Planning my first trip to Europe mid next year. Will be a mainly sightseeing trip (Scotland, Cinque Terre, French Alps) with a few wine days.
For wine - Will have about a day and a half in Barolo area and 2-3 days near Lyon to visit Burgundy, N Rhone and/or Beaujolais. Have a few questions and looking for feedback.
Buying/shipping wine back. - I am not viewing this as a wine buying excursion, but if I am visiting wineries, I will feel obliged to be buying some. What do people do for logistics of getting wine back to the states? Check as luggage? Ship from some place there at the end of the trip? Will be flying back from Lyon. Shipping back won’t really be ideal as it will be early summer and I would be worried about heat in transit.
Winery visit recommendations - In general, I am not a major collector and would feel more comfortable visiting solid producers but not the really top end folks where all the wines would be out of my price range. In short, would love to be steered towards the ‘Ridge and Carlisle’ of these areas if there is such a thing.
Barolo/Piemonte - Have had very little Piemonte so I am not that familiar with producers. Looking at websites of some of the producers that I can buy here, it looks like most are very open to visitors as long as you make reservations. Plan to start buying/tasting some over the next few months to get a little familiarity, but would welcome suggestions steering me in the right direction.
Wine in checked baggage works fine but be careful with the timing of your airline connections to avoid bags either missing the connection and left behind or sitting on a tarmac for extended periods.
For a case, The Wine Check works well (but be sure to use a fully intact shipping box within; I found out the hard way that the outer box is just as important as the shipper core). (Stand by for the Berserker Day offer!)
For a handful of bottles in regular luggage, I have had good luck with the Wine Skin. They have a glue seal that is tight but you can also put them in a sealed bag if you are very concerned about leaks.
I have had mixed success at US customs; sometimes being waved through and sometimes being inspected and asked to pay a small tariff. I always declare - it’s not worth risking federal charges.
I have had some interesting experiences with other countries’ customs offices…Korea wasn’t very happy about me porting sakes of hard-to-determine value from Japan on a multi-country jaunt but they ultimately relented. Keep invoices handy.
Burgundy - Here is the area where I probably most want some advice. I am trying to figure out if wine visits in the Cote D’Or are even feasible for me.
First, am I correct in the conclusion I am starting to reach that most places in Burgundy are not open to visitors? Just looking through the producers listed on the “Your favorite sub $30 Bourgogne Rouge” thread on the wine talk page, I can’t find websites for any of them? Do none of these take visitors?
Second, even if I can make an appointment at a place, I would want to make sure I am not getting myself in over my head on wine purchase expectations from the producer.
I did see that Louis Jadot has a tasting room in Beaune and it looks like there are a handful of touristy wine domains open in the area. Not sure if these are worth spending time.
Would like to taste somewhere in Cote de Nuits or Cote de Beaune, but wondering if I should just drive through the area to at least see the famous vineyards but do tasting somewhere more low key like Maconnais or hit some of the Beaujolais crus.
Thanks for the feedback. THe wineskin looks intriguing. There will be 3 of us traveling back to the states together, so 2 or 3 bottles per suitcase would keep us from having to drag around bulky wine box and check separately.
We filled them, shipped another two cases home and packed two bottles in our suitcase! As you’re tasting you’ll find great wines and great values (in italy anyway) and youll want to buy them. Wineries were willing to ship direct but it gets costly if you’re only buying a few bottles from each, which is where the wine carriers come in handy. Load it into your car when you start the day and fill it as you go, then wheel it to your hotel room - very convenient. It also locks and can be opened by TSA, but nobody else. If someone wants it they can of course get in or take it, but its a little extra security.
The Wine check and box is just one thing. The styro goes in the box and the box goes in the check; I.e. the check is just a wrap around the box with a handle and wheels.
Checking bags, you may only need it for navigating the front of the airport and the hotel lobby but I have found it to be worthwhile.
Indeed in Piemonte there are lots of good producers that happily take visitors. Some may state a small charge that is usually waived if one buys a couple of bottles. I would say that this is a very approachable region in terms of winery visits.
The Northern Rhône likewise has plenty of awesome small wineries to visit but here one cannot take for granted that the vigneron speaks English. The negociants have tasting rooms where English is spoken and you can taste through a wide range of wines from different appellations but most probably you will be then meeting with sales people.
