ARBLASTER & CLARKE WINE TOURS 2012

For the online version of the Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours 2012 Brochure, double-click on the icon below. You can also visit the Download Centre where you can download in sections. Do call or email us and we will send you a printed copy of the brochure, our 25th anniversary edition, with updates and news.

GREAT CHATEAUX & WINERY VISITS

Travelling with Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours, you will be treated to private wine tastings in the top wine regions of France, including the most renowned Bordeaux chateaux. In the beautiful vineyards of Alsace, in the Rhone and Burgundy you’ll be invited into top growers’ cellars.

Beyond France, in Italy, Spain, Portugal and many other countries including the New World such as Chile, New Zealand and South Africa, you’ll experience special visits and tastings at top wineries; you’ll taste great, rare and undiscovered wines. You’ll also enjoy gourmet and regional food, deliciously matched to the wines, often as a private guest at a great chateau or winery.

CHAMPAGNE WEEKENDS

The programme includes our famous and original escorted Champagne Weekends, offered many times a year, every year since 1987. On these, you’ll taste at least 25 Champagnes, visit the caves, have comparative tastings, enjoy a meal at one of the cellars and enjoy Champagne breakfasts every day! See also our Ultimate Champagne Tour, Luxury Champagne Extra Tour and our Champagne festivals.

WINE CRUISE, SEA CLOUD 8 – 15 July 2012

Our Mediterranean small ship wine cruise on the luxury square-rigger ‘Sea Cloud‘ Sails from Rome to Ischia, Amalfi, Sardinia, Elba, St Tropez to Nice. (Just 50 people can sail with us on this beautiful ship. Cabins now limited – call urgently to book). See Wine Cruises

NEW TOURS for 2012

Georgia: Explore the world’s oldest continuous wine culture with Tim Clarke.

Gourmet Istanbul: Staying in a traditional boutique hotel in Sultanahmet, includes cookery classes, a fascinating walking culinary exploration of the city and a Turkish wine tasting.

Gourmet Provence with a Michelin star chef.
A delightful new gourmet cookery holiday staying in a beautiful hilltop town in Provence with wines from Bandol and Cassis.

Ribera del Duero Vineyard Walk: Explore Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Toro on this great new vineyard walk. Last few places

25th Anniversary Champagne Festival: Our Festival in Reims at the medieval meeting house of the Counts of champagne will be attended by Champagne Houses including; Taittinger, Bollinger, Philiponnat, Cattier, Goutorbe, Vilmart, Brice, Ployez-Jacquemart and Hatté and others. There’s also a Gala dinner with Taittinger and lunch with Vilmart. Join us!

NEW WORLD WINE TOURS

There are two New World wine tours in 2012, to South Africa and Chile, Argentina & Uruguay. Plans for 2013 include Australia, New Zealand and California.

OPERA & WINE TOURS & OPERA BREAKS

Our Opera programme for 2012 features Wine & Opera tours to Italy; to the Verona festival: and Paris, Champagne & Opera. Plus Private Opera trips to ‘La Scala’, Milan, ‘La Fenice’, Venice, ‘Staatsoper’, Vienna and the Verona Festival. There is also date for the Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago, Tuscany.

EXPERT LED WINE TOURS

Arblaster & Clarke’s wine tours are led by knowledgeable, approachable wine experts. They include “Masters of Wine’ (MWs), Wine Writers, merchants and consultants, including some of the top names in the wine-world.

With our Wine Guides, many of whom are good friends with the wine-makers and chateaux owners, you’ll get the most out of your visits to the cellars and wine regions. They will comment on wines and explain the terroir and history, normally with ‘insider’ stories and humour. They also often host their own tastings, so you learn about (and enjoy!) further wines.

25 YEARS OF GREAT WINE TOURS

At Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours our passion is, and always has been, simply to give you a great wine tours holiday! On our wine tours, you’ll experience and learn about fine wines and the places and cultures that make them.

These are wine holidays with joie-de-vivre, not just educational trips. They are designed with our love and knowledge of the wine regions and with the benefit of many years of experience.

“Trips are expensive, but the operator is the best of its kind”. – Daily Telegraph, 21 January 2012.

Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours are unrivalled as the world’s leading specialist wine tour operator. We pioneered the concept of wine tourism in many parts of France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and other places, and were often the first serious visitors to many wine producers, regions and even countries which have since become famous.

Your wine visits and tastings will be in depth. You’ll often meet the wine-makers and owners in person at the wineries, chateaux or Champagne cellars, who know that our clients are keen to learn more, are consumers of fine wine and really appreciate meeting them. All of our wine visits are hand-picked by our own in-house team of very experienced wine experts. Visits are chosen from up and coming stars, the “ones to watch” for the future and to world-famous chateaux.

CHOOSING YOUR WINE HOLIDAY

Or explore the web-site by date or theme

Last Minute is for departures coming up in the next couple of weeks/months.
Dates & Prices takes you to a full list of winetours organised by date, including tours already scheduled for next year and and a range of tours that have gone ahead in the past.
Destinations shows you the full range of wine regions we visit, from Bordeaux & Tuscany to Australia, South Africa & Chile.
Types of Holidays gives the full range: Luxury Winetours, Walking trails in the vineyards, Wine Weekends, Private Groups, Opera breaks, wine cruises….

VIDEO of our Port Harvest Wine Tour!

MORE ABOUT A&C’s ORIGINAL WINE TOURS

Arblaster & Clarke is run by founders Lynette Arblaster & Tim Clarke and our team of experienced multi-lingual wine travel specialists. We offer the most imaginative and widest selection of winetours available anywhere in the world.

We do all our own research to create our wonderful wine tours and we make all the arrangements ourselves. More than this, you may find that the person you speak to on the phone or correspond with is the person who travels with you on your tour. In this world of ever larger corporations such personal service from the market leader is rare.

NO SURCHARGE GUARANTEE & 100% FINANCIAL PROTECTION

Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours gives you a “No Surcharge Guarantee”. Once we’ve confirmed your tour price, there will be NO currency, fuel or other surcharges. You will NEVER pay more for booking early with A&C, but you may well do so for booking at the last minute when flight and train prices will be higher and when the original hotel from the tour may be fully booked meaning that the only available rooms or hotel are at a higher price to you.

Arblaster & Clarke is the only specialist wine tour operator offering 100%, externally regulated financial protection whether you choose to fly, travel by train, coach or car, and no matter where in the world you are travelling from. Why this is important for you.

The 2012 & early 2013 wine tours are already attracting a very high level of interest, and some tours are already nearly sold out.

Any Questions, Please Call Us!

We are very happy to talk to you about our wonderful holidays; the escorted wine tours, opera tours and vineyard walks. We love our tours and are sure you will too!

THE BLOG

See Tim Clarke’s postings from Georgia in the Caucasus, the world’s oldest wine culture. As the most experienced person on the planet on the subject of wine tourism, Tim was asked to go to Georgia to write a strategy report on wine tourism as part of Georgia’s ‘Economic Prosperity Initiative’. Apart from articles on Georgia, there is also a brief report on Tim’s presentation on the economic impact of Wine Tourism in Oporto, and tour reports such as our Burgundy Vineyard Walk last May. Go to the blog

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Go to the FLAGS at the bottom of the page.

© Arblaster and Clarke Wine Tours 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this site including any part of our booking conditions may be copied.

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