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February 7, 2012

Burgundy Wine Harvest with The Hungry Cyclist

Filed under: Drink, European bike tours, France, Guide posts, Wines, burgundy — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 3:47 pm

Explore the vineyards in Burgundy first-hand.

On DuVine bike tours in Burgundy, you have a unique opportunity. While cycling in Burgundy, you get to do more than just drink some of the world’s most outstanding wine. You get to put your nose and your hands right in it, right into the very soil from which it comes. Yes, you could just buy a bottle and imagine yourself there. But why not go to the source? Why not immerse yourself fully in the wine-loving experience that is a bicycle tour in Burgundy, getting yourself intimately familiar with a wine that you cannot help but love. We promise it will taste even better. Just ask DuVine guide Tom Kevill-Davies (aka The Hungry Cyclist), who spent ten days working the Burgundy Grape Harvest in 2011. With his palate and nose at the ready and his camera close by,  he put together this captivating recount of his time there and this stunning collection of photos.

“Its 8:30 in the morning and an autumnal chill remains in the air from the night before. The sun is doing its best to burn off the low-lying mist that clings to the fields and gullies of the Cote D ‘Or.

Beams of sunlight gradually break the day, spotlighting the lichen and moss that cling to ancient dry-stone walls and the bold colours of autumn begin to sing. A rough carpet of deep reds, purples, ochre, and gold stretches as far as I can see and the astonishing natural beauty of this celebrated wine region has caught me off guard again. Gazing dumbfounded at this age-old image in front of me, I forget my purpose for being here at this early hour.

Get to know the men and women who make the wine.

“Allez Thomas!”

The assertive voice of the vigneron I am working for reminds me why I am here and reluctantly I slip out of sight below the row of vines to my left. Down here the world looks very different. Drops of dew cling to delicate cobwebs while harvest spiders scramble for cover. The damp air hangs amongst the vine stock and the rich earth hangs heavy on my rubber boots. Moving amongst the wet vines my shorts and shirt are wet and cling to my body. My back is all ready complaining about another day of this repetitive work. Focusing on my prize, I handle a heavy bunch of plump red grapes and…snip! The bunch joins the dozens others in the basket by my feet and, edging uncomfortably forward, I move to the next vine in the endless row of Pinot Noir ahead of me. Only another seven days to go….

When not picking grapes in the Burgundy harvest and working as a lead guide for DuVine Adventures, clients often ask me when the best time to visit Burgundy is. In the spring you see the grapes in flower and witness the lively village wine fetes. In mid-summer the warm sun ripens the grapes in front of you. But for a real idea of the work and energy that goes into making the world’s greatest wine, a trip in early autumn to witness the harvest is a must for any oenophile.

Maybe even give them a hand.

Transformed from its usual calmness for the few days the harvest takes place, the vines become a hive of human activity. Teams of pickers work lines of vines with locust-like efficiency. Porters carry “hods” overflowing with fruit and tractors with full trailers rush between the fields and the winery. This grape harvest has been taking places in this region for millennia, and most vineyards still insist on picking their precious crop by hand. Workers still travel from all over Europe to pick and carry the grapes, while many are locals who involve themselves in this historic get-together year after year. The work is not easy but the camaraderie is overwhelming. Working together, eating together, drinking together, and sleeping together, the energy of the harvest is rewarding and addictive.

In my opinion, witnessing the wine harvest is a must for any real wine lover. Here at DuVine Adventures we won’t force you into the fields to pick any grapes, but book a cycling tour in Burgundy with us or any other of our European wine regions and we guarantee you’ll experience the true nature of this important annual event first hand.”