I have personally visited just one producer in Côte d’Or (Dubreuil-Fontaine) so definitely cannot speak in general. However in your case (which is largely similar to mine) I would aim for producers that have a solid reputation, are not tiny or and perhaps not working with the grandest of appellations. Thus probably Côte de Beaune would be a safe bet.
You’ll have less of a problem in Burgundy than you might think. During my most recent visit in October 2016 the timing of the harvest/crush/etc was more of an issue than anything else.
If you’re concerned and would like the path of least resistance I would recommend visiting Jadot and/or Bouchard Pere et Fils. Both are large negocients that offer at least one English tour/tasting daily. There is minimal expectation to buy.
If you want something much less “corporate” I would decide on a couple of producers that you enjoy, hunt down an email address and shoot them a very humble email in French (use Google Translate if you have to) and ask if you might be able to visit.
Many small producers will sell you a case directly if you can create a bond with them. There are agencies that will ship a case (and do the paperwork) back for about $120
Yes, almost all producers will do visits by appointment and the vast majority are very hospitable.
As you just have 1-2 days in the Barolo area, I’d say stick to the Barolo villages, perhaps ideally sticking with visits to the village you’ll be staying in so you can walk between them. After all you have a lot of driving in the trip, so 2-3 winery visits plus a walk through the vineyards might be the perfect antidote. Have you determined which village you’ll be staying in? If not we could also give you the merits of each. Loads of good but un-hyped producers, plus some with good broad ranges. It should be easy for us to offer suggestions in the village you’ll be staying in.
Many can handle requests & visits in English, though the wonderful tourist site langheroero.it has extensive listings including which speak English (it’s mostly correct but sometimes out of date e.g. when a child heads off to or returns from college). In addition, they set up a booking service a while back, which makes it even easier. ~ 6-7 years ago there was no charge, though a penalty charge was applied if you didn’t make the appointment, which seems fair.
In terms of buying wine, yes it’s the decent thing to do to buy a bottle or two, though they do recognise the pains of air travel and I’ve never encountered any pressure to buy in Piemonte - and in the early days we certainly didn’t buy from some visits, even when quite liking the wines (and there wasn’t even a hint of frustration from them). These days I just aim for less visits, so I can buy 1-3 bottles per visit. There is always the opportunity to buy earlier drinking wines, including the whites, barbera, dolcetto, langhe nebbiolo, moscato d’asti, etc. to drink on your travels.
Do let us know where you’re staying and we should be able to give you more than enough options in that village.
Regards
Ian
p.s. Cinque Terre. The coastal paths are rather overcrowded with tourists (ironically exchanging buongiornos with each other, despite being mostly native English speakers. Still I won’t criticise people making an effort). Some times of the year are less busy than others. Still plenty of charm, and the steepness gives rise to some great views, plus it is rather quirky to have trains running through such a visually appealing place. If you have time, head on one of the uphill climbs as they are almost bereft of walkers (unlike the coastal paths). Harder work, but very interesting and rewarding. Also worth a mention is La Spezia, and otherwise somewhat humdrum port town and transport hub… however as is often the case with the humdrum places, the evening passeggiata along central pedestrianised streets is very good indeed, wonderful for people watching, observing cultural differences and simply savouring the joy of human interaction. ~ 4-8 pm.
Thanks for the feedback. Dubreuil-Fontaine sounds intriguing. Never had any of their wine, but they sound like a pretty solid producer based on some of the reviews I read and it sounds like I wouldn’t feel out of place there. I could definitely see this as a possible stop.
As far as picking producers I like, I have probably had 2-3 cases in total, red or white, from Cote de Beaune/Cote de Nuits.
Have had a few Jadot, Faiveley, Frederick Esmonin, J Boillot & Fils as well a 5 or six other single bottles of stuff. Mostly 1er and village level although had 2 or 3 Esmonin GCs from 93 & 95. Most memorable of these were probably a Boillot Beaune 1er and a Faiveley Meursault 1er. Sadly, I don’t remember specifically what they were.
Using Boillot and Esomonin as examples, doing a google search, I get a physical address for Esmonin and a phone #. For J Boillot & Fils, I get nothing other than bottles for sale from various outlets, mostly older vintages. Makes me thinks they may no longer exist. Does Esmonin take visitors? I would be hesitant to call the phone # since I don’t speak french although I am trying to learn a little bit before this trip. I take it the next option would be to send a handwritten note to the physical address and hope for a reply. Or is there some other source of info I am missing on contacts for producers.
