Tour and tasting reports

• Paris (Saturday-Sunday, May 22-23) A trip to the hip new wine shop Lavinia, brunch with friends, and dinners at Mon Viel Ami on Ile St. Louis and a Tibetan spot near the Sorbonne.
• Chablis (Monday, May 24) On the way to the Côte d'Or, a stop in Chablis for a visit to Domaine Michel Laroche and lunch at the Hostellerie des Clos. Arrival in Beaune, and a casual dinner at Le Bistrot Bourguignon wine bar.
• The Côte de Nuits (Tuesday, May 25) A busy day on the Côte de Nuits, with a visit to the Chateau de la Clos de Vougeot, winery visits and tastings at Bertagna, Clos de Tart and Confuron-Cotedidot; lunch at l'Alambic in Nuits-Saint-Georges, a "photo op" at the Romanée-Conti vineyard, and dinner at Bernard Morillon in Beaune.
• Two Beaune negociants (Wednesday, May 26) Taking a breather in Beaune on Wednesday with tasting visits to two negociants, Maison Bouchard Père et Fils and Becky Wasserman-Hone at Maison Camille Giroud.
• The Côtes de Beaune (Thursday, May 27) Tasting visits to Genot Boulanger, Bernard Morey, the Chateau de Pommard and Jacques Prieur; lunch at Le Montrachet in Puligny-Montrachet, and for dinner, a pilgrimage to three-star Lameloise with its memorable Tasting Menu.
• Champagne (Friday-Saturday, May 28-29) Winery visits to major producers - Ruinart, Veuve Cliquot and Moet et Chandon - and to artisanal Champagne makers - De Sousa and Tarlant. Meals at l'Assiette Champenoise, Les Berceaux and Hotel Royal Champagne. Finally, a quick return to Paris before flying home.

Hotel Dieu in Beaune
A glimpse of the landmark lacquered tile roofs of the Hotel Dieu, home of les Trois Glorieuses, the Hospices de Beaune.

I recently returned from a weeklong tour of Burgundy and Champagne, our third annual French regional wine-group tour. As in our past tours, our friends and associates with French Wine Explorers, sommeliers-conseils Lauriann Greene-Sollin and Jean-Pierre Sollin, organized a flawless itinerary filled with excellent food and wine, first-rate winery visits and luxury accommodations.

My detailed travel diaries are now online, featuring day-by-day tour reports that include notes on more than 100 wines, a dozen excellent dinners, and information and photos about the many wine-related stops along our way.

We'll very likely take another wine tour in France with French Wine Explorers in 2005. If you'd like me to send you a personal note with more information when we have it, please let me know by E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com, and I'll put you on the list.

French Wine Explorers For more information about French Wine Explorers and their tours, click to http://www.wine-tours-france.com/, where you may also sign up for their E-mail list, a periodic bulletin that features information about their tours and wine appreciation in general.