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February 6, 2012

Italian Wine Tasting – Valpolicella Ripasso

Filed under: Drink, Italy, Wine Tasting, Wines — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 12:06 pm

The Italian region of Veneto, perched in the northeastern corner of Italy and home to the eponymous and fabled city of Venice, is also home to a truly delightful variety of wine that you are certain to enjoy on your DuVine Italian bike tour. Valpolicella Ripasso is arguably the most famous red wine from the Veneto region, and generally a blend of Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara grapes. Corvina, though, is the preferred grape, and often constitutes the bulk of these wines, as it does in this 2008 Luigi Righetti Ripasso Valpolicella Superiore that DuVine’s Italian guide Tom Coppock brought in to sample along with fellow guide and native Italian Angelo Scimia. This medium bodied yet lively wine, kicked up by a nice level of acidity, is often characterized by red berries, vanilla, and spice on the nose with a distinct taste of dark berries and a hint of sweetness. This is definitely one of the smoother wines you will find, and one that will pair excellently with the luxurious meals you’ll be enjoying on your Italian bicycle tour. Let our guides tell you a little more.

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January 30, 2012

French Wine Tasting – Beaujolais

Filed under: Drink, France, Video Blog, Wine Tasting, burgundy — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 4:44 pm

When most people hear the name Beaujolais, their mind automatically jumps to Beaujolais nouveau, the typical fruity, early harvest wine from the French Gamay grape. But on DuVine bike tours, you’ll never find anything typical. Case in point: this 2010 Marcel Lapierre Morgon that DuVine French cycling tour and Pro Series biking tour guide Justin Wuycheck brought in to prove that you should never judge a wine by its name. With clear notes of red fruit like strawberry and distinctive floral notes both on the palate and the nose, this is  a Beaujolais to break the mold. Light but by no means simple, it is easy-drinking and refreshing, something you could enjoy on a picnic or socializing with some friends. Or better yet, to cool off after after a bicycle tour in Burgundy with DuVine Adventures.

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January 26, 2012

A DuVine Style Spanish Picnic

Filed under: Drink, Eat, Spain, Video Blog — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 6:17 pm

On DuVine Adventures bike tours, we know how to feed our guests. Only the absolute best will suffice. But how will we know what is the best if we don’t sample it ourselves? Obviously, we can’t, and that’s why we make sure to treat ourselves every once in a while to some fine meals of our own. Quality control is tough business, but someone has to do it to ensure that you, our loyal guests, get nothing short of the full DuVine experience. And that is why, this past week, DuVine guide Angelo Scimia set up a delicious Spanish style picnic for us to enjoy. If you want a taste for yourself, just hop on a DuVine cycling tour in Spain.

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January 20, 2012

Why I Trademarked Our Motto: Bike, Eat, Drink, Sleep

Filed under: Bike, Drink, Eat, Sleep, Staff Posts — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 3:27 pm

Eat.

Mottos are fun, tag-lines are catchy, mission statements are vital, and vision statements are in vogue. But to me, bike, eat, drink, sleep is none of these – it is my formula. It is an equation. It is a recipe. It is how I live my life and design my tours. After sixteen seasons of perfecting my formula, just like all great inventors, I must protect it.

A few years back I formally trademarked DuVine Adventures and Bike. Eat. Drink. Sleep. This is our recipe and we are the only company that will offer this style of travel to you. I call it the “DuVine Style.”

So what is DuVine Style? DuVine Style is scenic, safe, and exhilarating biking. Fresh, local, lovingly prepared food. Wine, blended with care, often harvested locally and included with every meal. DuVine Style is like a famous vintage, blended in equal parts with sophisticated and welcoming lodging.

This is Bike. Eat. Drink. Sleep.

The DuVine experience.

Every day on a DuVine tour exudes this energy and perfect combination of ingredients. When visiting a new destination, developing a new itinerary, or referring a popular tour, these four components are my beacon. If even one component is missing, it doesn’t pass my test.

Travel is serious business. I take the fact that our guests spend valuable time and money with us seriously and I value their trust that we will deliver a quality tour. DuVine guides provide six consecutive days of service, which is made possible by our great local vendors, partners, and friends.

Additionally, I strive everyday to ensure we offer the best value in the industry. Smaller group sizes, the most exclusions (such as wine and road bikes), complimentary pre- and post-travel planning services, and more are all part of every DuVine Adventure.

