Avalon Tours Photo Index

Come back often to see the latest photos!

AUSTRALIA is Avalon's newest tour venue!
Click here to see photos of what's in store for you "Down Under"!

Click HERE for General France photos * * * * Click HERE for General Chile photos

Please excuse the lack of recent photos; we had a server problem and lost a whole segment!!!

If your tour is not here drop us an email and let us know, and if we still have back-ups of the photos we'll make sure we get them posted.

Scroll down to see more tours, or jump to 1999 or 1998 photos
Here is a video of our French Wine Tours:

October 23-27, 2002
A special tour of Bordeaux for a couple of our more serious collectors.
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Haut Brion's 2002 vintage heading to the presses	Haut Brion's First-Year Barrel Cellar	Tasting the escellent 2001 Haut Brion
The Key to Haut Brion's cellar...	Margaux's 2nd year cellar	Tom inspects Margaux's vinification
Dave in the gloom of Margaux's vat room	Outisde the residence of Chateau Margaux	The beautiful Chateau Margaux
Tasting the 2001 and 1996 Latour	Listining to the 2002 White Domaine de Chevalier ferment in its barrels, after tasting a half-dozen different lots from the barrel	Discussing the various lots of White Domaine de Chevalier
Noelle draws another sample of White Domaine de Chevalier for us to evaluate	Francois Mitjaville describes the terroir of St. Emilion from the terrasse at Tertre Roteboeuf	Francois Mitjaville
Lunch with Francois Mitjaville, and his '89 and '82 Tertre Roteboeuf	Francois enjoys the fantastic 2001 Tertre Roteboeuf after lunch	Francois again
Dave with his new buddy Francois...	...and Tom with his new buddy...	The wonderful new barrel cellar at Chateau Pavie

October 06-16, 2002
The Rhone, Burgundy & Champagne with the Gary Parker and friends from the Wine Sellar in San Diego
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Ancient stone village outside of Gordes	The beautiful village of Gordes, close to Domaine de la Citadelle in the Luberon	Tasting in the cellars of Chateau Beaucastel with Mike Rigken
Al with his new friend Mike and his special gift of Rose from Chateau Beaucastel	The group at Beaucastel	Lunch at the delightful Restaurant Les Florets, in Gigondas
"Hiking" under the Dentelles, in Gigondas	Chateauneuf vineyards and village from the top of the hill, by the ruins of the Chateau itself	Inspecting Chapoutier's vines at the foot of the hill of Hermitage
Gary & Lori in the vines...	Hermitage from the bottom, looking up to the Chapel	Lori graces the vines of Hermitage
Al testing the quality of the grapes at Hermitage	A VERY extensive tasting at Chapoutier/center>	From atop the hill of Hermitage, looking over to the Chapel
From atop the hill of Hermitage, looking east	From atop the hill of Hermitage, looking north up the Rhone river	One of Guigal's prize cobwebs
Guigal's traditional aging in large foudres	Guigal's ultra-modern packing plant	Gary with his love of the Cote Roti - Guigal's wonderful Condrieu "La Doriane"
Gary with our lovely hostess, Madame Chagny of Auberge du Cep in Fleurie (we finished lunch at 5:30 PM...)	Enjoying an after-lunch stroll at the chapel above Fleurie	At Joaurd in Chassagne-Montrachet
Listening to Jouard's 2002 Premier Crus fermenting	Francois Jouard at peace with his barrels	A few rather nice bottles to go with dinner at Ma Cuisine in Beaune
Patrice Rion tastes us on his great 2001 red Burgundies	Lunch at La Pousse d'Or in Volnay	Patrick Landanger of La Pousse d'Or and his hunting dog
Up where the action is, atop the vats at La Pousse d'Or	Pousse d'Or's innovative, gravity-fed vinification room	Frederick Esmonin and his father Andre with Gary, at the start of an extensive tasting in their cellars
With Bernard Legland in the cellars of Domaine des Marronniers in Chablis	Driving up the hill of Chablis' Grands Crus	In Chablis' Grands Crus vines
Chablis Grands Crus vineyards	In the huge cellars of Marne & Champagne in Epernay	This ancient phone shows how humid the cellars get when you're 40 feet down in Champagne!
Great conditions for a serious tasting session at Marne & Champagne	The chalk-quarry caves of Ruinart, that date from Gallo-Roman times nearly 2000 years ago	More of Ruinart's historic caves

September 9-29, 2002
A great week in Bordeaux and St. Emilion with Gary Parker and his customers from the Wine Sellar and Laurel restaurant in San Diego!
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Gazin's vines in Pomerol	Chateau Gazin	Tasting at Gazin	Gary tasting at Gazin
A gourmet dinner at Hostellerie de Plaisance

