Exclusive Wine Vacations

Debbie:

Maggie and I don’t know how to thank you for your assistance with the plans this past weekend for the wine trail. Our friends Chey and Cynthia were both ‘over the moon’ — everything from the accomodations, the driver (Fred is great!), the box lunch (it was SOOO good!) and getting a chance to visit the Hudson Valley winerys to savor and taste the various wines (we filled the car trunk with our purchases!) It was a very memorable weekend, and we can’t thank you enough for your help in making this a special birthday celebration for them both. The only disappointment was not getting to meet you on the trail — but maybe next time!

Thank you again for your help!

Cordially,
Ellyn Petersen

Debbie -
We had a fabulous time! Fred the driver was couldn’t have been nicer. The Carriage House at LeFevre was perfect! It was lovely to be part of the B&B experience but really enjoyed the privacy of having our own space (not to mention the extra room). We met some really sweet people over breakfast and recommended Exclusive Wine Vacations to all. Breakfast at LeFevre House is kind of on the rich side so we ended up having our boxed lunches for dinner!

All in all it was a wonderful weekend. Add me to your mailing list, we’d love to learn about future trips (especially Italy).

Thanks,
Kathleen – Bronx NY 10/2006

Hi Debbie – It was a great trip. Sorry it has taken me so long to write but I saved this email knowing I would finally have time.
The car was spectacular, the hotels were exquisite. We saw some great stuff. I wanted to tell you one thing though. The hotel (villa) we had for six nights: When we got there at 8pm the woman gave us a room with one double bed. When I went in the room and saw it I immediately went down stairs and said there must be some mistake – we need two beds. She said she didn’t have a room with two beds. It was only after I insisted that she find something that she asked a hotel employee to vacate a room with 2 beds so we could have it!

I thought you might want to know that. Once we got our room, the room and the hotel were beautiful. The hotel in Rome was also beautiful. Thanks for setting up this great vacation for us!

Jeanne – Pine Bush NY 8/2006

Hi Debbie,

We really loved Chianti and Carla was wonderful & very accommodating.
She said that there was no wine tasting for the extra day. I explained
that we were going to pay for it ourselves, but she had no knowledge of
this. However, she drove us to Sole e Olena in hopes we could taste
some wine without an appointment. Not only did they see us for tasting
and a tour, but we met the owner and Matt had his picture taken with
him. We cannot speak highly enough about Carla!

Palazzo Leopoldo surpassed our expectations! We were upgraded to a
Junior Suite and Dad and Jenny were upgrade to a one bedroom suite. The
breakfast buffet was amazing and the coffee to die for. It was
wonderful to be able to walk around and had great meals in several of
the restaurants.

We were disappointed in Montelpiciano and would recommend Monticiano as
the Brunello is made there. We also did not care for Siena and thought
San Gimignano was a million times better without the crowds and better
shops.

I brought our pictures to CVS, but need to pick them up in addition to
the pictures that Jenny took. I will ask Matt if he can load them on my
computer to send as the countryside is truly the most beautiful place in
the world.

Thanks for your help and hope all is well.

Regina – Maryland 6/2/2006

Dear Debbie,

It was a really nice trip. We lucked out with the weather. The Stirling House was very nice – great recommendation. The wine tour was also very good. Joanne was extremely pleasant.

Thanks for your help,

Lauren – NY 5/19/2006

Hi Debbie,

Thanks so much for arranging the visits…we didn’t realize you had contacted places that were otherwise closed. We went to Rivendell first and really liked that one because there was such an extensive selection of wines to choose from. We did like the Belvedere’s
ambiance, but if we do it again, we’ll probably go with the spa…vince wasn’t too fond of the no-shower bath tub the first night. We were able to switch rooms, but the new one had a shower with old plumbing. Ate dinner at the Terrapin the first night which was absolutely fabulous! Then we did the CIA second night. Thanks again…

cathy and vince – MA 4/26/2006

Hi Debbie,
We had the BEST time on our trip. Everything worked out great. We were met at the airport in Chile after our plane had been delayed for over 2 hours, and I was impressed that somebody was still there to pick us up. The weather in both Chile and Argentina was perfect, it was about 70-80F in Chile and 90-100F in Argentina. Our guides in both countries were superb. They always arrived early and it was really nice to have the same person the whole time we were in the country. Also, the guides were very flexible in that we told them that we didn’t want to go to too many large wineries and that we would prefer going to smaller boutique wineries and they both changed our itineraries for us so that we could go to the smaller wineries. All of the food we had was great, it was nice not having to pay for most of the meals in Argentina, it was as if we ate for free! And Argentina is so cheap to travel in right now, its great, Chile is the same as the US so we didn’t buy as much there. The whitewater rafting was great, the horseback riding was fun and the hike was beautiful. All of the vineyards we went to were great except that after 15 wineries you know how to make wine and you just want a brief tour and a tasting but most places the tour would last almost an hour before the tasting but that’s how they do it, its not like going to CA or NZ. We brought back some great wines and most of them you can find here so thats good.

Anyway, it was the best vacation that we have ever taken. It was so relaxing, not having to worry where we were going and how to get there, which would have been impossible (there are no road signs in Chile or Argentina). And having a guide and a driver with us at all times was awesome, especially because we didn’t speak any Spanish.

Thank you very much for putting this trip together for us, we will definitely go back and next time we are looking for a great vacation, we will give you a call.

Thanks,
Jennifer and Mark – MA 1/19/2006

Debbie:

Megan and I had a great weekend. Everything was terrific and your help was greatly appreciated. Lefevre House is very cool. I would recommend it for the trendy/city types. The breakfasts were a bit over the top….asparagus soup for breakfast. The staff was very nice and helpful as well. They even brought us a bottle of champagne (credit you deserve as well!).

The spa services were good as well. One of the best massages I’ve ever had.

The wine tour was terrific. Fred, our driver, was a great guy. Knew when to talk and when not to. My only issue with him was his knowledge of the trail itself. It was evident he didn’t drive it often as we had to make several direction changes. He did bring us to a terrific winery on the Hudson Trail (Ben Marl) which we enjoyed the most. The views are fantastic. I would suggest that a trip incorporate that winery although I know it is difficult because of its location in relation to the others. The lunch was great as well.

We will be recommending the trip to our friends as it is a perfect chance to get away from the hectic city life while enjoying really good wine in some beautiful country.

Thanks again,

Graham – NY 7/20/2005

We look forward to the opportunity to serve you. 845-485-7221