Last year I was in Chile. I only had a few days. I really wanted to learn about the wine scene there, but I was unfamiliar with the country, reliant on public transport and had no industry contacts. So I browsed Trip Advisor, selected the tour that seemed to have the best wine visit content and next day was collected by a bus and away we went!
It was well organised. The bus was comfortable, the tour guide engaging, and the itinerary packed with value for the general tourist. I did enjoy it. But it wasn’t really the focused kind of wine experience I was looking for. The guide had a wealth of general knowledge about Chile and the places we were visiting, but he didn’t have any depth of wine knowledge. The first visit was a kind of eco-farm with wine production. Wonderful demonstration of sustainable, regenerative farming, lots of different things to see. Had some nice food platters with the wines served. But the wines were – rustic. I’m sure the reds were bretty. My tour companions had fun, I found it interesting, but it wasn’t really the elevated wine experience I was after.
Next stop was a famous winery with some outstanding flagship wines. But we were a big tour group and were just given a packaged introduction to their ordinary, entry-level wines. No opportunity to taste the flagships. A similar experience with the next, also famous winery. Nice overview of the grounds and especially the special small plot with different grape varieties planted, but no opportunity to taste the top wines or discuss the winemaking in any depth.
This is a common pattern. And for good reasons. Most tour operators want volume and for that they need broad appeal. They still got me as a customer because in the absence of something catering specifically for my interests, at least I got some of what I wanted.
This got me thinking. Surely, I am not alone? Surely there are people out there, like me, who want to focus on wine when they are visiting a wine district, who want to taste the best the region has to offer, who want to understand more about the philosophy and practices of the winemaker?
And so, my custom tour offering for Martinborough was born. Take away nothing from the very good tour operators here already. They share their great regional knowledge to curate a broad experience of what the region has to offer, and they do include some of the wines.
But I’m not a general tour guide. I’m not going to take you to the Lighthouse, the Pinnacles, or to taste olive oil. I’m a qualified wine specialist. With me, you won’t be in a bus, you’ll be in your own small group of up to 4 people, perhaps you and your partner with another individual or couple with the same tour objectives. I’ll clarify those objectives with you and put together an itinerary focused on the wines you want to explore. You’ll get to taste flagship wines, learn about the winemaker’s philosophy, and have your questions answered by a knowledgeable expert. I’m your guide to an elevated wine experience!
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