Frequently Asked Questions
Choose the FAQs you are interested in...
- Is my payment safe? Should I pay by credit card?
- What is included?
- I've heard that Wine Tours are often cancelled due to lack of support. Is this true?
- Are tours ever cancelled or curtailed due to "Force Majeur"?
- Why do prices vary so much
- What kind of meals are included?
- Do I have to be an expert to come?
- What is the booking procedure?
Is my payment safe? Should I pay by credit card?
Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tours are fully bonded so payment by Credit Card gives no further protection. All flight inclusive holidays on this website are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 2543.
All our other holidays are covered by AITO Trust licence 1005. We belong to AITO, the Association of Independent Tour Operators, which represents the quality, choice and security offered by the UK’s top 150 independent tour operators. The AITO website has links all the member tour operators' sites and is a great place to look for your other holidays.
This bonding covers ALL bookings.
What is included?
Wine visits, good tastings, (some) meals with interesting wines, well chosen accommodation are included. We do not include all meals to leave you freedom of choice. For instance on our free evenings in Champagne some clients go to Gerard Boyer "Les Cayeres" (Michelin 3*), others go to a local bistrot.
Travel from the UK with prepayable departure taxes is normally included, but on some routes such as Australia this is not practical. (Tours are available without flights too).
The specification varies from tour to tour, so do ask to see the detailed itinerary.
I've heard that Wine Tours are often cancelled due to lack of support. Is this true?
This may sound pretty obvious, after all we are a tour operator, however escorted tours have a habit of being cancelled due to "lack of support". Sometimes inexperienced operators, or non-specialists, put on tours and naively hope to fill them, but there are some operators who have programmes which are much larger than they sell and they then systematically "consolidate", cancelling peoples' holidays even at the last minute.
Arblaster & Clarke work in the opposite way to this. We are a fairly well known small company, we are the market leader in Wine Tours worldwide, and our programme is deliberately kept small - and year after year we put on extra tours to meet demand!
With A&C you will often find that tours are fully subscribed. Yes, A&C tours are very occasionally withdrawn, but as our regular clients know, when a tour doesn't sell well, as happens, we go ahead with very low numbers, giving a superb and very good value holiday!
Are tours ever cancelled or curtailed due to "Force Majeur"?
If it is phsycally impossible for a tour to take place, of course it will be cancelled. In practice this is very, very rare. So far, only the night of "Great Storm" of 1987 has stopped us. (And some incorrect Foreign Office advice over Chile which we had no other option but to obey). In both of these cases clients were offered immediate refunds or alternative travel arrangements.
Airlines cancelling routes, strikes, adverse weather and fuel shortage are just a few of the problems we have overcome. It is part of our job as a Tour Operator to overcome obstacles and to minimise their impact on our Clients.
Why do prices vary so much
It is true that the prices of the tours vary considerably. However we try to make sure that the value does not. Clients have consistently rated our most expensive tours (eg "Reserve Collection"), as being “very good value”.
Some tours include extremely expensive elements, such as great vintages of great wines, superb hotels and dinners at top chateaux.
Not withstanding, some of the tours look more expensive than others. This is down to fixed costs being divided by a small number of people. Personal service comes at a price!
As an example, our Rioja Vineyard walk: Before this even went ahead there had been two set up trips each for nearly a week by two people - that is one man-month's work, plus hotels, flights, car hire etc. Then on the tour there is the walk guide, coach etc and the tour itself is for an outside maximum of 16 people to be repeated two or three times a year. Given all that, the tour is actually amazingly good value.
Our tours are designed and set up in house to our own very exacting standards.
What kind of meals are included?
We often have lunches, sumptuous dinners and informal picnics as guests of the estates, the kind of thing that is not possible if you are travelling alone.
We sometimes include meals at restaurants but usually only when we invite a Wine Estate to come along and show their wines over a meal.
For non-included meals you may make your own choice, perhaps using our suggestions from our extensive experience, or you are always welcome to join our team who know the regional cuisine and can guide you through the wine list.
Do I have to be an expert to come?
Don't worry if you haven't heard of any of the Wine Estates or half of the regions. Wine is a beverage, not a competition. Wine tasting holidays with us are sociable holidays with a relaxed atmosphere.
While some tours are for people who are at least fairly knowledgeable all our tours are for people who enjoy the good things in life, especially wine. On all tours there is the opportunity to explore beyond wine.
If your knowledge of wine is extensive, you certainly won’t be disappointed. We have quite a few clients who are members of the wine or restaurant trades or even winemakers themselves.
An Arblaster & Clarke Wine Tour is all about the joie de vivre involved in discovering the wine regions of the world, through the wines and the people who make them. This gives a special insight into a country not found on other kinds of holiday. The wine regions are made up of beautiful countryside and towns rich in history and culture. which is a good way to learn about some of the history and architecture in a short space of time, and there is usually time to visit museums, art galleries and markets, to shop, relax, walk etc.
You’ll immediately feel at ease as these are friendly, welcoming holidays where clients soon become friends with each other, and with our team of Wine Guide and Tour Manager.
We also have many regular travellers some of whom will revisit an area quite a few times to see new cellars, to get a different perspective from another Wine Guide, to pick up some favourite wines or just to enjoy it all again!
What is the booking procedure?
This is explained in simple steps in The booking procedure
