Classic Wine Tour
Explore French, Italian, Spanish wine regions (and many more) on a Classic Wine Tour
Typically an ‘Arblaster & Clarke Classic Wine Tour’ is a longer multi-centre wine tour to classic european wine regions and how you make the journey is part of the tour! There will be special appointments and high quality tastings at wineries and chateaux that are very well known or up and coming stars of tomorrow. These are private invitations to dine at wine estates so that you can taste the wines as they should be enjoyed, with traditional local food.
The tour are will cover two or more regions in one country, or indeed travelling to two countries giving you an overview of the different regions. On a ‘Classic Wine Tour’, you will have the sense that you are on a tour that is a journey truly exploring the regions and offering a special and privileged insight, perhaps visiting parts of Europe that you may not have had the chance to escape to before. You’ll appreciate the differences and similarities in wine styles, grape varieties and wine making and taste some of the finest French, Spanish and Italian wines.
Our Wine Guides are experts, either Masters of Wine or wine journalists, who will help you gain a greater understanding of the wines. Like A&C, they often have great relationships with the wine producers and this is reflected in the welcome that you will be given at our chosen wine visits.
The wine regions are not only in beautiful countryside, but are almost always near towns and cities rich in historical and cultural interest. Knowing that our clients have many special interests beyond just the grape, we leave you some time to explore the cities on foot, and to visit the museums, art galleries and gardens. We can also arrange an optional guided tour with a local guide to give local background on the towns you are staying in.
You can extend your wine tour for a few days at the end to give a longer break and more time to explore the final destination.
The hotels are personally selected by our in-house team for their position and high level of comfort and wherever possible the local character. These are mostly 4* and 5*, but sometimes good 3*.
Where tours include flights we will endeavour to choose the most convenient scheduled flight times for the tour, and these are generally with British Airways from either Gatwick or Heathrow. Where BA does not operate the route or where other scheduled airlines offer better timings we will include these flights instead. The itinerary and website shows which airlines we are using and the approximate time of day. As we are booking flights up to a year ahead, flights can change from Gatwick to Heathrow or vice-versa and schedules do change throughout the year.
You should check with us before booking any connecting flights or preferably ask us to do this for you so that you can be booked onto the correct onward flights.
Joining on Location
If you would like to make your own travel arrangements for any of the tours in the brochure, you can join us on location. Several of the French tours are convenient to access by train or self-drive.
Where a flight or train is included we can usually deduct the travel cost. On our coach tours it is also possible for you to travel out by plane or train and to come back with us by coach with your wine purchases. There is no deduction for not taking the coach in one or both directions.
If your travel plans are different from the main tour please check with us at the time of booking what arrangements can be made for picking you up or dropping you off.
View Tours Coming Up Other Ideas and Past Tours
New Wines of Greece
23 - 30 October 2011
Greek wine has changed beyond recognition over the past 25 years. The changes have been at least as profound as say New Zealand or Austria. The generation of pioneers has been followed by a new generation sporting their degree…
The Great Wines & Food of Northern Italy
16 - 22 October 2011
On this gastronomic wine tour we’ll discover, at source, many of Italy’s famous delicacies in the culinary heartland of Italy, Emilia-Romagna and Piemonte. Explore the wonderful food markets and enjoy great wines along with the…
Switzerland, the Jura & Burgundy by Train
11 - 17 September 2011
This unique and innovative harvest time wine tour takes in two very different wine regions, Switzerland and Burgundy, and travels through the Jura region between them making the journey part of the holiday. We promise those …
Friuli, Istria & Slovenia
13 - 19 June 2011
This fascinating tour takes in three beautiful countries: Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. It combines the undiscovered wines of Istria in the north-west of Croatia, the world class whites of Friuli in Italy and the increasingly im…
The Rhône by Train
25 - 30 April 2011
This superb Rhone wine tour is led by internationally acclaimed wine writer, Andrew Jefford, author of the New Wines of France and contributor to The Spectator, FT and other wine columns. The Rhone is France’s second largest …
Burgundy & Beaujolais By Coach or Train
24 - 28 October 2010
This popular tour is a great introduction to Burgundy and Beaujolais. The tour includes visits to good Burgundy domaines and negociants who also offer good value, not always easy to find as well as a day spent out in the beauti…
Southern Tuscany & Chianti Classico
18 - 23 October 2010
This fully revised Italian wine tour to Southern Tuscany & Chianti Classico encompasses two of Italy’s great classic wine regions.
We start with the cult wine region of Bolgheri on the coast in Southern Tuscany. Our base …
Alsace by Train
11 - 15 October 2010
Alsace must rank as one of the most beautiful and charming of all fine wine regions, it must also be the single most misunderstood! With its location on the German border and Germanic sounding grape varieties, it is easy to see…
Great Wines of Northern Spain
27 September - 4 October 2010
This great tour in the autumn of 2010 took in some of the great regions of Northern Spain: Ribera del Duero, Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Baja, Navarra, Campo de Borja and Calatayud.
