Heads up, oenophiles! Wine Lovers Tours is "blending in" (pun intended) some new wine-themed trips for 2014: Italy's Lake Country, the gardens and wineries of England and Brazil during the extended Mardi Gras festivities will all be on the proverbial menu.
Brazil's wine industry is "a sleeping giant," with a major vineyard region near Uruguay. After visiting the Valley of Wine, the group will spend 2 days in Rio.
Immediately following Brazil is a wine tour to Chile, a country already famous for its wines. The group will spend five days in Santiago visiting Maipo and Casablanca and three days in the Colchagua Valley. Both wine tours are in March, at the height of the harvest.
Harvest time in Europe is September/October and Wine Lovers is offering wine tours to England, Lombardy and Piedmont.
England has plenty of castles and gardens, but also over 400 wineries. During the group's stay in Kent and London, there will be visits to castles, gardens and wineries. Eric Asimov, the NY Times wine writer, claims that England's sparkling wines are "superb and will forever put to rest the notion that England is not capable of making good wine." (NY Times 12/28/11)
Immediately following England are two wine tours to Italy: Truffles and Wine in Piedmont where participants will go on VIP visits to top wineries as well as participating in the annual truffle fair festivities.
The trilogy of wine tours ends in Lombardy and the Lake Country, Italy's most diverse region with the Alps, the lakes, the rice fields and great reds and Italy's finest sparkling wines.
For more information, visit www.wineloverstours.com.