Fine Vintage is a leading provider of wine education in North America and offers luxury wine tours to the world’s classic wine regions. James Cluer MW is the owner and operator of Fine Vintage. He is one of only 400 people in the world to have obtained the prestigious Master of Wine title. James has personally designed all of our wine tour itineraries, each of which is hosted by a Master of Wine.

Fine Vintage has long-established connections with the estates and hotels on our itineraries – they roll out the red carpet when we visit! Some of the estates we visit are not typically open to visitors, and for those that are, we are given privileged access that general visitors do not have access to. We have a team of 7 Masters of Wine that host our tours. Because of these connections, our visits are usually hosted by owners, winemakers, managing directors, or leading members of the estate team. Most importantly, we taste wines that are often hard to obtain and lots of them! Our accommodations are always the best a region can offer, and meals are carefully designed to provide you with a diverse menu paired with the best wines.

The cost includes accommodation for the duration of the tour, breakfasts, winery visits, tastings, all lunches and dinners specified in the tour itinerary, local transportation for the duration of the tour itinerary, and all local taxes and gratuities. The cost does not include local transportation to/from the meeting/drop-off point, insurance, items of a personal nature, and meals not included in the itinerary (each destination will vary).

Please ensure you are using a Visa, Mastercard, or American Express as these are the only three credit cards we accept. Also, please close and re-open your browser and try registering again as your computer may be storing history. If you are still having a problem, please contact us and we will get you registered right away.

When you identify the tour you wish to take, if it is full the tour will state: “This tour is full – please contact us to be added to the waiting list.”

The person making the booking will be charged the booking administration fee and the tour fee for both travelers. Our system unfortunately does not enable separate bookings and payments for guests sharing a room.

You will need to register as a solo traveler. Should a companion wish to join the tour at a later date, please have them mention in their online registration form that they will be traveling and sharing a room with you. In order to avoid the single supplement travel fee, you will also need to contact us that such-and-such a person will be traveling with you in the same room. In the event the companion joins the tour after you have been charged the single supplement fee, we will refund this supplementary fee to the credit card you used to book your tour.

We organize small private tours in the select destinations of Bordeaux, Champagne, South Africa, and Tuscany. For other destinations, the minimum number for a private tour with Fine Vintage is 16 guests. If your group is smaller than this, please register with a tour itinerary as posted online. For groups of 16 or more, please contact us to receive a quote for your group.

You are charged a non-refundable booking administration fee immediately upon registration and you are sent an automated tour receipt. This amount will vary between US$100 to $500 depending on the destination. The remaining price – including the single supplement where applicable – is automatically charged at 120-days prior to the tour start date by our ecommerce system to the same credit card provided at the time of booking.  Should you book within less than 120 days of the start of the tour, you will be charged the full price of the tour, including the booking administration fee. Please note that we accept Visa, Mastercard, or American Express and all registrations must be done online.

Payment plans are not available. Fine Vintage charges a non-refundable booking administration fee upon registration that ranges between US$100 to $500 per person (depending on the destination). The remaining payment is automatically charged at 120-days prior to the start date of the tour to the same credit card used at the time of registration. If the tour is less than 120 days away, the full balance per person is due.

The US$100 – $500 (depending on the destination) booking administration fee is non-refundable. If cancelling a tour at less than 120 days before the start of the tour, the following Cancellation Policy will be applied:

• 60-119 days before departure: -50% of tour price is refundable
• 30-59 days before departure: -25% of tour price is refundable
• 1-29 days before departure: – no refund

Fine Vintage will confirm a tour 120-days prior to the start date of a tour, if not sooner. Fine Vintage reserves the right to cancel a tour due to extenuating circumstances such as minimum numbers are not met, political instability, natural disaster, pandemic, or government-imposed travel restrictions. In the event Fine Vintage cancels a tour, you are entitled to a full refund to the credit card used to register for the tour. Alternatively, you can transfer your deposit to a future tour.

We strongly recommend that you investigate and purchase extended medical and trip cancellation insurance for all wine tours.

Please carefully select the tour you are interested in as we do not transfer people from one tour to another once they have registered. There are no transfers allowed.

For gentlemen, collared shirts and pants is recommended. Jackets are not necessary but are often worn by some owners, and you will want one for the smart dinners, even if it’s just to walk in with it on. Ties are definitely not required.

For ladies, designer jeans are fine. Generally, dresses, long pants, skirts, and a variety of shoes and boots. Flatter shoes are recommended as you will go from a vineyard to a cellar to a lovely meal in succession.

For those who have booked hotel nights in the region after a tour has ended, please communicate to your local host if you need to return to the same hotel. In most cases our bus will drop you off but in some (Champagne-Burgundy, Spain, Tuscany) this is not possible due to distances traveled on the last day of the tour.