The dinner party goes to France
Recently we were approached by Connie Tompkins, owner of local travel agency A Travel Resource, to lead a wine tour to France. As you might imagine we accepted without pause and started to contact some of our favorite winemakers there to put together a trip to see them and taste some great "old world" wine. Originally we had targeted fall of this year to make the trip all the time realizing that might not be enough notice for most folks to make a journey of this scope.
In fact it turned out to be not enough lead time. We have now booked the dates, set up the tour and are taking reservations for what promises to be a keenly focused wine and food adventure through some of our favorite appellations of France. The trip is set for May 18-26, 2013. We will be flying from Spokane to de Gaulle airport in Paris.
A day and a half in Paris will include a dinner at La Coupole, another at Bistro Paul Bert, a wine bar tasting as well as all the sightseeing of your liking. La Coupole, located on the Left Bank, has occupied the same space for more than a century and over decades has witnessed the political discourse of some of history's most noteworthy politicians, art exhibits and discussions of some of the most well-known artists and authors. It is one of the classic Parisian cafes that raises roast chicken and French fries or "poulet roti et frites" to an art form.
After Paris we head south to Burgundy, the heart of France's wine country and home to some of the most famous producers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on the planet. While there we will taste Chablis produced by Roland Lavantureux, an incredible Chardonnay that turns the heads of even those wine enthusiasts who say "I only drink red wine." We will spend the night in Beaune, a town whose restaurants are without compare. More tasting too at Domaine de Villaine, the same family that owns Domaine Romanee-Conti, the winery that produces the most sought after Pinot Noir in a region known for producing the best Pinot.
The next day we will head further south to Lyon and the appellation of Beaujolais, where we will lunch and taste the wines of Domaine Diochon. This tiny appellation is known for producing fabulous vintage Gamay Beaujolais, the "big brother" to Nouveaux Beaujolais. The wine is richer, more concentrated and flat out so much better than Nouveaux Beaujolais and its overly light style.
After lunch we continue to head further south to Avignon and the storied appellation of Chateauneuf du Pape. The area around Avignon was the seat of the Roman Catholic Papacy in the 14th century when it relocated there from Rome. The Avignon Popes were known for the love of wine and vineyards were planted that today produce some fabulous and tough to come by wines. We will taste at Domaine de Vieux Telegraphe while there and have time to walk the streets of this historic city and if you choose visit the new castle of the pope the translation of Chteauneuf du Pape. Your dinner is at leisure that night in Avignon but some of our most memorable meals occurred from just wandering into the first bistro or cafe that looked good to us.
And finally we head to Bandol for the last leg of our journey. This charming seaside town is known for growing the Mourvedre grape and some legendary wineries that produce both dry rose and red wine from this noble varietal. The last night of our tour we will enjoy a dinner at Domaine Terrebrune winery, one of the best producers in the region.
The combination of travel expertise from Connie and her team, and the help of our distributors and importers we have assembled one of the great wine and food tours accessible from right here in North Idaho. Cost is $3,892.40 per person based on double occupancy, although single and triple occupancy is also available. The cost includes most everything including airfare, although some of those who have signed up will already be in Europe or are traveling from other parts of the globe so airfare modification is an option too.
The best way to have your questions answered or to make adjustments to the trip to have it work for you is to call Connie at (208) 667-4775, or give us a call here at the dinner party (208) 765-5653. You can also get more information by visiting the website for the trip at http://www.winedanddinedinfrancetour.com/, where A Travel Resource has added the option of being able to pay a portion of the trip cost a bit at a time. Space is limited so we urge you to sign up soon, to join us for what we expect to be a "tour de force" of French wine and food.
If there is a topic you would like to read about or questions on wine you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.
George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party - a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and writes frequently for the online version of Coeur d'Alene Magazine at www.cdamagazine.com. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.