I stand by our recipe and look forward to sharing it with you. Call me anytime to discuss your next DuVine bike tour.

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August 30, 2011

The European Wine Harvest 2011

Filed under: Drink, France, Italy, Piedmont, Rioja, Spain, Tuscany, Wine Tasting, burgundy — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 1:08 pm

A hundred days ago, while western Europe was basking in some unusably warm April sunshine, vines from Burgundy to Bordeaux, Touraine to Tuscany and Alsace to Alentejo began to bloom. Busy insects quickly went about their business visiting small flower after small flower, pollinating and fertilizing the countless meters of vine stock and starting the most visible few months of the 2011 wine season that will soon culminate in this year’s harvest, which will of course serve as the backdrop for many of our European bike tours.

European bike tours during the grape harvest

Harvest time in the vineyards

In the three months since bumble bees, wasps and our other flying friends did their work, diligent wine makers have carefully monitored their vines as they make the seemingly magical journey from flower to fruit. Deep-set roots have fed on underlying minerals and raw elements; rain has nourished young shoots; plump bunches of grapes have ripened in warm sunshine; leaves have photosynthesized sunshine into sugar:tannin-rich skins have stiffened in the wind and countless man hours have gone into the nurturing of the golden, purple and russet bunches of grapes that any day now will be picked and pressed to become the much awaited 2011 vintage.

Will it be a great year for Burgundian reds? A stunner for Champagne? A blow out in Bordeaux? It’s to hard to say sitting in our office in Boston so we have asked our guides on the ground for a quick pre-harvest round up.

Bike Tour Tuscany Italy

Tuscany awaits harvest

Tom reports from Italy that in Tuscany all the winemakers agree that this has been a strange year weather-wise.  A warm, dry spring led to early flowering, but then some rainy weeks in June and July seemed to slow down the maturation process.  Winemakers are always a bit coy when discussing the prospects for the coming vintage, like card-players unwilling to reveal their hands.  This is largely due to the fact that they have experienced a lifetime of fickle weather.  A perfect hot, dry summer can produce a mediocre vintage if September brings a lot of rain.  Conversely, a hot, dry end of the season can help turn around a mediocre summer.  Talking with our friend Vittorio Innocenti, a Vino Nobile producer in Montefollonico and with Barbara at the Brunelli Winery in Montalcino, there seems to be a sense of cautious optimism.  They are predicting an early harvest here as well (beginning in the 2nd week of September) and have already started preparing for the “vindemmia” by bottling some older wines to make space in the barrels and confirming the harvest dates with their picking crews.  This next month will be essential in determining whether 2011 will be one of the great vintages that we cherish years down the road or a weak vintage that languishes in the discount aisle at your local wine shop.

Piedmont bike tours during the grape harvest

Piedmont grapes ready

The grape harvest, or vendemia, is in full swing in Piedmont, starting with the moscato grapes. The moscato grapes produce a delicate still desert wine, with little resemblance to “your father’s” frizzy moscato d’Asti. Moscato vineyards grace several of the routes of our Piedmont bike tour on the first three days, along with little-known gems like Arneis, Cortese, Brachetto, and classics like Barbera and Dolcetto, prior to our route taking us into the more world-renowned Barolo region, with it’s noble Nebbiolo grape. The Nebbiolo grape, one of the latest harvested (even it’s name in Italian includes the word nebbia, or fog, as it is typically picked when the autumn fogs begin rolling into the vineyards), won’t be ready for harvest for another several weeks, though most certainly earlier than normal, due to the hot, dry summer here.

