinots (Spätburgunder) and other reds. Most of them are still unknown outside Germany. You’re going to love them!
This tour is offered in cooperation with the
German Wine Institute and the VDP.
Visit some of Germany’s top wine regions, including the Rhine area, the Pfalz (Palatinate), Franconia, Baden and the Black Forest. Estate visits, tastings and meetings with the winemakers are included in the tour.
Expertly planned and fully-escorted, our German Reds tour is the very first of its kind. It is is offered in cooperation with the German Wine Institute and the VDP (Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates), the country’s elite association of upper-tier winemakers.
Eight nights, nine days, worshop and Pinot tasting with top U.S. wine critic David Schildknecht, private driver, hand-picked hotels — estate visits, private tastings, food moments and cultural highlights included.A great pick for wine-lovers, trend scouts, wine activists, slow foodies and gourmands. Join us!
The Wines and Vineyards of Franconia —
Including a Day at the Grape Harvest – October 11-18, 2013
Celebrate Franconia, its vineyards, its wines and its winemakers and help bring in the harvest!
THE MAIN RIVER VALLEY… The Medieval city of Miltenberg and the regal wine capitol Würzburg… The walled villages of Volkach and Prichsenstadt… Löwenstein Palace and Hallburg Castle…
Does the idea of zeroing in on the wines, winemaking and cuisine of a single region appeal to you? Join us for this discovery tour and enjoy Franconian wine country at the most romantic time of the year.
Franconia is Germany’s “Capitol of Dry.” Its best crisp whites, red and rosés have a loyal following among serious wine-lovers in Germany. But ask the average wine fan in the U.S. about Frankenwein and you’ll draw a blank. Few Franconian wines make it to the States. This fall, we’ll pull back the curtain and see what we’ve been missing.
Franconians have been making wine since time immemorial. Most of the local winemaking is still centered along the Main River, which snakes its way through this sliver of northern Bavaria, providing a home to one Medieval wine village after another in a beautiful mash-up of vines, slopes and ancient estates.
German-bound tourists from the U.S. typically make a bee-line for southern Bavaria and entirely overlook this pocket of Bavaria. The Main valley will be the vector for our journey, and we’ll follow it from the red wine stronghold Bürgstadt in the east, past the dazzling Wine Capitol Würzburg, all the way to the ancient walled wine village of Volkach in the East.
You’ll meet the growers and vintners, see the estates, and experience winemaking from from the inside out. Party at the Iphöfer Fall Wine Festival. Experience the quiet delights of the choicest seasonal wine taverns in the region. Meet German winemaker of the year, Paul Fürst. See the region’s castles up close. Visit caves in Sommerach, Miltenberg and Sommerhausen. Tour the estate of Prince Castell, two elegant wineries in Würzburg, and several others. Get up close and personal with the grapes and help out a local family with the harvest at the vineyard of an estate in the heart of wine country. It’s incredible fun!
Provence Truffle Immersion Tour
Hunting for Black Gold in Southern France
February 20-27, 2014
Sample the Region’s Delights at the Peak of the Season
HUNT, HARVEST AND SAVOR THE TRUFFLE, one of God’s choicest gifts to humankind on our special February terroir tour, which is timed for the peak of Truffle Season.
Seven nights/eight days, regional inns, a private truffle hunt, wine tastings, truffle market, a special cooking lesson, truffle tasting and more. What’s not to like?
Be forewarned: You’re signing up for eight days of unrepentant, self-indulgent culinary porn. Live the dream! You’ll be traveling the Truffle Trail with a small band of gastro geeks, culinary adventurers and slow foodies, celebrating all things truffle for eight days straight.
February is decidedly off-season in Provence. That’s one of the great things about traveling there this time of year. The summer crowds are no where in sight. The weather is mild and there’s a feeling of anticipation in the air as the region’s truffeurs take to their hunting grounds.
So primal and so intoxicating is the truffle that most people can remember the first time and place they tasted one even years later. This tour is all about getting in the spirit of truffle season and living out your passion. You’ll yield to the taste, lore and mystery of the aristocratic black tuber. You’ll learn where it grows, how to find it, how to cook with it and you’ll experience how it can elevate even the simplest of meals with waves of subtlety and flavor that leave you on the edge of your chair.
Other artisanal products abound, and there will be plenty of opportunity to sample them while we’re on the road. Hightlights include olives and olive oil, native cheeses, cured meats, wine and lavender. This is a region where people take the joys of the table seriously!
The truffle is proof that there is a God and that she loves us. Let our truffle immersion tour make a believer of you. Join us in February!
Our Signature Antiques and Design Tour
Fall Antiques Extravaganza
Sept. 25 – Oct. 4, 2013
Join Us for this Exciting European Antique Tour in September. Space is limited.
SHOP FOR BARGAINS IN EUROPE’S ATTIC From “Baroque to Box Lots” Experience the imperial cities of Prague, Leipzig and Bamberg plus glorious northern Bavaria, deepest Saxony and remotest Bohemia on a one-of-kind antiques and design tour. We’ll be taking in Europe’s best antique markets, under-the-radar shops and wholesalers! Space is limited — Book Now.
Furniture, decor and design objects, vintage, small antiques, art, collectibles estate finds and much more. Whether you’re a dealer, designer or trend scout… Whether antiques are your business, your passion or your pastime… There’s no better time to shop than now. And there’s no better place to do it than Central Europe, where the selection is immense and the antiques are more affordable than in France, Italy, Belgium and the U.K.
Featured in Country Living, Australian House and Garden and USA Today…
Enchanted Christmas Markets Tour
Including Germany’s Toy Route - December 1-9, 2013
Experience the romance and magic of Christmas with all your senses on this fully-guided tour!
A CHRISTMAS GETAWAY to the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bamberg and the imperial city of Dresden… Lauscha, Seiffen, the Ore Mountains and the back roads of secret Saxony… Christmas shopping, holiday traditions and regional cuisine. It will be a Christmas adventure like no other.
Join us on the Christmas Trail!
- Shop for traditional Christmas decorations, toys, collectibles and antiques, linens, folk art and other treasures
- Meet local toymakers and get a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of their craft and traditions.
- Visit a family of glassblowers at home and look over their shoulder as they make and decorate historical glass Kugel ornaments.
- Meet one of Germany’s top authorities on Christmas antiques from the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountain region), visit his workshop and see his collection.
- Visit the Imperial Cathedral and crypt where Kaiser Heinrich II is buried; tour Dresden and other cities and see the world famous Frauenkirche.
- Sample the beauties of historical nativity scenes on a special guided crèche tour led by a local specialist.
- Scour Christmas markets, shops and specialty stores for one-of-a-kind decorations, Christmas collectibles and traditional crafts.
- Enjoy the music of the season
- Sample gourmet treats of the season — roast goose, Christmas Stollen cake, authentic gingerbread, hot-mulled wine, Christmas beers and other specialties…
The tour starts and ends in Frankfurt. It is fully guided, and includes airport transfers, accommodations, nine meals, full itinerary, workshop visits and shopping and more. We will travel by coach, witgh a private driver.
The Small-Group Difference
You’ll explore and experience the delights of Christmastime in Germany with the kind of depth that is impossible in a conventional sightseeing tour. We design our trips especially for small groups. With only 10-20 guests, we can include the kinds of encounters, extras and special touches that make a trip truly memorable.
Join us for an unforgettable adventure this December!
