FRANCE A LA CARTE

Wine-tasting and gastronomy breaks

Eating and drinking have always gone together in France and our short breaks range from serious tasting of the 'grand crus' in the Bordeaux region to a more leisurely introduction to the oldest French spirit - Armagnac - in deepest Gascony.

ROUSSILLON - the details

Perpignan airport is 15 minutes from the hotel

Ryanair, BMIBaby and Flybe fly to Perpignan from the UK

PRICES: ask

BOOKING ENQUIRIES

other wine-tasting packages

Gascony - a real French spirt - Armagnac

Cahors - stay in a real wine chateau

Bordeaux - the real thing

Gaillac - Albi and the Tarn: interesting wines

Cognac - the 'other' great French spirit

Corbières - based in the citadel at Carcassonne

Côtes du Roussillon / Banyuls

There is no more exciting region in France today for discovering new and unexpected tendancies in wine than the Côtes du Roussillon, especially the Côtes du Roussillon villages.

This hot and dry area inland from Perpignan is a little-known laboratory for a lot of experimentation in new blends and grape varieties.

 

Our wine-tasting break for the Roussillon - including the inland Villages, the coastal Rivesaltes, Collioure and Banyuls appellations - is based in a sumptuous hotel on the outskirts of Perpignan, the thriving French Catalan capital.

Over the long weekend you are free to explore the arrière-pays and coast at your leisure: to guide you we have reserved visits and tasting sessions at three of the top wineries:

MAURY - Domaine MAS AMIEL - 200 years of history in this the primary producer of the rich dark Maury wines, aged and conditioned in oak barrels perched on the roofs of the cellars!

RIVESALTES - Domaine CAZES - A leading producer of Muscat in the Rivesaltes plain. Also produces an excellent Muscat Blanc Sec on his 170 hectare estate.

BANYULS SUR MER - LE CELLIER DES TEMPLIERS - The Banyuls appellation dates back to pre-Roman times when the first steep terraces were sculpted on the hillsides overlooking the Mediterranean. Le Cellier des Templiers has a visitor centre where you can learn all about the secrets of the Banyuls wine, its history and methodology.

La Villa Duflot**** Perpignan

Location : Overlooking the town of Perpignan, in an estate rich in palm trees and Cypresses, the Villa Duflot is an island of peace and tranquillity at the heart of the Languedoc-Roussillon: a warm welcome awaits.

Rooms : 24 spacious rooms and suites, sound-proofed and air-conditioned, give on to the Mediterranean patio with its scent of orange blossom or on to the pool and the wooded gardens. Rooms are decorated in Art Déco style and boast king-size beds, wifi, satellite tv, personal safe, mini-bar, bathroom with tub and shower, hairdryer and terrace.

Restaurant : Michel Védrines (1 star in the Michelin guide) works with a range of local produce: fruit and vegetables from Roussillon and Catalonia, fish from the Mediterranean, meat, cold cuts and cheeses from the Pyrenees .. a gourmet cuisine with an exotic touch.

La Vinothèque – the restaurant cellar - is quite exceptional with over 5000 bottles including over 150 locally produced wines from Côtes de Roussillon Villages and Collioure. Franck Mauger, the sommelier, is only too happy to advise.

Leisure:A wonderful warm ambience of an Italian villa with its terraces, salons in colours of the sun and the earth, bars and turquoise pool will seduce and impress.

reservation and enquiries