European Wine Tour 2023 Exciting Times
European Wine Tour 2023
It was 2019 when I last traveled to Europe with customers. That was a funny one to think back on because it was before COVID-19 was known about. That trip was more intimate because a few guests had to pull out to due to acute illness and it was just me and my friend, Ian. This meant I had to cut short my time at the end of the trip for budget reasons and never got to Bordeaux.
Despite this, we had a great time driving from Paris to Lyon stopping at Champagne, Burgundy (of course!), Jura, Beaujolais, and finishing in Tain l’Hermitage, facing the hill of Hermitage and drinking 3 vintages of La Chapelle including a free glass of 1999 which Ian still raves about today. We interviewed multiple winemakers and later broadcast these on the wine show I hosted on the radio.
This time is different.
For one, none of the guests have pulled out of the European Wine Tour 2023. We are covering more ground than ever before. Meeting in Frankfurt, driving down to see Baden Baden, and stay in Alsace. Then Burgundy (of course!), through the Nevers Forest and along the Loire Valley to stay in Tours.
And finally
On my 4th visit, after 15 years, and one near miss, On the European Wine Tour 2023, I am getting to see Bordeaux. I have drunk so much Bordeaux, poured over so many maps, I feel like I have been there already, but I haven’t. Following this trip I will have visited some of the Chateaux that have brought me so much joy over many years. Top of the list is Cos d’Estournel and Troplong Mondot, both of which have just been a source of so much pleasure 1982 Cos, and 1998 Troplong are wines I can still almost taste to this day. Visiting Chateau Margaux won’t be too shabby either, I just don’t have the same emotional connection to their wines because I drank so much less of them.
I’m sitting in a hotel in Frankfurt as I write this, I’d like to reflect on some lessons from the trip over.
- Germany allows you to bring in 4 litres of still table wine. FOUR! That is 5 bottles. So I could have bought the extra bottle of Hubert Lamy 2015 1er Cru from Dubai airport for a whooping AUD$79. 20
- You can buy at least one more Hubert Lamy 2015 1er Cru from near the B gates at Dubai international airport. The wine is 30% off too. I can’t get a single bottle here in Australia, and if I could, it would cost me more than $79, but these guys have it on clearance! And I am not going back through so if you see it, grab it for me, please.
- German train ticketing is more confusing than the way they label their wines. And that is truly saying something.
Also, jokes about German sausage are the worst
I didn’t think Germany was great for croissant but they aren’t that bad surely? I took their advice and ordered something else. All in all, a great start to my European Wine Tour 2023.
