Headwater toasts the perfect grape harvest cycling and walking trips for wine lovers
Cycling and walking specialist, Headwater, is celebrating the start of the wine harvest season this September with trips to some of the world’s famous vineyards. With more than 15 trips on its new look website dedicated to those wanting to raise a glass to the harvest season, wine lovers will find everything, from classic cycling trips through Chablis to tours of New World wines in California.
Below is a selection of Headwater’s cycling and walking trips for wine lovers:
New for 2013: Classic Chianti Cycling – 11 days of independent cycling from £1,749 including flights from London, breakfasts and all evening meals, departing throughout September.
Classic Tuscan countryside meets wine and wonderful stays in some of Headwater’s premier properties on this luxury cycling tour. Staying at a restored twelfth century abbey, a renovated watermill and a traditional family-run boutique hotel overlooking San Gimignano, cyclists can linger by panoramic pools or enjoy long, lazy rides to see wine makers, busy plucking grapes from the wine for harvest, against a mix of Etruscan, Roman, Renaissance and mediaeval art and architecture.
Vaucluse Vineyards Cycling - 8 days of self-guided cycling from £1,417 including flights, hotel transfers and meals, departing every two days from 2 September to 8 October 2013.
Bursting with history, travellers can cycle along Provençal plains and visit France’s well-preserved Roman sites. Starting at Pernes les Fontaine cyclists can visit Mazan as well as Beaumes de Venise vineyards and olive oil museum. Holiday makers can also visit and sample some of the local ‘produce’ from world-famous Côte du Rhône vineyards including Gigondas, famous for its full-bodied red wines as well as Cairanne and the caves of Vacqueyras.
Classic Burgundy Cycling - 8 days of self-guided cycling from £1,139, including flights, hotel transfers and most meals, departing every two days from 2 to 20 September 2013.
This cycling holiday provides a real connoisseur’s guide to Burgundy. Starting and ending in the medieval town of Auxerre, travellers cycle along canal towpaths and riverside trails, stopping in the villages of Vermenton, Vézelay and Clamecy along the way. Highlights en route include prehistoric Arcy, the Roman baths at St Père; the famous Mary Magdelène Basilica at Vézelay and, of course, fine wine tasting opportunities abound. The cycling days have been specially designed to allow for lazy riverside lunches, and there's lots of scope to potter around the pretty canal ports and their tiny villages.
Chablis Vineyards Cycling - 6 days of self-guided cycling, from £1,038, including flights, hotel transfers and most meals, departing every two days from 2 to 20 September 2013.
World famous for its vineyards, wine lovers will not be disappointed! Travellers start in the medieval city of Auxerre, cycling through the forest of St Germain to Seignelay, famous for its castle remains. From here, holidaymakers cycle to Ligny and Vermonton, with plenty of opportunities to savour wines from local vineyards along the way. Highlights of the trip include visiting Chablis, where fine wine has been made for over a millennium, and entering Bailly caves, famous for its Crémant sparkling wines.
Chateaux Of The Loire Walk - 8 days of self-guided walking from £918 per person, including hotels, transfers and most meals, departing every two days from 2 to 20 September 2013.
This leisurely walking holiday allows travellers to visit some of the Loire's most famous châteaux, whilst tasting the local wine. Stopping at Blois, formerly known as 'Versailles of the Renaissance'; the fairytale Chambord, set in the heart of the huge Forêt de Boulogne; and Cheverny, one of the most perfect examples of French architecture, which houses one of the largest art collections in the region, walkers will also have the chance to visit several local vineyards.
To book, visit headwater.com.