Walk, ride, sip

Our guests that arrived on Sunday had asked if we could suggest some activities for them to do whilst they were here. My first thought was the cycle tours that Richardot, one of our local Champagne houses, offer. They were all up for the experience, so I booked them in.

Richardot provide a guided excursion through the vineyards on electric bikes, followed by a tour of the cellar, then a tasting in the purpose-built tasting room. I’d suggested they may want to walk over to Richardot from ours, then I’d come and collect them after the tasting.

The walk takes about 45 minutes, and goes up through the vineyards on the opposite side of our valley, along a track cutting through the fields, which then opens out to spectacular views across the Ource valley. It’s then an easy walk down into Loches-sur-Ource. Richardot winery is just on the left as you enter the village of Loches.

It was fabulous seeing the photos they had taken on their trip, and they had been luckily enough to see a horse ploughing a vineyard, quite a rare practice nowadays.

They were full of praise for Augustin, their guide, who had lead the way on the bikes and then went on to explain the process of how Champagne is made, finishing up with a tasting of their Champagnes.

A perfect little adventure to start their holiday with.