Seen anything cheaper? Or have a similar idea? Between Geneva and Lausanne.
They just want to visit maybe half a dozen places and drink wine without driving. Enjoy some wine with a nice view over the lake and move on to the next place.
My wife has a couple of friends coming over soon, but not during the caves ouvertes unfortunately.. We've seen some wine tours advertised but the minimum price I can see is 285 per person based on 4 people..
Here is a walk through the lovely Lavaux area. http://swissfinewine.ch/fr/memento/b...ux-unesco-vaud It lists five caves along the way that offer wine tasting arranged through rdv. I would just call a few of them to arrange yourself on the day you want. You can probably find a few more along the trail with google maps and check opening hours or arrange rdv yourself.
There are various wine events on throughout the year, so maybe you have luck and find one of those. Alternatively its something you need to organise yourself in advance/or knock on the door and hope they have adhoc tastings (some will).
Something I did once in that area which wasnt bad. We took our bikes into Cologny, had a farmers brunch organised in that area, then carried on the bikes to a winery, Domain De la Tour in Meinier, and had pre arranged a tasting there, and after came home.
All in all it took all day. To go from one vineyard to another I think somewhere like Mont Sur Rolle or any of the other towns in Lavaux you should be ok to find an off the street tatsing.
What on earth are they serving during that tour??? I know CH is expensive, but I paid that sort of money recently for a 20 course meal in one of the best restaurants of Europe, not a simple wine tasting!
So pretty much somebody drives you between x number of places.. I'd say it's that driver/guide which costs the money. But 4 x 285 just seems crazy. Details in the link.
Most of the places offer free or almost free tasting anyways.
NB : Wife and friends are more interested in the quantity of wine on offer than in depth discussions on soil composition and climate etc.
Thank you .. We do know the area well and indeed could call around a few.. A little arranged tour would just have been easier.
Trust me.. After the first stop they won't be in much state to cycle to the next one..
So they are not really interested in wine tasting but just to get plastered, why not buy a few bottles from the super market and head off down to the lake ?
Most wine growers are more than happy to let you taste, but it's not a get pissed free thing, you need to show some interest and make noises about purchasing a case or two
Ok .. We know how it works, we do the caves every year.. The friends coming are new to the experience and new the country.
They want the experience of having the views, seeing the old fashioned chateaux, having a taste in different places.
They don't want to spend ages getting to one remote vineyard and tasting one little 1dl glass of wine and leaving.. Neither will they get pished and fall asleep in the first place.. Somewhere in between Just the problem of getting to each one I'm seeking, they don't do bikes, it's too far to walk, buses only do it during official caves ouvertes. The only tour I've found is crazy expensive. Maybe it's that or nothing though.
They will of course also head to the plage with a carry-out on a different day!
In which case I would forgo Peaky's idea of bicycles...the mind boggles at the thought of you all trying to deal with the mountain roads
You'll likely find them down at the trois jettees with the haul they bought from the vineyards.
Sounds like the best thing you can do is it to use the Lavaux Express petit train from Lutry or Cully. I know it's the wrong side of Lausanne but it runs all summer, there's even a Caveau loop that stops at specific vineyards.
Alternatively. the Cully Loop goes through Riex, Epesses and Dézaley..
You can even rent it out for 300CHF by the look of it..
You might want to check on this site
You should find all the winemaker that have their own cave ouvertes or events.