the winetrails experience

We consider Food and Wine to be paramount to the success of a trip, and though we don't promise a gourmet meal at every sitting, we always aim to provide you with the best of local cuisine in whatever region we happen to be.

We consider that sampling local dishes gives a deeper insight into a region and adds to the excitement and adventure of travelling. Frequently, we find that local dishes are the ideal accompaniment to local wines - sounds obvious, but how many people consider drinking Pinot Gris with foie gras or Gewurtztraminer with baeckeoffe - the powerful beef mutton and pork casserole from Alsace, let alone sweet Banyuls with anchovies. Local wines and classic regional dishes are mentioned under trips notes, and we try to ensure that you sample a good selection of local dishes during your holiday.

The most important part of Winetrails (after you, without whom we wouldn't exist!) is the team of people who research and guide our holidays. They are professional people from a wide variety of backgrounds, carefully chosen for their leadership skills, wine expertise, languages and communication abilities, and knowledge of an area or region.

We don't set any particular criteria when selecting leaders, except that they are gregarious, fun-loving, knowledgeable travel and wine enthusiasts, with a natural ability to cope with the unexpected, lead without appearing dictatorial and share their time equally within a group. Easy! Most of all, they are people that are great fun to travel with

Most of our holidays are gentle walking holidays, designed for people of average fitness. There are few steep trails, rugged mountain passes, roped walkways or vertiginous cliffs, and for the most part we walk on well-marked paths and tracks through gently undulating country.

We generally walk for between 3 and 6 hours per day, exceptionally rather more, but remember this is the actual walking time, not allowing for exploring the hedgerow, talking to the cows, lunch stops, tastings or sightseeing. Overnight stops are often for more than one night, so you may choose to miss out a day completely if you wish. On the other hand, if you want to extend yourself a little more, there are several opportunities for further extensive walks.

We are obliged to give the star ratings of our hotels, but it is our experience that these generally relate to facilities often of little concern to us, such as the number of rooms with a colour TV, phone or minibar. What a star does not do is give you any idea of the character, welcome and general ambience of a place.

Many of our chosen stops are in private houses, wine estates and villas, small inns, country lodges and cottages, chambres d'hôtes, residentials, or elsewhere that simply do not have a rating system. However, where possible we have indicated the ratings as we know them, and these and other places are described for each holiday, in the brochure, itinerary and trip information.

Our intention is to walk quietly, at a pace to relax by. There is time to absorb the surroundings, chat with workers in the vineyards, visit a church or small museum en route. Time, too, to taste a few wines or buy a fresh baguette for lunch.

We usually stay in small country hotels, often those characterful places with a reputation for good food and a warm, friendly welcome. Fine food, walking or cycling, and good local wine are the general themes of these holidays. They are aimed at all people with a wide range of interests that may include history, art, culture, nature, comfortable living, and wine and the countryside.