Our guides on the Cote D’ Or in Burgundy tell a similar story. Burgundians are keeping as tight-lipped as ever and any early optimisms for the year are being underplayed with typical shoulder shrugs and “Je ne se pas”. There are rumblings in the southern Cote D’Or that the recent heat wave could lead to some interesting results from the regions world-class Chardonnays, but if the heat remains for the harvest itself, forcing the grapes to cook a little in their hods, that could all change. In the Cote de Nuits  humidity and an airless July mean many worried about disease, possible low production and lack of concentration, but again the heatwave may have come to the rescue! Alas many lost their whole harvest to freak hail storms in the Beaujolais in late July, but St Vincent was smiling on the cote D’ Or and her grapes remained untouched and all indications are for a good year.  An early flowering and dry May have also instigated an early harvest, with picking for Chardonnay starting any day while the Pinot Noir will wait for the first week of September.

Burgundy France bike tours during the grape harvest

Vendange in Burgundy

The word from Pablo in Spain is that the harvest in the Rioja and Ribera regions will coincide perfectly with our October Rioja bike tour. Excellent weather in 2011 is due to produce another excellent year in Spain. Not a lot of rain, good terroir, and new investments in wineries have set the stage.

Whether 2011 is a good year for Europe’s wines remains to be tasted. But one thing is for sure; there has never been a better time to get on a bicycle and visit these fascinating wine regions. In Champagne, Rioja, Provence, Burgundy, Piedmont and Loire Valley wine harvests have been taking place for thousands of years and the time honored practice of picking the grapes, pressing them and turning them into wine has changed very little. Many grapes are still picked by hand, whole communities work together and post harvest celebrations and pageantry are second to none! We know that a DuVine Adventure is the best way to get a real feel for this fascinating element of the wine making experience – a unique chance to get caught up in the excitement and the energy of the process. So why not saddle up and come and find out for yourself why 2011 is a great year for a pedal-powered wine adventure and you can witness wine history in the making!

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June 30, 2011

A Soiree in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Filed under: Brazil, Chef on Wheels, Drink, Eat, European bike tours, Portugal — Tags: , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 10:35 am

Deborah, our Operations and Sales Manager back in the Boston office, recently made a trip down to Brazil to visit past DuViners, meet with guides, and see what Sao Paulo is all about. We have had a large amount of Brazilian guests on our bike tours around the world, which was the main reason we established an office there early this year. Deborah has provided us with great information on her experience in Brazil and it sounds amazing!

Brazilians are friendly and hospitable and my trip to Sao Paulo to visit the DuVine office in Brazil was all about hospitality.  Guilherme and Marina welcomed me with open arms and it was wonderful to meet everyone and spend time training Barbara, Vanessa and Donatella.  Like Boston, DuVine’s Brazil office is growing fast.

Sao Paulo Soiree

Dining in Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo is chic.  It is a gigantic city of cement, but filled with culture, art, designer shops, well-dressed people and gourmet delights.  With a population of 11 million in the city, sprawling out to 20 million in the surrounding area, it is vast yet filled with interesting diversity, from its mixed population of Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese and African cultures.  With the third greatest concentration of buildings in the world (behind New York City and Hong Kong) the architecture ranges from skyscrapers to old colonial buildings like the Opera house in the old city, built as a copy of a European counterpart.  Most are modern, such as Oscar Niemeyer’s Ibirapuera concert hall in the park where free outdoor concerts are regularly held, a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Art abounds from the Pinacoteca museum to the chic urban graffiti found at Beco do Batman and street graffiti, known as pichacao, is even to be seen on the top of skyscrapers – how does one get graffiti on top of high-rise?  With 5 business centers interspersed with high-rise residential apartments the city towers for kilometers, as does the traffic, though small cars help the traffic to flow better.  A tour is a great way to get around and my guide Eliana Souza was very knowledgeable.

