Truffles & Wine: The Magic of Provence

Provence & the Rhone Valley are renowned for their cuisine, wine and truffles and Wine Lovers Tours is offering two distinctly different tours to those areas this Fall.

The first tour starts October 6 in Lyon and then spends 3 nights in the Valence area of the Northern Rhone, followed by 4 nights in Avignon, the heart of the Southern Rhone area. Besides visiting the well-known wine regions of Condrieu, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, participants will also learn first-hand how truffles are cultivated and foraged during the height of the wine and truffle harvests.

The second tour starts October 14 and spends 4 nights in Aix-en-Provence visiting the area made famous by Peter Mayle in his book "A Year in Provence," a copy of which will be provided to each tour participant. Besides winery and truffle visits, there will be memorable visits to Gordes and La Source.

Then the tour proceeds with 4 nights in the Montpellier area, heart of the Languedoc. The Languedoc is one of France's unheralded wine and food regions, famous among other things for its garrigue landscape which even permeates the olfactory dimensions of the wine. Other highlights will be visits to Sete and the Roquefort Cheese caves.

Both tours include most meals, VIP visits, first-class hotels and a private deluxe bus and are limited in size. There is a discount for doing both tours. The word 'value' needs to be emphasized. The all-inclusive France wine tour costs are among the lowest in the industry.

Vin's wine tours are intended for people who don't normally like group tours. "We try to create an atmosphere of a family or group of friends traveling together," said Marottoli. Over 80% of his tour participants come back, so he must be doing something right! The "secret" is well-organized unique visits that combine wine, food and culture at an all inclusive cost.

Vincent Marottoli, President of Wine Lovers Tours, has organized and led each of his tours for the past 28 years. He has a Ph.D. in French and is also fluent in Spanish and Italian. Most tours have 75% or higher repeat travelers. www.wineloverstours.com