Corking Good Ideas

There's no better wine education than a trip to the vines, but if arriving on a tour bus isn't your style, there are exhilarating ways to get to the grapes.

Saddle up in South Africa for a day (or more) on horseback, riding through the Berg River Valley and Hawequa Mountains, and enjoy the astonishing scenery of the Cape Winelands. Dismount to sample local wines, like the award-winning reds at Diemersfontein Wine and Country Estate, 45 minutes northwest of Cape Town (tel: [27-82] 335 8132; www.fynbostrails.com).

In France, take a week's cycle through Bordeaux's luscious countryside sipping

world-famous vintages in St. Emilion and the Médoc, as well as wines from the up-and-coming Castillon and Pécharment regions (tel: [1-800] 232 5658; www.travel-innovations.com/ bordeauxbike.htm).

For a real taste of the high life have a private helicopter carry your party from Barcelona over the Montserrat Mountains to Clos de L'Obac, one of the premier vineyards in Spain 's plush Priorat region. The vineyard's owner, Carles Pastrana, will give your group a guided tour of his terroir and a VIP tasting from his cellars, and will join you for a six-course lunch to showcase some of the vineyard's offerings (tel: [34-91] 521 3939; www.cellartours.com).

Still, the ultimate experience in global connoisseurship must be Arblaster & Clarke's annual Wine cruise. This year the 50-m superyacht Pantheon sails from Venice to Dubrovnik in search of the perfect vintage (tel: [44-1730] 893344; www. arblasterandclarke.com). What better way to put a bit more buzz in your bouquet?