Surprisingly, the first thing I saw driving from the airport into the city were cyclists on the freeway. It certainly indicated that this is a city where people like to bike.  On Sundays, the inner lanes of the major roads are for cyclists only and are filled with everyone heading to the parks.  It is easy to see why so many Brazilians join us on our ‘Bike, Eat Drink, Sleep’ DuVine tours.  Food is important in Brazil and to Paulistanos in particular, going out for lunch is so civilized and much healthier for digestion. It provides a much needed break to both body and mind and rejuvenation for the remainder of the day.  We ate at Le Jazz whose chef Chico Ferreira will host our October Chef on Wheels tour in Burgundy.  The group will stop at the market to purchase local produce for the evening delights cooked, of course, by their very own traveling master chef.  Both the duck and porc cutlets at Le Jazz are highly recommended.  I also got to try Feijoada, a Brazilian cassoulet, at Figueira Rubaiyat, a well-known restaurant with a gorgeous setting built around the city’s oldest fig tree.

DuVine Wine Tasting in Brazil

Wine Tasting in Brazil

In the DuVine style of eating and drinking, I was fortunate to meet many of our Brazilian guests at our Soiree held at the home of Guilherme’s parents, a gorgeous mansion filled with wonderful treasures.  They were charming hosts, along with our DuVine staff.  We had a scrumptious spread with local soups, bacalhau pies – a Portuguese cod fish dish, and wonderful cheeses.  It was so nice to meet a number of past DuViners and to chat with many future friends.  A wonderful evening was had by all, and Chef on Wheels was a hot topic during the night, along with our new Portuguese trip in the untouched Alentejo region, with its similar culture, easy cycling and great cuisine & wine.

Towards the end of the week, Marina and I visited Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of Sao Paulo state.  The region is rich in sugar cane, and Marina assured me it is a gorgeous drive through the fertile farmland. In our case we got torrential rain.  To make things a bit better, the people I met there were wonderful, exuding the Brazilian hospitality I was experiencing everywhere.  We met a number of friendly agents there and were hosted to another wonderful Brazilian meal, based, as usual, around meat.  We also spent a lovely evening with Gilberto, who’d just attended our Soiree and is to join us in Burgundy in October.  We met friends in a local restaurant with live Brazilian music and were then hosted to a personalized tour of downtown, including a stop at the famous Pinguim beer bar, famous for its draft beer and now a symbol of the city.  The beer was supposedly sent by pipe directly from the factory to the taps and is pulled over ice to ensure correctly chilled.  It certainly tasted great.  I can’t wait to reciprocate with DuVine hospitality in Burgundy.

Marina extended more Brazilian hospitality to me with a relaxing visit to her gorgeous beach house in Guaruja for my final weekend.  While it was winter there it was still warmer than Boston and a gorgeous temperature for walking on the beach and sitting and drinking coconut water fresh from the fruit, followed by Caipirinha’s sold at small beach kiosks, Brazil’s national drink and a beach tradition.  A wonderful ending to a busy DuVine week!

We hope everyone had a great time at the soiree and hope to see everyone again soon. Deborah had an amazing time in Brazil, but we are glad to have her back in Boston!

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April 24, 2011

DuVine Guides – Spring in Burgundy, France

Filed under: Drink, European bike tours, France, Guide posts, Wine Tasting, burgundy — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 3:34 pm

DuVine guides, Sam and Thomas, biked through central France and have some great experiences to share. They had a great week pre-tripping in advance of the new season of bike tours in France and decided to write about their experience in the wine capital of Burgundy. We hope you enjoy reading about it!

Spring Has Sprung in Burgundy.

Bike Tour Burgundy

Working the Fields

The villages of the Cote d’Or are eerily quiet in late April. Cats sleep in sharp late morning shadows; tree blossoms scatter and mix with dust disturbed by gusts of wind channeled through narrow streets. Lazy silences are broken only by the wispy clapping from the wings of the doves moving from the safety of a medieval belfry to a new roost. The rolling clang of metal shutters announces the closure of the only shop in the village, the Boulangerie, and the start of the sacred two hour lunch break. Leaning on your handlebars in the warm spring sunshine of these picturesque Burgundian villages… Where is everyone?

The answer… at work.