The door to Cos d'Estournel's cellars (originally made for the Sultan of Zanzibar)	The interior of Cos's cellar is just as exotic...	A brand new small oak vat ready for the 2001 vintage at Cos
Beychevelle's cellar - one of the few that are really underground in the Medoc	The group enjoying the sunshine after tasting at Beychevelle	Beychevelle's gorgeous gardens
Remi Edange explaining the picking at Domaine de Chevalier	Domaine de Chevalier in the midst of harvesting some of the world's best Sauvignon Blanc	The first racking of the Domaine de Chevalier - one of secrets you have to come with us to learn about!
And of course tasting the Domaine de Chevalier red and white... commented by Remi Edange	Racking the 2000 Haut-Brion	Preparing the "esquive" for one of Haut-Brion's barrels
Sauduiraut's grapes are starting to show signs of Botrytis, but still a ways to go...	Enjoying a history lesson in the garden of Suduiraut before our tasting	Figeac's grapes look good enough to eat, but they still have a while to go before harvest
Some "new" friends at Figeac	Jean-Michel explaining the tricks of viticulture at Canon la Gaffeliere	The 1999 La Mondotte - all of it!
Nicolas de Baillencourt talks about his vineyard outside his home, Chateau Gazin in Pomerol	Laurie checks the quality of one of Nicolas' new barrels at Gazin	The hi-tech part of Chateau Quinault - another thing you have to come to learn about!
Alain Raynaud with his new "remouillage" barrel racks at Chateau Quinault	Tasting with the Raynauds at Quinault	Minstrels head the processions of the Jurade in St. Emilion, playing their Mediaeval music
The "grape-bearers" for this year's Jurade, outside the church before Mass	Eric d'Aramon of Chateau Figeac	Alain Raynaud of Quinault
Hubert de Bouard of Angelus, and head of the St. Emilion growers' syndicate	Our table is seranaded by the Minstrels at lunch with the Jurade in St. Emilion	The Jurade declare the Vintage open from the top of the Tour du Roi in St. Emilion

September 2-9, 2001
Getting ready for Bordeaux's harvest!
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Serafin, Haut-Brion's resident cooper (from Seguin-Moreau) puts the finishing touch to another work of art	Learning the intricacies of barrel-making at Haut-Brion	And tasting from those barrels in Haut-Brion's cellars!
The wonderful new vat room at Chateau du Tertre in Margaux	Getting inside the workings of du Tertre's new destemmer	Tasting the fantastic '98 and 2000 Tertre!
Barrel-tasting the 2000 Labegorce-Zede	Fred and Ellen celebrate their wedding anniversary on the terrace at Hotel Pavilion de Margaux	And continue the celebration at the St. Julien, perhaps the Medoc's finest haute-cuisine
Chateau Pavie shows off its new vats; part of the entirely renovated winery	Gourmet food and great service at teh Hostellerie de Plaisance in St. Emilion	Tasting the 1989 Figeac, one of the treats of the trip!
Discussing the upcoming harvest with Nicolas de Baillencourt at Chateau Gazin	Gazin's newly-renovated aging cellar	A final gourmet dinner at the Manoir d'Hautegente in the heart of the Dordogne

July 17, 2001
A day in sunny Champagne
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

In the cellars of Gosset, outside Epernay	Checking out the riddling racks	Gosset's bottling line
Champagne's beautiful vineyards	Reims cathedral, where the Kings and Queens of France were crowned	The cathedral's famous Rosace window

July 4-12, 2001
Bordeaux in the summertime is the place to be!
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

After our welcome dinner at the Hostellerie de Plaisance in St. Emilion	Tasting the 1989 Figeac is just one of the treats of a visit to Bordeaux	Monsieur Manoncourt signs labels for our guests as we taste his wine at Chateau Figeac
Chatting over the barrels of delicious 2000 Gazin in Pomerol	Chris and Mark check out the technical side of the operation at Canon la Gafelliere in St. Emilion	Chris checking the inside of a vat at Canon la Gafelliere
Marc keeps his composure, sooo close to the entire remaining stock of 1999 La Mondotte	With Jean-Michel and the 2000 Canon la Gafelliere	Two very happy degustateurs, tasting the range of 2000 barrel samples from Von Nieppberg's estate: l'Aguille, Clos de l'Oratoire, Canon la Gafelliere and the superb La Mondotte
Smith-Haut-Lafitte's cooper in action	Daniel Cathiard has a serious discussion of his wines with us at Smith-Haut Lafitte	The cellar crew racks the 2000 Pavilon de Margaux, at Chateau Margaux - one of the great deals of the 2000 vintage
Chateau Margaux's immaculate barrel room	With Gunvor Bizard after tasting the Margaux and Pavilion de Margaux	Poor Monsieur Nunez getting swarmed by some of his fan club

June 16, 2001
The Gala pre-VinExpo Fete of the Jurade of St. Emilion
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Peter and Alejandro Hernandez, one of his Chilean friends, welcome another of Chile's leading oenologists, Alvaro Epinoza into the Jurade	Sanjeev and Shelly enjoy aperitifs in the caves beneath Chateau Clos Fourtet	A carved ice basket keeps the fois-gras stuffed truffles chilled during dinner
The cloisters of the historic church of St. Emilion make a stunning setting for dinner	The remnants of any great meal should look like this!	A very satisfied couple of diners
The post-dinner show is always spectacular	More drama on the streets of St. Emilion	A strange Mediaeval demon stalks the St. Emilion night air

Bordeaux May 28 June 2 Photo Gallery - our new format
CLICK HERE to view photos!

May 3-7, 2001
Bordeaux in the Springtime
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Chateau Gazin's vines budding in the spring sunshine
Kosher wine sealed in the vats of Chateau Smith-Haut Lafitte
Discussing the 2000 vintage amongst the barrels at Chateau Angelus

Tasting the 2000 Gazin
Tasting the 1998 Gazin
Another Gourmet Dinner at the Hostellerie de Plaisance

May 2-4, 2001
A quick look at Bordeaux in the merry month of May!

Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Remi Edange shows Tim and Kim how he tends his vines at Domaine de Chevalier	Tasting the 2001 Domaine de Chevalier - possibly the best red vintage Remi has made!	Kim managed to coerce a bottle of the rare White Domaine de Chevalier from Remi!
Over lunch the conversation turns to duck decoys, as two hunters share a their passion	Chateau Canon's vines, with the church of St. Emilion in the background	Oak vats at Chateau Canon, one of St. Emilion's First-Growths
Under the hill of St. Emilion in Canon's ancient limestone galleries	Tasting from the vat with Nicolas de Baillencourt, owner of Chateau Gazin in Pomerol	Tasting the last few vintages of Chateau Labegorce, including of course the 2001
The beautiful residence of Labegorce	Our old friend Monsieur Nunez with his trusty adze	Kim has to work before she can leave!

