Languedoc Vineyard Tour with Winter Walking & Truffles
A winter break in the Languedoc region of Southern France. Walking amongst the vines in the Minervois, truffle tasting and vineyard touring, a wonderful way to relax.
The tour will be run by Wendy Gedney, an experienced wine teacher who will share with you her passion for this wonderful region. Wendy will be your guide and mentor exploring the vineyards, tasting and sampling wonderful wines and introducing you to some of the interesting characters and history in the region!
Each morning we will walk amongst the vines or across the herb scented hills such as the Petit Causses, that amazing stretch of garrigue smothered rocky land that surrounds the village of minerve.
You will stay in a lovely B & B in the village of Caunes-Minervois. The village has a beautiful abbey, an excellent restaurant and is a lovely place to spend some time wandering through the little medieval streets.
Day One - Friday
We will collect you from Carcassonne airport and take you straight into the Minervois. The tour begins as soon as you
arrive with lunch at one of the superb little restaurants in the region where you will enjoy some excellent dishes accompanied by local wine.
We will walk off our superb lunch in the Black Mountains or Montagne Noire as they are called here. This is a walk with a twist as we are going to meet Olivier and Sandra Galibert at Mazet de la Clamoux a truffiere amongst the forest. Whilst walking in the forest Olivier and Sandra will show us how they hunt for the truffles and afterwards we will enjoy some of their produce such as butter flavoured with truffle oil. We will also taste the olives and oils from their own olive grove in the village of Cabrespine.
Day Two – Saturday
We start the day by heading for the lovely village of Minerve where today’s walk starts by crossing the elegant arched bridge which takes us into the village. The circular walk takes us past the 'Malvoisine' which is a reconstruction of the massive catapult used by Simon DeMontfort during the siege of the village in 1210. The walk winds up next to the incredible gorge created by the river Cesse and heads off across the dry limestone cause where thyme and rosemary grow wild. We will pass through vineyards and olive groves before returning to Minerve an hour and a half later where we will have a wonderful lunch in one of the best restaurant the Minervois has to offer.
In the afternoon we will head off to Chateau Puy to taste the excellent wines produced by this young producer. His Cuvee 7 is one of the finest Minervois reds I have tasted.
Day 3 – Sunday
There is an option early morning walk at 7.30 before breakfast before we will head for St Chinian which is a pretty little town with an excellent Sunday market where you can stroll amongst the stalls and delight in the local produce. Afterwards we will head over the hills to Saint-Jean-du-Minervois and to a tiny boutique winery called Clos du Gravillas. Here we will meet John and Nicole who will show us around their vineyard and winery and we will taste their fabulous range of wines including the fortified Muscat grown on the limestone soils that this village is so famous for. Opposite the winery is a lovely auberge where we will enjoy lunch accompanied by Clos du Gravillas wines.
Day 4 – Monday
After breakfast we will transfer you to Carcassonne airport for your return flight.
Dates 2010
February 19 - 22
March 19 - 22
Please note that the walks included in this tour are optional and you will need to be reasonably fit, be used to relgularly walking for at least 2 hours and you wil need to bring walking boots
How to Book
You can either book on-line by following the link to your preferred dates below or if you would prefer to discuss the tour please contact Wendy on 07880 796786 or email her at wendy@thewinewisecompany.com