Winery in Burgundy

Fields of the Winery

The narrow, 50 km escarpment that runs southward from Dijon towards Santenay is home to the greatest wine growing country on earth. From the saddle of a bicycle it is easy to see why this somewhat ordinary strip of land produces the marveled wines it does. The gentle gradient of southeast facing slopes rest under a steep protective ridge topped with dense oak forests. The natural springs from numerous combes (small valleys) provide nourishment from deep within the earth and the suns path bathes the region in golden sunshine giving its name the Cote d’Or.

But the wines of Burgundy don’t make themselves. Other than the vendanges (harvest), spring is one of the busiest times of year in this ancient capital of wine and the work done at this early stage of the year is vital to the rest of the year’s production. Once off the closed, shadowed streets of Pommard, Volnay Monthelie and Vougeot, the horizon opens to reveal this essential landscape. Shaded cobbled streets become winding tracks and organized thoroughfares that connect the domains, Parcel and Clos, the names of which read like any wine lovers wish list.

Tight lines of wire run from the innumerable staves that in time will support a priceless harvest, but in late April the vines, dormant for so long over a long cold winter, are only just coming back to life.

Guide Post Burgundy Wine

Worn Hands Prune the Vines

Dilapidated white vans kick-up dust as they navigate their way through this criss-cross of tracks, lanes, vines, and by-ways. These vehicles are not the most glamorous mode of transportation for the owners of the most valuable real-estate in the world, you might think, but inside these beat up panel-vans rest the tools, knowledge, and man power that ensure the attention that each and every vine deserves. From dusk till dawn generations of Burgundians toil amongst their beloved vines.

Bent double in the brisk morning air they work from vine to vine, their clouds of breath blowing before them. Come midday their sweat-soaked shirts rest on vine-posts as they continue to cut and trim by hand, leaving behind only the shoots that they believe will provide the best fruit. Traditional methods are mixed with new. Burley work-horses pull ploughs through dense earth under the bellowed orders of meticulous vigneron (winemaker), while in the neighboring plot insect-like enjambeur (tractor) rush awkwardly between vines, there mechanical claws and wings spraying and scraping as they go.

At almost 10 cm a day the growth of the vines, at this time of year, is unforgiving. Each vine must be cut to produce the amount of juice that respects the strict guidelines of the local AOC. Weeks from now the tight lines and russet earth of Burgundy will be invisible under heavy foliage. Now is the time vigneron have the best access to the shoots that will produce a crop to satisfy their hopes that 2011 will not just be a good year, but a great year in the Cote d’Or.

Every local you speak to in Burgundy passes on his or her wisdom. Young and old, they all have an opinion. By all accounts, 2011 is looking very promising. Current temperatures are reminding those who can remember of the great vintages gone by. But it’s all too easy to write what makes good wine. To understand Burgundy and its wine you have to come here. You have to meet its people. You have to smell its soil. You have to cycle past the forests and see how the sun falls on certain plots in the late afternoon. Burgundy is all about terroir (land) and the only way you can understand terroir is by coming here.

If you come on a bike tour in France, you will get to experience everything that Sam and Thomas describe for you. We get to take advantage of all the wine that the region of Burgundy provides, but seeing what goes on first-hand makes the enjoyment of the wine that much greater.

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January 22, 2010

Mendoza Wine Tasting – Video Blog – DuVine TV

Filed under: Argentina, Bike, Drink, DuVine TV, Video Blog, Wine Tasting — Tags: , , — Bike tour guru @ 12:50 pm

“It’s the hottest wine since Sideways blew the doors off Pinot Noir! ”

Mendoza Argentina for bike tours has made the big leagues especially here at DuVine and so has the food and wine. The assertion that Mendoza is the most important wine-producing province in Argentina is almost a cliché. But it is almost impossible not to make such statements, as this province produces more than 80% of Argentina’s wine from its 150,000 vine-planted hectares. Mendoza’s wine industry increasingly focuses on quality, and on finding the optimum relations between different varieties and terroirs. Mendoza´s diversity is doubtlessly enviable in this respect.