From Madrid we drove north to the s…
New Year in Turin
30 December 2009 - 2 January 2010
The Arblaster & Clarke New Year tours are a great way to relax after the hard work of Christmas and to celebrate in a beautiful location. These holidays have long been an annual A&C tradition and are enjoyable, convivial breaks…
Puglia, Southern Italy
10 - 15 October 2009
Puglia, the heel of Italy is Southern Italy’s powerhouse wine region. The production is more than Germany and almost as much as Australia. This may seem surprising but it is not new, Puglia has been producing a lot of good wi…
Stars of Rioja
23 - 27 September 2009
Join us as we take in an informal, yet in depth tour of this fascinating region of Northern Spain, whilst enjoying tastings with some favourite wine producers. The wines of Rioja have never been more popular, and quite rightly …
New Year in Amalfi
29 December 2008 - 2 January 2009
The Arblaster & Clarke New Year tours are a great way to relax after the hard work of Christmas and to celebrate in a beautiful location. These holidays have long been an annual A&C tradition and are enjoyable, convivial breaks…
Ravenna, Urbino & The Marche
26 - 31 October 2008
On this fabulous wine holiday we visit Le Marche which nestles between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennine mountains and has beautiful, unspoilt landscapes, dotted with many secret villages. One of the most dynamic of Italy’s win…
The Loire by Train
25 - 30 October 2008
The base for the tour is the town of Saumur with its famous castle. Our hotel is a particularly comfortable well run 3* with a lovely, riverside position and a good restaurant.
We start by looking at the local red, Saumur-C…
Provence in the Spring
22 - 27 April 2008
Provence as an historical entity was created by the Romans, who regarded it as a ‘province’ of their empire and indeed, Provence saw the first plantings of vines in Gaul when the Greeks introduced them in the 6th century BC. En…
Campania & Naples in the Spring
26 - 30 March 2008
This new itinerary explores Campania, staying on the bay of Naples convenient for our wine visits here and in Naples itself. The viticultural heartland of Campania is just inland from the volcano of Vesuvius. Here we find the e…
New Year in Barcelona
30 December 2007 - 2 January 2008
The Arblaster & Clarke New Year tours are a great way to relax after the hard work of Christmas and to celebrate away from home. These holidays are long been an annual A&C tradition and are enjoyable, convivial breaks in comfor…
New Year in Lucca
30 December 2007 - 2 January 2008
This relaxing New Years break stays at the unspoilt Tuscan town of Lucca and includes visits to three of this regions top wine estates.
Lucca, Puccini’s birthplace, was an independent city-state until the nineteenth centur…
Austria Wine Tour
29 October - 3 November 2007
The renaissance of Austrian wine is in full swing. The dark age is a long time behind it and we are now in the era of masterpieces and inspiration. On this timely tour we’ll meet most of the great winemakers who are driving A…
Burgundy
21 - 25 October 2007
Visit the classic French vineyards of Burgundy just after harvest time when there are plenty of exciting new stories to catch up on, and when there may still be some activity in the vineyards and cellars. The vineyards will be …
Corsica & Sardinia
16 - 23 September 2007
Both the Corsicans and the Sardinians are fiercely independent mountain people, paradoxically living close to the the sea but having traditionally little to do with it. Over the years the inhabitants of these islands tended to …
Slovenia & Friuli
7 - 12 July 2007
This tour combines the little known wines of Slovenia and the glorious whites of Friuli in Italy. We start in Slovenia’s picturesque capital city, Ljubljana, a small bustling University city. The river Ljubljanica runs throug…
Port & Barco Rabelos
22 - 25 June 2007
On the eve of Sao Joao (St John, the patron Saint of Porto) this normally subdued and hard working city goes wild. From the magnificent iron bridge built by Eiffel’s pupil, a breathtaking display of fireworks cascade at midni…
Duero & Douro
28 May - 3 June 2007
This is a fascinating opportunity to follow the course of the River Duero from Spain until it becomes the Douro in Portugal and down to the river mouth at Oporto. This tour stays at luxurious accommodation, including at wine es…
Tuscany in Harvest, small party tour
Contact us for dates.
With harvest in full swing in Tuscany at this time, the vineyards will be a hive of activity. This outstanding value tour gives you the excuse to get some Autumn warmth before winter! The vines on the gentle, cypress-tree dott…
Alsace and Mosel by Train
Contact us for dates.
This superb tour to Alsace and the Mosel has featured in the Arblaster & Clarke programme since 1989 and remained extremely popular ever since. We stay in Trier, the oldest city in Germany with many Roman remains. There is a…
Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Chablis & Champagne
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For the best that the Sauvignon Blanc grape can produce, we visited the vineyards of Sancerre & Pouilly Fumé; to taste some outstanding wines made from Chardonnay we tasted at several small domaines around Chablis in Northern …
Rioja & Northern Spain
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This closely replicates our first Spanish tour in 1989. Then, as now we focus on the top wines of northern Spain and on visiting our favourite bodegas. We aim to show you the essence of this part of the real Spain, its rustic …
Bordeaux (St Emilion) & Cognac by Train
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Arblaster & Clarke’s Classic Wine Tours by train are becoming an important part of our repertoire and we are pleased to include this special trip taking in the beautiful traditional wine town of St Emilion as well as the attrac…
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