Jaunted

Tags: Wine Tours / Charity Travel / Wine / → All Tags

Couple Turns International Wine Tour Into Charity

We're just jealous we didn't think of it first. A French couple is traveling to 80 wineries throughout the world, and has developed enough publicity buzz around their quest to convince vineyard owners to give them free bottles of wine. For charity, that is.

The pair leveraged its round-the-world trip for an altruistic purpose. Wineries they visit donate bottles, and when Nicolas and Geraldine return to their current home base in Spain, they will auction off the booty to raise money for Action Against Hunger.

They set out six months ago and have already collected 500 bottles, from vineyards in South Africa, Thailand, China, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile. Next on tap: Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and the United States before returning to Europe to tour the vineyards of Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France.

Highlights include visits to the "floating vineyards" of Thailand, where stretches of land rise between narrow canals. They also learned to appreciate the importance of red wine in Red China -- a symbol of prosperity.

Related Stories:
· Wine Travel [Jaunted]