Check out the video as we taste 2 wine selections from the Uco Valley and Lujan de Cuyo – it’s Malbec vs Cabernet France!

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January 7, 2010

DuVine 2010 – Bike Tour Year in Review

Filed under: Bike, Drink, Eat, Sleep — Tags: , , , , , , — Bike tour guru @ 3:15 pm

 What an auspicious start to a new year it was, like a lot of companies, we had all hands on deck, ready to face the unknown.  Everyone was talking about the financial meltdown.  People were losing their jobs, stock portfolios had dropped by 50%, retirement was seen as a far off dream …. so who the heck wanted to travel … especially on a luxury bike tour to Europe or Africa or the Americas?

Trying to figure out what to do I had decided to look very carefully at our operational costs.  What could we live without in the office?  We had several meetings, and everyone needed to come to the meeting with how they thought they could save money.  I did this because the last thing I wanted to do was cut jobs or reduce the quality of our tours.  At DuVine what is important to me first and foremost are our travelers and our staff so we needed to remain strong and positive, despite what was going on around us.

January started off slow but  once February hit the phones kept on ringing and it did not stop.  We worked hard to speak with every potential customer, answering their questions, helping them with special needs and requests so that they would see the value in our product and company.  We knew that we had to keep true to our goal of providing each person with the vacation of a life-time.

We were bolstered early on in the year with some National Prestige and Awards including:

  • DuVine word is starting to spread like wild fire.

Additionally, a very satisfying aspect of 2009, was being able to create jobs in the so called slumping economy. We added 5 great new hires in our main office during the  first two quarters (Dede, Deborah, Neshelle, Michelle, Gina) and many new bike tour guides out on the road.  I told guides in the beginning of the season, that I was not sure how big our bike tours would be each week, but if they stuck with us, they would be see the rewards at the end of the rainbow.  In the end, most of the DuVine bike guides had their best season ever, with sold out tours, big tips and really fun exciting clients who loved the bike, eat, drink, sleep concept.  I received tons of wonderful emails from 2009 travelers, who loved their trip with us.

Another highlight of 2009 was the introduction of a number of new bike  tours – in particular; Mallorca, Puglia, Piedmont, and Mendoza.  I was nervous putting out these new tours… thinking can we fill them?  I traveled to each location, created each tour, met with the people and drank the wine… knowing that if we build it… they will come.  All of these bike tour regions..Mallorca, Puglia, Piedmont, Mendoza beat our goals and had many satisfied travelers and are a big part of the plan for 2010

As is always fun, we introduced the DuVine Concept to many new travelers and were fortunate enough to be able to protect the travel plans of multiple travelers who were canceled from other companies’ tours due to their low load factors.

Many people traveled with DuVine, because the bigger bike tour operators only run tours with specific “load counts.”  Being small and real, we are not just about the bottom line.  The customer experience, our travelers vacation time is very important to us… we take that very seriously.  Therefore we did not cancel trips, and kept dates open for sale, voila… good karma and not being greedy…they filled.  It was good for everyone.

Another amazing thing in 2009 was the creativity of our team in building the first ever ‘hybrid’ brochure which showed our dedication to unique and personalized travel plans.  Many people throw away their brochures, which doesn’t fit well with the concept of being green, so we thought, why not produce a marketing tool, in the form of a travel brochure that people can use?  So we created our travel planner – which is a calendar, brochure and thank you gift all in one.  Our staff did an amazing job from start to finish, making the DuVine travel planner a real winner.  The emails I have received have been overwhelming.

With all the amazing growth in 2009, we still need to stay laser focused on being the unique and personalized tour operator that we are known for.  Not the big shot, not the impersonal tour mill, but the great boutique shop or restaurant with a few tables that you know and love….where you know the chef, the waiters and people’s names.  A company where you can show up wearing what you want and bike how you want…. just be ready to bike, eat, drink, and live the good life.

Bring on the people and the bike tours in 2010.

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