December 3-9, 2000
Back to Chile - with side trips to the South and Argentina! Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Casa del Toqui's vines being irrigated with pure Andean snow-melt	Martin Prieure from Burgundy joins us to taste at Cono Sur with Winemaker Adolpho Hurtado	Viu Manent's beautifully-situated new vineyard on the slopes of Colchagua Valley
Jose Miguel Viu takes care of his guests at a lovely Chilean BBQ dinner	With the charming Echeverria Family outside their family's winery	And not to be outdone, the table at La Fortuna's dinner party!
Luis Daniel Guell, owner of La Fortuna enjoys dinner with us	We take a side-trip to see Chile's newest hot-spot, the Apalta Valley	Steve and Nita check out the view from the top of Caliterra's new winery
Jack gets a shot of some beautiful ladies at Caliterra	Caliterra's winery in stark contrast to the lush vineyard	The beautiful vineyards of Harras del Pirque
The aging cellar of Harras del Pirque	Our final dinner in the elegant dining room of the Casa Real Hotel	Ricardo Baettig, assistant winemaker at Errazuriz

September 10-18, 2000
Bordeaux's Harvest and the Fete des Vendanges in St. Emilion

Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Alain Nunez, Margaux's cooper, at work making the barrels for the 2000 harvest	Tasting the 1997 Chateau Margaux	Corking an imperial of the 1999 Blanc de Lynch-Bages
Outside Pichon Longueville	Racking the 1999 Pichon Longueville	Domaine de Chevalier's Manager, Remi Edange, picking the 2000 Sauvignon Blanc
Sorting the first Merlot of Smith-Haut Lafitte's harvest	Listening to the White Smith-Haut Lafitte bubbling - 2 days into it's fermentation	Smith-Haut Lafitte's new Oak/Stainless composite fermenting vats
Tasting in the cellar with Daniel Cathiard, owner of Smith-Haut Lafitte	Smith-Haut Lafitte's cooper preparing a barrel for firing

May 29-June 3, 2000
Flowering of the vines in Bordeaux - a lovely time of year!

Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Visiting Haut-Brion's vat room	Tasting at Chasse-Spleen - all five of the family's properties	In Lafite Rothschild's vat room with Francois Node
Lafite's library cellar, which is looked after by Francois	Outside Lafite Rothschild after our visit	Cathy tastes the '99 Rieusec at Chateau Lafite
Three great wines - Les Carruades, Lafite and Rieussec	Martin with his new friend at Pichon Comtesse	Walking back to St. Emilion after visiting Canon la Gafelliere
Spring poppies and spring vines below Ausone's vineyards	Martin checks Gazin's vines on the plateau of Pomerol after the rain has stopped

March 12-18, 2000
Chile - the New Millennium's First Vintage!

Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Looking over Carmen's vineyards to the Andes	Concha y Toro's specialist vineyard Cono Sur ferments Pinot Noir 2000 in open-topped vats	Casa del Toqui's manager Philippe explains his growing techniques
Casa del Toqui's grapes almost ready to pick	Katrina and Pilar pour in Undurraga's tasting room	The morning sun comes up behind the Andes over Santa Rita's vineyards
In the gardens of Undurraga	Caliterra's young winemaker Rodrigo Banto tastes with us on the veranda	Mary and May-Britt picking herbs for tea from Carmen's organic garden
Tasting the fermenting "bourru" at Santa Ines	Caliterra's harvest in full swing	Carmen's beautiful vineyards
Jerry & Leslie taking memories at Concha y Toro's Peumo winery	Looking across Caliterra's lovely valley	Denis and May-Britt examine Carmen's vines
Mary and Jennifer getting a whiff of Peumo's fermenting grapes	Caliterra, one of the most beautiful scenes you could imagine!	Lunch at Casa Real - some of Chile's wonderful seafood!
Lunch by the pool at Casa Real - Life is Good!	Almaviva's state-of-the-art equipment	A hay-ride at Caliterra!
Dinner with Chago Achurra and his family	Almaviva's elegant barrel room	Our final dinner at Casa Real - a fine way to end a great week!

September 23-26, 1999
Lattice Semi-Conductor's Gourmet tour of Bordeaux

Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

The group outside Pichon Longueville

Before dinner at Pichon Longueville, with Jean-Michel Cazes, owner of Lynch-Bages and Director of Pichon

With Alfred Tesseron, owner of Chateau Pontet Canet, after a wonderful evening at his table

September 19-26, 1999
Bordeaux, with bonus invitation to St. Emilion's Fete des Vendanges
(See following tour for pix of the Fete)
**Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos**
Daniel Cathiard explains the layout of his vines at Chateau Smith Haut-Lafitte	Daniel's grapes are good enough to eat!	Remi shows how careful the selection process is at Domaine de Chevalier
Every grape that's not perfect is clipped before it goes into the basket!	Remi's pickers are trained to be as careful as he is	After selection in the field, grapes are sorted again before they are cruched
The innovative new crusher-hopper at Domaine de Chevalier	Crushed grapes are lifted gently up to the vats	Then they are loaded directly into the vats, with no pumping
Aperitifs on the ramparts of the Mediaeval village of St. Emilion	Our oenologist's birthday fell during this tour	Francois de Ligneris of Chateau Soutard shows us how to select grapes on the sorting table
The sorting table in full swing at Soutard	Soutard's new grapes beginning to ferment	Madame d'Aramon, owner of Figeac, personally sorts her grapes
Figeac's vines after the last grapes were picked	Gazin's crop - ready to pick in a couple of days	Nicolas de Baillencourt gets us a sample of his fermenting juice at Chateau Gazin

