themed weeks in the quiet seasons?
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chris mooney
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:24 pm
- Location: indre,loire region
- Contact:
themed weeks in the quiet seasons?
has anyone tried doing themed weekends in the quiet season? we are about to open our c.d.h. in may and we are toying with the idea of organising chateau,winery and murder mystery type weekend etc in sept /oct/nov.i'd be interested if any one has had any experiences of doing this..we've got some small chateaux and wineries nearby, and i,ve already written murder mysteries which has got everyone baffled so i'm testing the water to see if anyone has had a ny success at this .
adventuruos chef about to embark on the his french culinary extraveganza!!!
Hi Chris,
Last year, one of the local B&B's here organized a "Wine Camp" weekend in the middle of winter. Three other B&B's joined in and about as many wineries offered to host the group for an hour or so each, touring the vineyards, with vine pruning demonstrations, talks on food and wine pairings and a generous smattering of tastings and private receptions with vineyard owners and winemakers. The Borgheses, (who own one of the vineyards) took over the kitchen of one of the B&Bs one evening and cooked a private dinner party, the Count being somewhat of a chef as well.
At the time it was launched, some folks felt it was priced too high and very limited in numbers, but it sold out immediately, so they scheduled a repeat, which also sold out immediately. Then a few locals requested a wine camp without accomodation, so they did that too. Now, they can't do enough of them. In short, it's been phenominallly successful and is now a regular fixture on the calendar from September thru May.
The whole thing is geared to attract affluent City folks looking for a fun weekend in the country within easy travelling distance (we're only 2 hours from Manhattan). The Wine Camp website is www.winecamp.org Click "specials & events" for more info, also the Press Release for Winter 05/ Spring 06.
Encouraged by this, the Promotional Council, Visitors Bureau and Arts Council have got together to sponsor a Winter Festival for the whole month of February 2006. Their idea is to sell "Passports" which entitle the bearer to various discounts and special events and exhibitions being organized around themed weekends, Valentines being one of them and another for families with young children. We're involved in that initiative, but no bookings yet, so it remains to be seen how successul it will be.
The murder mystery sounds interesting. What does that involve?
Last year, one of the local B&B's here organized a "Wine Camp" weekend in the middle of winter. Three other B&B's joined in and about as many wineries offered to host the group for an hour or so each, touring the vineyards, with vine pruning demonstrations, talks on food and wine pairings and a generous smattering of tastings and private receptions with vineyard owners and winemakers. The Borgheses, (who own one of the vineyards) took over the kitchen of one of the B&Bs one evening and cooked a private dinner party, the Count being somewhat of a chef as well.
At the time it was launched, some folks felt it was priced too high and very limited in numbers, but it sold out immediately, so they scheduled a repeat, which also sold out immediately. Then a few locals requested a wine camp without accomodation, so they did that too. Now, they can't do enough of them. In short, it's been phenominallly successful and is now a regular fixture on the calendar from September thru May.
The whole thing is geared to attract affluent City folks looking for a fun weekend in the country within easy travelling distance (we're only 2 hours from Manhattan). The Wine Camp website is www.winecamp.org Click "specials & events" for more info, also the Press Release for Winter 05/ Spring 06.
Encouraged by this, the Promotional Council, Visitors Bureau and Arts Council have got together to sponsor a Winter Festival for the whole month of February 2006. Their idea is to sell "Passports" which entitle the bearer to various discounts and special events and exhibitions being organized around themed weekends, Valentines being one of them and another for families with young children. We're involved in that initiative, but no bookings yet, so it remains to be seen how successul it will be.
The murder mystery sounds interesting. What does that involve?
Waves from America
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chris mooney
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:24 pm
- Location: indre,loire region
- Contact:
themed weekend in the quiet season
hi joanna
read your reply and looked at the link to the "wine camp" and has given me a lot of ideas and thoughts.the idea of getting together with some of the other b and b's in the area...a possibility there of pooling our customer base.also working in liaison with the wineries and perhaps our local auberge which could help pad out the weekend and take the pressure off myself in the kitchen!! even chefs need a night off!!obviously there are logistics to organise eg getting people to our place whether we collect from the airport or they make their ownarrangements, getting them all to the wineries etc.was considering hiring a 10 seater mini bus from the airport and obviously factor that cost in to the price paid by the guests.
anyway your reply has certainly got the brain working and i'm sure i'll be picking your brain for more info soon!!!
on a different thread your location is not far from where i was on holiday in 1998..we flew in to boston,went to mt washington,across lake champlain to syracuse then niagara falls, back to cape cod..ate too much lobster!!! then flew home from boston. another lovely holiday in the US
speak soon
chris mooney
read your reply and looked at the link to the "wine camp" and has given me a lot of ideas and thoughts.the idea of getting together with some of the other b and b's in the area...a possibility there of pooling our customer base.also working in liaison with the wineries and perhaps our local auberge which could help pad out the weekend and take the pressure off myself in the kitchen!! even chefs need a night off!!obviously there are logistics to organise eg getting people to our place whether we collect from the airport or they make their ownarrangements, getting them all to the wineries etc.was considering hiring a 10 seater mini bus from the airport and obviously factor that cost in to the price paid by the guests.
anyway your reply has certainly got the brain working and i'm sure i'll be picking your brain for more info soon!!!
on a different thread your location is not far from where i was on holiday in 1998..we flew in to boston,went to mt washington,across lake champlain to syracuse then niagara falls, back to cape cod..ate too much lobster!!! then flew home from boston. another lovely holiday in the US
speak soon
chris mooney
adventuruos chef about to embark on the his french culinary extraveganza!!!
I'm not sure how they get the folks from one vineyard to another, I could ask, or I could guess they have worked things out with Jo-Ann at http://www.northfork.com/tours/ Maybe you have someone similar in your area.
We'll still be here when you're tempted by another great US holiday!
We'll still be here when you're tempted by another great US holiday!
Waves from America
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chris mooney
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:24 pm
- Location: indre,loire region
- Contact:
themed weekends
another good idea nessie...could incorporate the cooking idea with visits to local markets to buy the produce etc...could end up quite a packed few days with the murder mystery,winery and chateaux trips. are next plan would be to work out a realistic itineary and work out the logistics for each activity.l
adventuruos chef about to embark on the his french culinary extraveganza!!!
Chris,
I have more feedback for you on the wine camps from a conversation with two of the participating vineyard owners at a little Christmas get together, one being the chef I mentioned.
In answer to the question, "Are they worthwhile?", the answer from both was a resounding yes, but only in terms of the PR. They said that one of the B&B owners is very marketing savvy and while the financial return for them from the wine camp itself is not worth the effort they put it, they gain a huge benefit from all the publicity, that brings many more people in, so they will continue to do them for that reason.
Worth bearing in mind when approaching the vineyards.
I have more feedback for you on the wine camps from a conversation with two of the participating vineyard owners at a little Christmas get together, one being the chef I mentioned.
In answer to the question, "Are they worthwhile?", the answer from both was a resounding yes, but only in terms of the PR. They said that one of the B&B owners is very marketing savvy and while the financial return for them from the wine camp itself is not worth the effort they put it, they gain a huge benefit from all the publicity, that brings many more people in, so they will continue to do them for that reason.
Worth bearing in mind when approaching the vineyards.
Waves from America