Few things in life are more uplifting than luxury wine tours of picturesque wineries, offering good quality wine. However, if you haven’t been on wine tasting tours before, you need to know a few things before planning one. There are quite a few wines producing regions around the world. Among the most popular wine tasting regions, Australia is the ultimate destination due to its amazing wine quality and varieties. Regardless of whether you are planning wine tours in Australia or France, these tips apply to all regions.
Experiencing vineyard tours is one of the best ways to learn about wines. During a wine tasting tour, you can have engaging and valuable conversations about wines with the growers and producers. The things that you learn during the trip can make your wine tasting tours experience even more interesting.
Winery tours are all the rage at the moment, and with the concept of wine tasting spreading rapidly around the world, new wineries are sprouting up all over the place. Being a wine lover and the first timer on winery tours, you need to keep the following things in mind before you begin your trip. Apart from that, Australia hosts the best wine travel destinations in the world, so don’t leave our country without experiencing a delightful wine tasting tour.
If you have not been to a wine tasting or you’re not a connoisseur, it can be a little bit intimidating. You’ll wonder if the tour guides will use a lot of technical wine vocabulary or whether there are individuals in your group that knows every little bit of information that is to know about wine. But don’t worry if you’re not an expert in wine flavours and varietals, you can still relish – most of the times, even more! – your wine experience.
Ask Wine Producers or Private Wine Tour for More Information
Don’t be afraid to ask. Private Wine tours are exactly the place where you can question and learn more about wine-making and how to taste wine. You may not identify every flavour and technical styles of the wine, but you will know if you enjoy it or not. And if you do, inquire more about that wine, variety and process. Whether you’re on a tour with a chauffeur or at a farm with the actual owners and wine producers, everyone will be delighted to share their knowledge with you. After all, it is their passion, and each person loves to discuss and talk about what they enjoy. So don’t be shy, everyone will be appreciative of your interest.
Take Notes About Your Favourite Wines
If you like a wine that you taste, after some tastings you will forget which wine was that that made you crave for more. So if you want to go home and order that desired wine at a restaurant (or avoid the ones you didn’t like) take some little notes so that you won’t forget what satisfied you the most. One valuable tip for notes taking is to write it in a way that you can remember when you need it. Alternatively, you can even take a picture of the bottle with your phone the ones you liked, so that will stay in your mind and your records for longer your wine tasting tour.
Make the Most of Your Visit
Some wineries are known for fresh local produce and dining experiences, too, including gourmet picnics and fine restaurant dining. Take advantage of a restaurant or outdoor picnic area to break up the day and, more importantly, to enjoy a spectacular meal with a picturesque view. If you’re more of a do-it-yourself kind, bring along your food, buy a bottle of wine at the winery shop and enjoy the view of the vineyards. Some wineries offer cultural experiences, too, such as concerts, museum, art exhibits and spectacular architecture
Visit Three or Four Wineries a Day
If you’re planning to have many visits on a day trip, make sure there is some time gap between them. It is suggested to consider the time spent between one place to the other. Though wine tasting can be very exciting and it’s an activity where you should spend your time to enjoy and not simply rush from one winery to the other. You will also find very friendly tour guides, winemakers and farm owners that will engage in delighted conversations about wine and their products, so anticipate a visit to last more than an hour. Furthermore, every winery has a cellar door, so take some time to get to know the products and even buy the wine that you most liked during your time so far. This will surely help you to make the most out of your wine tasting tour.
Explore Beyond Your Favourite Wines
Don’t just glue to the wines you already know. Since you’re at a winery, try some new, exotic flavours and varietals. If you stick to the grapes you already know and enjoy, maybe you’ll be losing out on some incredible regional varieties that you didn’t even know existed. If you prefer red, try a sip also of white, if you prefer the sweet ones, don’t leave without tasting the dry ones. Don’t go back with any regrets because you won’t be back anytime soon (but we hope you do!).
Eat Something
Tasting wines (and maybe drinking some too) on an empty stomach is a way for getting drunk fast and not being able to enjoy the rest of the experience. Remember to eat beforehand, and if there’s food offered at the tasting, take a rest to eat there too. Drinking water in between wines benefits staying hydrated
Perfumes and Tastes
Be Careful About Perfumes and Tastes Before A Wine Tasting Tour. Don’t eat or drink something beforehand that might hamper your taste or smell. Coffee, juice or chewing gum or chocolate will interfere with your palate and you won’t make the best out of your tasting. The same happens with strong sweet perfumes, cigars or cigarettes. So please avoid using heavy perfumes and smoking before you go to a tasting so that you won’t ruin your experience not only for you but for the other folks in the room.
Choose Your Wine Tour Outfit Carefully
Wear relaxed clothes and casual shoes so that you can walk through the vineyards without getting your feet dusty or deal with a stingy pain or your toe. For girls, it is especially useful if you wear low heel shoes to guarantee the comfort you need. If the tour is in the open sky, odds are that you will spend some time under the sun, so bring along a moisturiser, hat and sunglasses. It is also a must to wear dark clothes just in case you or someone get over-excited with your tasting and spit some wine on your clothes.
Show curiosity in buying a bottle of wine
Don’t feel pressured to buy a bottle but show some interest. But if you do buy a bottle (or two, or more), don’t leave it in a hot vehicle for the day, even if you carefully keep them in the boot. We suggest you buy a wine case beforehand so that the wine will be safer from the heat and so that you won’t deal with bottles rattling around in your car. Ask the wine producers or tour guides to recommend you a case or a way to cool your bottles in the car.
Should I Drive After?
Because drinking laws are different in each state and country, I can’t tell you exactly if you can drive after. I will say to be responsible, use good judgment and know the drinking laws in the local area. If you plan to go visit many wineries in a day, then it’s always best to be on the safe side and have a designated driver, hire a chauffeur or go on a wine tour. Private Wine tours should be easy to find if you google wine tours and the area you are in.
Tour in Style
Unsure where to start? Discover the best wineries in Australia with Melbourne Chauffeurs Services, we offer memorable private Chauffeured Driven wine tours to those living in or visiting Victorian Wine Regions. Book a wine tasting tour like no other when you and your friends or family climb aboard in our chauffeur service. Choose from our large fleet sedans, SUV,s and People Mover that allow you to travel in style to some of Melbourne’s best vineyards in the Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Gippsland, Macedon ranges or Bellarine region.