September 12-20, 1999
Bordeaux, with the glorious Fete des Vendanges in St. Emilion
**Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos**
The Jurade of St. Emilion celebrates the 800th anniversary of their foundation	Hubert de Bouard, owner of Chateau Angelus, is the new President of the Jurade	Peter is inducted into the Jurade of St. Emilion (with his sponsor, Francois de Ligneris of Cht. Soutard)
Wandering minstrels entertain in the streets of St. Emilion	One of our two tables at the Jurade's gourmet lunch	Our special guests for lunch were Jean-Noel Malbec, the ex-cellar master of Chateau Latour, and his wife
Frank and Kay doing some serious tasting at lunch	Olivier (owner) and Remi (manager) are pretty happy with the '99 white harvest at Domaine de Chevalier!	Picking the Domaine de Chevalier, grape by grape
Daniel Cathiard, owner of Smith Haut-Lafitte, tastes the '97 and '98 with us	Listening to the new white Smith Haut-Lafitte fermenting in its barrels	Checking progress of fermentation in the white Smith Haut-Lafitte
Frank drinks with Daniel Cathiard	Lunch at Chateau Maucaillou	A trailer-load of rotten grapes at Suduiraut - Noble Rot of course!
Patricio checks out Suduiraut's vines at harvest time	What does Marcel think he's doing??	Taking a picture of Pichon Longueville's famous prism over the vat room!

August 1-3, 1999
A couple of days in St. Emilion
**Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos**
Beausejour Becot's collection of skulls from the cemetry above their caves	Looking over Cheval Blanc's vineyards	Cheval Blanc's grapes in the midst of "veraison", when they change color
Nicolas de Baillencourt explains how he makes his wine in Chateau Fazin's vat room	Nicolas shows us Gazin's new prototype barrel washer	The rooftops of St. Emilion from the terrace of our hotel, the Hostellerie de Plaisance

July 13, 1999
A short-but-sweet day in St. Emilion
**Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos**
Tasting the '98 Angelus overlooking their vineyards	It was a rainy day in St. Emilion!	Climbing up to see the fermenting vats at Canon la Gafelliere
Waxing the tops of the large format '97 Canon la Gafelliere	Jean-Michel shows off Can. la Gafellier's seal	Cheval Blanc's new ownership has introduced Latour-style wrapping to package their wonderful wine

July 6-10, 1999
The Hoffer family's Bordeaux trip!
**Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos**
Outside Cantenac Brown's beautiful chateau	Racking the '98 at Cantenac Brown	Joyce bids goodbye to M. Nunez, Margaux's retired cooper
M. Node explains Lafite's winemaking techniques	Pouring the '98 Lafite for us to taste	Joyce & Barry toast the family at Lafite!
The Hoffers at the Barton's (Leoville Barton)	Tasting the delicious white Domaine de Chevalier barrel samples	Remi, manager of Dmn de Chevalier, joins us for lunch
The Hoffers in Suduiraut's ornamental gardens	Grapes sacrificed in the "Vendange Vert" at Petrus	Figeac's grapes, a week older, and looking good
The Hoffers in St. Emilion	The final dinner at the Hostellerie de Plaisance	Goodnight, St. Emilion!

June 27 - July 3, 1999
Bordeaux in the summertime!
**Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos**
Pichon Longueville's bottling line	Tasting with Francis, Leoville Poyferre's Cellarmaster	Mouton's library cellar
The boys at Cos	Checking out Lynch-Bages' old oak vats	A lovely leg of Pauillac lamb at the St. Julien Restaurant
Enjoying dinner in St. Julien	Racking the '98 Branair Ducru	Chateau Beychevelle's beautiful gardens
Deanna's rapture over the Hostellerie's dessert trolley!	Figeac's vertical press - still used every year	Figeac's grapes starting to swell
Smith-Haut-Lafitte's new wooden fermenting vats	Discussing the '98 with Smith Haut Lafitte's owner and Cellarmaster	Florence Cathiard, owner of Smith-Haut-Lafitte, explains her cooper's tools
Smelling the different lots of fermenting Suduiraut	Deanna strolls in Suduiraut's lovely gardens	After dinner with Count and Countess de Chenerilles

June 12-19, 1999
St. Emilion's Fete des Fleurs and 800th birthday of the Jurade!
The start of a great evening in St. Emilion with May-Britt and Denis Malbec from Chateau Latour	The Jurade members announce the official opening of the festivities!	Our table
The "Glass Forest" at the end of the night with the empty '78 Figeac	The morning after we go to Pomerol for a quiet visit with Nicolas de Baillencourt of Gazin, and his father	A little '98 Gazin to wake us up!
Back to St. Emilion to see the Jurade's procession	The Minstrels play in St. Emilion's town square	All sorts of strange creatures stalked the streets of the village today!
The Jurade announce the quality of the '98 vintage over the rooftops!	And back to the regular tour; racking the '98 Leoville Poyferre	The lovely Chateau Lafite Rothschild
Haut-Marbuzet's antique crusher still does the job	In the courtyard of Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou	This is not an antique; Coutet's press still makes the best Barsac
During VinExpo we dined with a past guest and good friend, Jerry Lohr of J. Lohr Vineyards	In the beautiful barrel cellar of Cos d'Estournel	A group of buyers from Hong Kong took time off from VinExpo to tour Beychevelle with us
Figeac's grapes are developing nicely in the warm spring weather	Glynn checks to make sure the grapes are healthy	Francis Goullee's cheeseboard; a great end to a great dinner at the end of a great week!