Anyway, thanks for the feedback and I have been given some some hope to dig a little deeper to find a possible fit.
Philip, would the producers steer me to the shipping agencies or is that something I would find on my own. Will they hold onto the shipments until fall to avoid sending in summer?
Ian,
Just saw your response. Haven’t booked anything yet. Have had great experience using VRBO in the US, so was leaning towards that route.
Saw some places in/near La Morra and Barolo as strong possibilities. If I was guessing right now, I would say La Morra. Am definitely open to suggestions. Need 2 bedrooms with 2 beds in one of the bedrooms, nothing fancy. Kind of surprised that there are a number of very affordable apartments/home in the area.
Would you steer me towards one town in particular?
Hi David
Yes La Morra is a good choice, plenty there and also a weekly market if you time it right. Some great walks, including some routes to Barolo… but save energy as it’s quite steep coming back into La Morra.
Marcarini worth considering for accomodation and visit. Still very fairly priced wines and I’ve seen good comments on the accomodation.
Mauro Molino, a short walk down the hill in Annunziata one that we return to, though they are modernist-leaning. They are also in very safe hands with the kids who are fine hosts. Renato Ratti is not a place whose wines have excited me, but the visit was very good and they were genuinely proud of their space age (yet environmentally conscious) cantina. Further down the hill on the main road, Cascina Ballarin have a great langhe nebbiolo - a lot of class for the price. The Barolos are more appropriately priced, plus they do experiment with other local varieties.
Apartments certainly give you the option of picking up some nice food and breaking open a bottle or two from winery visits. Definitely our preference. Prices aren’t crazy at all. The place we stayed in 1st time near Cascina Ballarin has now shut for business (the owner had health issues when we were there). Since then we’ve stayed in Monforte (another fine choice of location) and Serralunga (a fraction smaller than the other two, but good as well). Also in nearby Santa Vittoria, but for just 1.5 days I’d recommend being in one of the Barolo villages, rather than a 10-15 min drive away. Plenty of producers with accomodation and this might work out very nicely, as they’ll typically be happy to make reservations for you.
Tentative plans call for flying into Milan on Wednesday morning and then taking train to Cinque Terre for Wed-Fri night. Would leave Cinque Terre on a Saturday morning to travel by train to Genoa, pick up a rental car and drive to La Morra. THe two nights I was planning on staying in La Morra would be Saturday and Sunday night, so the full day there would be a Sunday.
Will everything be closed in La Morra/Barolo on Sunday?
Hi David
There are some wineries that take visitors on a Sunday, but certainly a good number who just take visitors during Mon-Fri. The Langheroero site does list which say they’ll take visitors… again it’s mostly reliable. Perhaps this is where the tourist office booking service (or staying at winery associated accomodation) can help, as they’ll probably know this already. Sunday lunch often a popular thing in Italy, and an agriturismo banquet is often incredibly good value, though oddly we’ve yet to do this in the Langhe.
For Genoa/Genova (from CT), the slow train was ~ 2 hours from recollection, though if you are staying in Riomaggiore, it may be faster to head one stop east to La Spezia, to pick up the faster train. FWIW I found the slow train interesting for the views, though it was a little tatty / busy (in May IIRC)
Just in case… is there any chance you could fly in/out of Genoa/Genova? Although you’d end up backtracking, it’s closer than Milan to both CT and the Langhe (though time-wise it might be similar for the Langhe). Pisa also a good option for CT.
I was in Beaune a few years ago. I only had a day or two and had no problem driving around, discovering and visiting a wineries (Bernard Rion, Chateau de Marsannay, and others). I wanted to ship wine home and it was very easy. After my first purchase, I was able to “add to my order” at other wineries. All I had to do was give the original shipping/order number.
We ended up having 2 more people join our group so need a 3 bedroom place. Ended up booking an apartment on the north edge of Novello.
unfortunately we won’t have a lot of time in barolo - leaving Cinque terre saturday morning, need to pick up rental car and then head to Novello that day. May have time to hit a place saturday afternoon. Will have all day Sunday there and then leave monday morning to head to N Rhone.
Would probably like to try at least one each of traditional vs modern producers.
Let me know if your have any specific recommendations. Thanks again.