Where can you drink a cocktail that costs $7,450 and sleep in the shell of a wine barrel? Tim Barber reports
Since both fall into the category of the finer things in life, to be enjoyed by those who can afford them, the pleasures of connoisseur drinking and high-end travel have long gone hand-in-hand.
The idea of discovering a drink at its source, becoming educated in its secrets, developing a superior palate and an even more superior drinks cellar, brings people to distilleries in Scotland (whisky), Mexico (tequila), Kentucky (bourbon), and the home of almost every beverage globally.
Even in Dubai, where a taste for a rich tipple is hardly the most celebrated side of luxury consumerism, you’ll find the Burj Al Arab serving one of the world’s most expensive cocktails – the ‘27.321’ named after the cost in dirham, approximately $7,450. Booze is, ironically, a symbol of civilised, cultured wealth, and one worth travelling for.
It is the pleasures of the grape that offer booze buffs the greatest variety when it comes to luxury travel, and not just because of the wine lists of the best hotel restaurants. The ‘wine hotel’ has become a genre all of its own, aided by the fact that the chateaus and lodges of historic estates provide such picturesque opportunities for hoteliers, from the rustic luxuries of grand European domains to dreamy spa boutiques amid the vineyards of California or South Africa.
The latest hotel to join the party, The Yeatman in the Portuguese city of Porto, opened in September and arguably takes the wine hotel concept to its furthest permutation yet.
It mixes lavish accommodation – commendably large rooms, a decadent spa, a restaurant overseen by a Michelin-starred chef, Four Seasons-trained staff – with wine-inspired elements such as an outdoor swimming pool in the shape of a port decanter, and two suites with beds fashioned out of huge port vats.
Most excitingly for the seasoned oenophile, guests can visit the wine cellars – home to 25,000 prime vintages – and have a meeting with the hotel’s wine director to discuss choices for that evening’s dinner.
Then there’s the spa, which is managed by Caudalie, a French company specialising in vinotherapy. The ingredients for its pampering products are extracted from vineyards, with an emphasis on grapes’ antioxidant properties.
“Wine is a shortcut to a culture,” says Adrian Bridge, the Englishman who is the driving force behind The Yeatman. “The reasons certain drinks are made in certain areas have grown up through millennia, and it’s a way of engaging with the local colour in an authentic way.”
Bridge is chief executive of Fladgate Partnership, the port company which developed and owns The Yeatman.
British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair are all now running services to the city’s airport. Beyond the city, the river Douro runs for miles through lush countryside that’s blanketed with terraced vineyards. There are smaller, independent hotels to be found nestled among the hills, as well as remote lodges for wine-tasting sessions.
Bridge, an ex-army officer and banker who married into the port industry – still dominated by British families who set up the port trade in the 18th century – is passionate about his adopted region and the potential it offers travellers.
“At the moment it’s like Tuscany in the 1950s, before it was fully discovered by tourists,” he says. “This kind of luxury is new to Porto, but it’s a place that’s so rich in culture, in history and of course in wine, it deserves to have this.”
A week leads in at £1,059.
Wine tours and accommodation
New Zealand: Timara Lodge, Marlborough, South Island
This area is home to New Zealand’s Spy Valley Wines. Adjoining the lodge, in 350 acres of vineyards, are rows of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. A winery tour is included in the price. Within landscaped gardens guests will find a large swimming pool, a grass tennis court and private lake. Golfers can enjoy a round at the nearby Fairhall Golf Course. From £1,135 for three nights, flights not included. seasons.co.uk
Chile: Central Valley Wine Route – seven-day tour
This tour takes in some of the most celebrated of the modern Chilean wine producers. A steam train takes guests from San Fernando through the Colchagua Valley to Santa Cruz with wine-tasting on board. After exploring boutique wineries and a local hacienda, clients journey north to the Maipo Valley to stay at the Casa Real in the Santa Rita vineyards to visit two other well-known producers at Concha y Toro and Cousiño-Macul before returning to Santiago. From £995, flights not included. wandotravel.com
South Africa: Off the Beaten Track – 13-night self-drive tour
This tour takes in boutique retreats in the Cederberg and the winelands surrounding Cape Town. Clients spend three nights in Constantia Valley at Steenberg surrounded by vineyards, some of which have been producing wine since the 17th-century. Bistro Sixteen82 offers cellar tours and wine tasting. From £4,725 including flights. carrier.co.uk
Argentina: Cavas Wine Lodge, Mendoza
Cavas Wine Lodge, amid the fertile green vineyards of Lujan de Cuyo is a short drive from the city of Mendoza. Situated in the heart of Argentina’s famous wine-producing region, its 14 rooms have views of the Andes each with a private terrace and plunge pool. The heart of the lodge is its wine cellar, giving the lodge its name from the underground ‘cava’. abercrombiekent.co.uk
The expert’s view
“The wine tourism market has grown in the past few years, and the fact that there are more good hotels in the wine regions than there used to be means that it’s become a lot more visible. That doesn’t mean I’m convinced that a lot of it is as high quality as the people who are offering it think it is – some of it is quite boring.
“We’re dealing with ultra-specialists who know their subject and are prepared to spend a large amount of money for a specialist to put together a complex, tailor-made itinerary. Because you’re dealing with experts, you have to be able to offer more than they would be able to organise themselves – that’s the big competition.”
Tim Clarke, co-founder and chairman of specialist wine tourism operator Arblaster & Clarke
Tasting notes
Malt whisky in Scotland: Lovers of malt whisky will claim that it never tastes as good as when you taste it in its natural environment – the Speyside area of northeast Scotland. High-end Scotland operator Dream Escape offers tailor-made trips to the area.
Caipirinhas in Brazil: Brazilians consume 1.5 billion litres of cahaça every year, most of it in the form the Caipirinha (cahaca plus lime, sugar and ice). The place to have it is the newly-opened bar of the Copacabana Palace, Rio. sunvil.co.uk
Cognac in France: The great thing about France’s cognac region is its relative flatness, which makes it great for cycling. In the town of Cognac is the Museum of Cognac, and down the road is another museum dedicated to Jarnac, the Chateau de Courvoisier. Explore’s Cycling Cognac trip is £849 per person. explore.co.uk
Prosecco in Venice: For visitors to Venice, Kirker can arrange a private launch to the island of Mazzorbo where clients can have lunch at the Venissa Ristorante Ostello, the site of one of the oldest Prosecco vineyards in the Venetian lagoon. kirkerholidays.com