June 7-11, 1999 Burgundy in the Spring!
A Private Tour for Howard Maier and Richard Leland, owner of Vintage Wines in Marin County
Tasting the 1998's with Patrice Rion at Domaine Daniel Rion	A rare visit with Pierre Damoy, one of Gevrey's finest producers	Jacques Seysses' assistant Emanuel tasting with us at Domaine Dujac
A lovely day at the Romanee Conti Vineyard	Another rare treat: a visit with Claude Dugat in Gevrey-Chambertin	During a wonderful 4-hour tasting session at Domaine Jacques Prieure in Meursault
Tasting Prieure's Echezeau with Francois, the cellarmaster	Some take notes, some just take it easy!	Enjoying the scenery of the Cote de Beaune
At Francois Freres Cooperage the wood is split to make barrel staves	The busy workshop of one of the world's leading cooperages: Francois Freres	Monsieur Francois takes time out of his busy day to personally receive us to explain his craft
Looking over the vineyards of St. Romain to the appelation's top producer, Alain Gras	A "simple" starter at Lameloise, our favorite Burgundy restaurant - in fact our favorite; period!	Jean-Pierre, the ever-faithful and all-knowing somellier at Lameloise - his advice never fails!

June 4, 1999 Just one day in Bordeaux
Racking the 1998 Pichon Longueville	Visiting Chateau Margaux with the Houston Commanderie of Bordeaux	Tasting the '98 and '99 Chateau Montrose with Philippe Delagarigue, the new manager

May 30-June 4, 1999 Bordeaux
Tisno tastes the '98 La Mondotte at Canon la Gafelliere	Lunch with Remi Edange of Domaine de Chevalier - and his wines of course!	The elegant tasting room at Chateau Margaux
A lovely day at Cheval Blanc in St. Emilion	Monsieur Nunez, the retired cooper of Chateau Margaux still makes beautiful vinegar barrels in his spare time	Bottling the 1997 Lynch-Bages
Do you know what this machine does??? We'll tell you when you get here!	Tasting the 1998 Chateau Latour barrel samples	The famous tower of Chateau Latour
Lafite Rothschild's wine library dates back to the mid-1800's	Lafite's circular 2nd-year aging cellar	Francois Node takes a sample of the 1998 Lafite for us to taste
Tasting the '98 Lafite outside the cellar	The magnificent grounds of Chateau Lafite Rothschild	In the garden of Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande

May 23-30, 1999 Bordeaux
Stewart and Lisa looking over the Margaux vineyards at Prieure Lichine	The lovely courtyard of Prieure Lichine	Racking at Prieure Lichine
Lynch-Bages' old oak vats	Tasting the 1993 Chateau Margaux	The first flowers of the 1999 vintage appear in St. Emilion
In the aging cellar of Franc Mayne, deep in the hillside of St. Emilion	Soutard's owner, Francois de Ligneris explains his beliefs on the art of winemaking	Tom tastes the Merlot component of the '98 Soutard before it is blended (and before malolactic fermentation)
Lisa tastes another barrel sample at Soutard - this one in Acacia!	The much-debated "piegage" (punch-down) equipment at Canon La Gafelliere	Discussing vinification at Canon La Gafelliere
Jean-Michel with the tasting range at Canon La Gafelliere - including La Mondotte '97 and '98 samples	Jean-Michel and Tom enjoying the La Mondotte	The final dinner at Francis Goullee - what a great end to a great trip!

May 17-23, 1999 Bordeaux
Paul and Gayle in the vineyards of Chateau Suduiraut	The fantastic 1998 White Domaine de Chevalier rests in it's oak barrel	Gayle tastes the '98 White Domaine de Chevalier
Remi Edange shows Paul how to thin out the young vine shoots	Racking the '97 Red Domaine de Chevalier	Discussing the merits of severe pruning in Domaine de Chevalier's vineyards
Domaine de Chevalier's manager Remi Edange explains his pruning methods	Chateau Latour's Cellarmaster Denis Malbec brought a '57 Latour to celebrate Peter's birthday dinner - a real treat, and still so young - just like Peter!	Tasting the '97 red Domaine de Chevalier from the blending vat just before bottling
Alain Nunez, Chateau Margaux's resident cooper	Alain's workshop	Ancient treasures in Margaux's Library Cellar
Outside the residence of Chateau Margaux	Paul and Gayle celebrated their 11th Wedding Anniversary in St. Emilion	Jean-Michel and Paul in serious discussion about Canon la Gafelliere's vines
The famous and sometimes controversial piegage (punch-down) equipment at Canon la Gafelliere	Sampling the '97 and '98 Braniare Ducru with the Cellarmaster, Olivier	Looking into the old oak vats in Lynch-Bages museum

April 25-30, 1999 Bordeaux
In Anthony Barton's garden behind Chateau Leoville Barton	The spitoon at Leoville Barton is a priceless historic relic	Chateau Belair in St. Emilion is not only a First Growth, but has amazing limestone caves as it's cellar
Barrel tasting the '98 White Domaine de Chevalier, perhaps Bordeaux's greatest white wine	Tasting the '97 red Domaine de Chevalier from the blending vat just before bottling	The start of the '99 vintage - new buds at Chateau Gazin
Gazin's owner Nicolas de Baillencourt explains his pruning methods	Tasting the '97 Chateau Gazin	Racking the '98 Lynch-Bages
Alain Nunez, Chateau Margaux's resident cooper	Racking the '98 at Chateau Mouton Rothschild	Chateau Pichon Longueville's state-of-the-art control station in the vat room

1998 Tour Photo Index

(by date, most recent first) Back up to 1999 photos

November 8-15, 1998 Burgundy

For a day-by-day report on this tour, click HERE
A sneak preview of the 1998 Beaujolais Nouveau at Bichot - 10 days's early!	Bill tries to steal Alain Burguet's vintage WIlley's Jeep!	The stately Grands Crus of Chablis in their winter garb
Seeing how the wonderful Comte Cheese is made	The Comte gets it's daily salt rub-down	The Glacial Valley of Baume les Messierus in the Jura
Bill and Susan enjoy the view from Chateau Chalon	Christian Clavelier shares his 1959 Vin Jaune with Andy!	Tasting the 1980 Grands Crus Chablis of Vincent Dauvissat
Maison Drouhin's Jean-Pierre Cropsal enjoys tasting with us in his 14th Century Cellars	A rare visit to Claud Dugat; one of the smallest and best of Gevrey's producers	A truly rare treat - the 1955 Premier Cru St. Georges at Henri Gouges!!
Anne listens to the 1988 vintage ferment in Jadot's cellars	At the indescribable restaurant of Jaques Lameloise	Peter with Bernard Legland; perhaps Chablis' best "unknown" producer
Ted checks out some of Les Millisimes 50,000 bottle cellar	Hams on the grill at Ferme des Rolles, as the snow gently falls outside	The group - where else but the Romanee Conti vineyard, of course!

October 21 - November 2, 1998 Tuscany.
Our lovely Villa in the Heart of Chianti	Tasting the '98 Riecine from the fermenting vat	Relaxing in the Salon of our Tuscan Villa
Tasting the 1978 Selvapiana Still great after 20 years!	Nicolas Incisa della Rocchetta explains the history of his wonderful Sassicaia	Rampini's wonderful Tuscan Ceramics at Radda in Chianti

Making fresh Mozzarella at a local cheese-maker	Vittorio Innocenti's old press in action on the '98 vintage	Innocenti's '94 Vin Santo sealed in it's caratelli for the next 6-8 years
Grattamacco's vineyard - surely one of the earth's most peaceful places	On the original Roman road that runs through Fonteruloli's village	Fonterutoli's Olive oil rests in it's terracotta urns
Francesco Mazzei, owner of Fonterutoli, enjoys lunch with us	Casa Sola's pure farm-produced Virgin Olive Oil	The group says "Farewell"

October 18-24, 1998 Bordeaux.
Dinner at our Medoc "home", Chateau Beychevelle	Relaxing in Beychevelle's "Salon Bleu"	Philippe Dourthe owner of Cht. Maucaillou enjoys a gift from our guests
Part of Latour's Merlot goes through Malolactic fermentation in Barrique	Racking the '97 Latour	Tasting at Lynch-Bages - including a special tasting of the rare White Lynch-Bages

October 5-10, 1998 Bordeaux.
"Pumping over" the '98 Leoville Barton from the oak fermenting vats	Local shool kids learn how to sort grapes at Leoville Barton	The group's "Favorite Restaurant" the Lion d'Or
Listening to the white Lynch-Bages "sing" as it ferments!	Bob lends a hand with the picking!	The ladies with their favorite host: Philippe Dourthe of Cht. Maucaillou

September 20-26, 1998 Bordeaux
with Stafford's Fine Wines
of Newport Beach, CA.
Tasting the nectar of the '97 La Mondotte at Canon la Gafelliere (only $500/bottle in futures!)	Olivier Bernard, owner of Domaine de Chevalier speaks to our group on the bus	Remi Edange explains the ripe grape in detail
'98 Harvest with Remi Edange Manager of Domaine de Chevalier	Our guests help to sort the Merlot at Chateau Fieuzal	Nicolas de Baillencourt explains the fermentation charts at Chateau Gazin
Samples of the first 5 days of fermentation of Gazin's Merlot	Ripe for the picking at Gazin!	Mark can't resist a good ripe grape!
Henri Fevre gives the group a commented tasting during dinner at Chateau Giscours	Tasting the '97 and '91 at Chateau Latour	Kent with the (empty) Magnum of '76 Latour at the Lion d'Or Restaurant
Lunch at the Lion d'Or with the '85 Poujeaux and '76 Latour amongst a few others!	Yes, they do fine with real eggs: Chateau Palmer	Adding the egg-whites to the barrel at Palmer
Three "Musketeers" enjoying a 50-year old Cognac on the balcony of Chateau Pontet Canet after dinner	Farewell to Alfred Tesseron, voted "best Host" of the trip at Pontet Canet	Dinner in the private home of Alfred Tesseron, owner of Pontet Canet
Kent Stafford with Didier Cuvelier of Chateau Leoville Poyferre	Final dinner of a great trip at the Hostellerie de Plaisance in St. Emilion	By the last night we finally managed to wear Mark out!

September 13-20, 1998 Bordeaux
with St. Emilion's
Fete des Vendanges!
Dinner at the table of Count and Countess Philippe de Chenerilles at their home near Sauternes	Lunch at Chateau Beychevelle	White-gloved service in Chateau Beychevelle's dining room
Count Stephan von Neippberg and faithful friend at Canon la Gafelliere	Free wine at the Fete des Patrimoines!	Enjoying St. Emilion's weekend of Festivites
Huberd de Bouard of Chateau Angelus at the Fete des Vendanges	Francois de Ligneris of Chateau Soutard at the Fete des Vendanges	Stephan von Neippberg of Chateau Canon la Gafelliere at the Fete des Vendanges
Procession of the Jurade of St. Emilion at the Fete des Vendanges	Francois de Ligneris at the banquet of the Fete des Vendanges	Our group at the banquet of the Fete des Vendanges
Grape-picker's basket at Chateau Haut-Brion	Tapping a barrel to taste the '97 Chateau Lafite Rothschild with Francois Node	Preparing the oak vats for the '98 harvest at Lafite Rothschild
Beautiful people in a beautiful place - Lafite Rothschild	Jean-Paul Barbier of the Lion d'Or with the first Cepes of the season	Finishing the new vat-room at Smith-Haut-Lafitte just in time to recieve the harvest!
Tasting the exquisite 1989 "Creme de Tete" at Chateau Suduiraut	Grapes nearly ready to harvest at Chateau Troplong Mondot

September 1-5, 1998 Bordeaux
The beautifully restored Chateau Cantenac Brown	Remi Edange of Domaine de Chevalier shows us his vineyard	The pool in the private gardens of Chateau Pichon Comtesse de Lalande
The classic view of the "Tour" of Chateau Latour after another great tasting	Dinner at the Lion d'Or	The remains of the Chateau Palmer after dinner at the Lion d'Or

August 28 - September 2, 1998 Bordeaux
Chateau d'Arbieu our "Home" in Sauternes	The pool at Chateau d'Arbieu	Gerry and Anita outside Cantenac Brown
The classic view over St. Emilion's rooftops	Looking into the square of St. Emilion	The historic "Tour du Roi" of St. Emilion
Chateau Suduiraut - one of Sauterne's greatest estates	Sauternes grapes almost ready to pick at Suduiraut	Our comfortable air-conditioned minibus

July 1-9, 1998 The Rhone & Burgundy
Relaxing in the garden of Chateau Beaucastel afer a great visit	Frederick Jaboulet enjoying lunch with our group after a wonderful morning at his winery	On the edge of a very steep Cote Roti vineyard
Jadot's brand-new vat room, opened just 2 weeks ago!	The beautiful slopes of the Jura; a side-trip from Burgundy	Lunch at Jacques Lameloises' superb restaurant (3 Michelin stars)
A little flambee dessert at the Millisimes, our "other favorite" Burgundy restaurant (1 Michelin star)	Looking over the vines of Volnay from La Pousse d'Or	Panorama over Puligny from the Hauts Cotes de Beaune

June 24-July 1, 1998 Burgundy & The Rhone
The famous cross of the Romanee Conti vineyard on a lovely June morning	Panorama over Vosne Romanee	Barrel tasting the '97's with Patrice Rion (Daniel Rion et Fils)
A picnic on the banks of the Rhone river at Condrieu	Dinner on the terrace at the Chateau des Fines Roches, Chateauneuf	Barrel tasting the '97's with Colin Ware, oenologist at Albert Bichot

June 7-13, 1998 Bordeaux
Aperitifs with our friend Count Philippe de Chenerilles in Sauternes	1998's grapes start to swell after the flowering is over	Chateau La Mondotte's fermenting vats (at Canon la Gaffeliere)
Stefan Von Neipperg, owner of Canon la Gaffeliere, tasting with us in his barrel room	On top of Canon la Gaffeliere's new wooden fermenting vats	Taking notes on the '97 Lafite
Looking over Lafite's private gardens	Barrel-tasting the '97 Mondotte	Looking over Montrose's vineyards with Bruno Lemoine, the Estate Manager
Monsieur Nunez, Chateau Margaux's wonderful retired cooper, who now makes barrels just "for fun"	Dinner on a summer's evening looking over Margaux's vineyards	Jeremy and Hannah at Lafite with Francois Node

API Voyager Club (MV Silver Cloud) tour of Bordeaux

June 6, 1998 Bordeaux
Florence Cathiard with a couple of our friends	The billiard room in the Cathiard's private home	Florence explaining the intricacies of barrel-making
Daniel Cathiard enjoying an aperitif before lunch with our guests	Florence Cathiard with our group in her drawing room	The beautiful gardens of SmithHaut Lafitte

May 31-June 6, 1998 Bordeaux
After a great dinner at Jean-Paul Barbier's Lion d'Or restaurant	Looking over the vineyards of Troplong Mondot to St. Emilion	"Maybe just one more spoon ???? The Hostellerie de Plaisance's dessert trolly!
Pichon Longueville's state-of-the-art vat room	Filling double magnums of Leoville-Poyferre 1996	A happy couple on the balcony of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte

May 17-23, 1998 Bordeaux
With Chef Claud Broussard after a great dinner at the Restaurant "Le St. Julien"	Tasting the 1983 Chateau Figeac	Nicolas de Baillencourt, owner of Chateau Gazin, explains the geography of Pomerol
Max and Kara at Chateau Lafite Rothschild	Another great tasting at Chateau Latour!	The first swelling of the '98 grapes on the vines of Pomerol

May 9, 1998 Burgundy/Rhone
Young leaves on the "barren rocks" of Chateauneuf du Pape	Guigal's state-of-the-art refractometer, which automatically sends sub-standard grapes back to the truck	A few bottles to taste at Guigal!
The Biodynamic "wash-tub" at Chateau Marcoux in Chateauneuf	With Monsieur Canonica, the new manager of La Pousse d'Or in Volnay	Dinner on the terrace of the Beaurivage in Condrieu with an '83 Landonne

April 16, 1998 Bordeaux
Aperitifs on the terrace of Chateau Beychevelle	Denis Malbec, winemaker of Chateau Latour, tastes the '90 Guiraud with us	Dinner at the Lion d'Or, the best cooking in the Medoc
Chateau Margaux's private reserve of old vintages	Racking the '97 vintage at Chateau Montrose	Tasting with Francis Perez, winemaker at Chateau Lafite Rothschild

This page created by and copyright of S. Peter Smith, Avalon Wine Tours, 1996-1998 If links don't work or you find other errors please LET ME KNOW!

Chateau Gazin's vines budding in the spring sunshine	Kosher wine sealed in the vats of Chateau Smith-Haut Lafitte	Discussing the 2000 vintage amongst the barrels at Chateau Angelus
Tasting the 2000 Gazin	Tasting the 1998 Gazin	Another Gourmet Dinner at the Hostellerie de Plaisance

Avalon Tours Photo Index

Come back often to see the latest photos!

Click HERE for General France photos * * * * Click HERE for General Chile photos

Please excuse the lack of recent photos; we had a server problem and lost a whole segment!!!

If your tour is not here drop us an email and let us know, and if we still have back-ups of the photos we'll make sure we get them posted.

October 23-27, 2002 A special tour of Bordeaux for a couple of our more serious collectors. Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

October 06-16, 2002 The Rhone, Burgundy & Champagne with the Gary Parker and friends from the Wine Sellar in San Diego Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

September 9-29, 2002 A great week in Bordeaux and St. Emilion with Gary Parker and his customers from the Wine Sellar and Laurel restaurant in San Diego! Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

September 9-17, 2001 A great week in Bordeaux and St. Emilion, that ends with the Jurade's harvest festival Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

September 2-9, 2001 Getting ready for Bordeaux's harvest! Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

July 17, 2001 A day in sunny Champagne Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

July 4-12, 2001 Bordeaux in the summertime is the place to be! Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

June 16, 2001 The Gala pre-VinExpo Fete of the Jurade of St. Emilion Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Bordeaux May 28 June 2 Photo Gallery - our new format CLICK HERE to view photos!

September 10-18, 2000 Bordeaux's Harvest and the Fete des Vendanges in St. Emilion

May 29-June 3, 2000 Flowering of the vines in Bordeaux - a lovely time of year!

March 12-18, 2000 Chile - the New Millennium's First Vintage!

September 23-26, 1999 Lattice Semi-Conductor's Gourmet tour of Bordeaux

September 19-26, 1999 Bordeaux, with bonus invitation to St. Emilion's Fete des Vendanges

September 12-20, 1999 Bordeaux, with the glorious Fete des Vendanges in St. Emilion

August 1-3, 1999 A couple of days in St. Emilion

July 13, 1999 A short-but-sweet day in St. Emilion

July 6-10, 1999 The Hoffer family's Bordeaux trip!

June 27 - July 3, 1999 Bordeaux in the summertime!

June 12-19, 1999 St. Emilion's Fete des Fleurs and 800th birthday of the Jurade!

June 7-11, 1999 Burgundy in the Spring!

June 4, 1999 Just one day in Bordeaux

May 30-June 4, 1999 Bordeaux

May 23-30, 1999 Bordeaux

May 17-23, 1999 Bordeaux

April 25-30, 1999 Bordeaux

1998 Tour Photo Index

November 8-15, 1998 Burgundy

For a day-by-day report on this tour, click HERE

October 21 - November 2, 1998 Tuscany.

October 18-24, 1998 Bordeaux.

October 5-10, 1998 Bordeaux.

September 20-26, 1998 Bordeaux with Stafford's Fine Wines of Newport Beach, CA.

September 13-20, 1998 Bordeaux with St. Emilion's Fete des Vendanges!

September 1-5, 1998 Bordeaux

August 28 - September 2, 1998 Bordeaux

July 1-9, 1998 The Rhone & Burgundy

June 24-July 1, 1998 Burgundy & The Rhone

June 7-13, 1998 Bordeaux

API Voyager Club (MV Silver Cloud) tour of Bordeaux

June 6, 1998 Bordeaux

May 31-June 6, 1998 Bordeaux

May 17-23, 1998 Bordeaux

May 9, 1998 Burgundy/Rhone

April 16, 1998 Bordeaux

October 23-27, 2002
A special tour of Bordeaux for a couple of our more serious collectors.
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

October 06-16, 2002
The Rhone, Burgundy & Champagne with the Gary Parker and friends from the Wine Sellar in San Diego
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

September 9-29, 2002
A great week in Bordeaux and St. Emilion with Gary Parker and his customers from the Wine Sellar and Laurel restaurant in San Diego!
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

September 9-17, 2001
A great week in Bordeaux and St. Emilion, that ends with the Jurade's harvest festival
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

September 2-9, 2001
Getting ready for Bordeaux's harvest!
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

July 17, 2001
A day in sunny Champagne
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

July 4-12, 2001
Bordeaux in the summertime is the place to be!
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

June 16, 2001
The Gala pre-VinExpo Fete of the Jurade of St. Emilion
Click on the thumbnails for the full-size photos

Bordeaux May 28 June 2 Photo Gallery - our new format
CLICK HERE to view photos!

September 10-18, 2000
Bordeaux's Harvest and the Fete des Vendanges in St. Emilion

May 29-June 3, 2000
Flowering of the vines in Bordeaux - a lovely time of year!

March 12-18, 2000
Chile - the New Millennium's First Vintage!

September 23-26, 1999
Lattice Semi-Conductor's Gourmet tour of Bordeaux

September 19-26, 1999
Bordeaux, with bonus invitation to St. Emilion's Fete des Vendanges

September 12-20, 1999
Bordeaux, with the glorious Fete des Vendanges in St. Emilion

August 1-3, 1999
A couple of days in St. Emilion

July 13, 1999
A short-but-sweet day in St. Emilion

July 6-10, 1999
The Hoffer family's Bordeaux trip!

June 27 - July 3, 1999
Bordeaux in the summertime!

June 12-19, 1999
St. Emilion's Fete des Fleurs and 800th birthday of the Jurade!

September 20-26, 1998 Bordeaux
with Stafford's Fine Wines
of Newport Beach, CA.

September 13-20, 1998 Bordeaux
with St. Emilion's
Fete des Vendanges!