Your adventure launches from Paris and includes a lovely farm lunch at our favorite Époisses producer, a day exploring the highly regarded cheese caves of Herve Mons, where you’ll take in the French countryside and enjoy some of the finest cheese in France. At the Château, enjoy French meals prepared by our private chefs, along with historic site and culinary excursions including wine caves built by the Romans, the historic Hospices de Beaune, and a farmers’ market shopping spree. You’ll experience a regional flea market shopping for French antique treasures, and spend a day in the legendary food city: Dijon, the jewel in the crown of Burgundy cuisine.

Throughout your stay, you’ll have free time to relax by the pool, bike around the countryside, or work out in the private gym. Plus, your schedule includes cooking classes, private cheese, wine, and cocktail experiences, all taught by local experts and our co-hosts. Enjoy reading the following tour itinerary and booking details found in the attached additional documents.

Day One

Your 12-day journey begins with a Cheese Journeys meetup at Courtyard Marriott Charles De Gaulle Central Airport, 10 Rue de Voygeur Roissy-en France, France 95700. Meet your Cheese Journey tour hosts, Anna Juhl and Tenaya Darlington, and after a brief bonjour, you’ll travel with our private coach driver and hosts to Burgundy.

Prepare for beautiful scenery – charming villages, rolling Chablis-producing vineyards – as you make your way to the Époisses region for a relaxing picnic lunch with our favorite cheese producer. Then, on to your home base, Château de Montroverst, a magnificently restored estate that dates back over 500 years. Monsieur Christophe Gay, his wife Sylvia, and a team of skilled craftsmen have lovingly transformed Château de Montroverst (and other châteaus) into a jaw-dropping, five-star vacation home.

Once you arrive at the Chateau, unpack, relax, check out the pool, and stroll the grounds before you deep dive into Burgundy wines featured in the evening’s “Introduction to Wines of Burgundy,” presented by local wine expert Emily (@pariswinegirl), and Tenaya, followed by a glorious dinner featuring local delicacies.

Day Two

Today, you’ll have two signature experiences. One group will enjoy the morning in a hands-on cooking class with Chef Sylvain (a Frenchman who speaks perfect English) and the other half will visit the Gay’s private Château cellar for a once in a lifetime wine experience. Christophe, an experienced wine expert and collector of fine wines, has invited us to a private Grand Cru Tasting. You’ll be sipping wine from his private stock, a collection of over 9,000 bottles of rare Burgundies and other French wines that never make it onto the market. We’ll enjoy lunch prepared by the morning group of guests, and switch activities for the afternoon. After an active day of cooking and wine-tasting, you’ll have free time before the daily “wine chat” with Tenaya, followed by a fabulous dinner that – guess what? – you helped prepare! Enjoy your labor with plenty of delicious wine, and time to go for a late-night stroll around your very own Château.

Day Three

After a restful night’s sleep, you’ll enjoy a leisurely breakfast and a morning to explore the world of artisan cheese – especially French cheese! Learn from the best: Tenaya, Hanna, and Jilly will help you navigate this unique world – you’ll be chatting about how artisan cheese is made, what makes French cheese so special, and how to select, curate, serve, and photograph a beautiful cheese board!

Remember, a trip to Burgundy is also a deep dive into the world of fine wine, so after lunch, it’s only fitting to have an afternoon of hands-on fun learning how to make wine barrels. You’ll wrap up the day with new photography skills, so don’t hesitate to take some artful shots of the Château, the food, or your aperitif! Enjoy a glorious dinner featuring local delicacies.

Day Four

Put on your boots – today you’re off to a local goat cheese creamery, Chevrerie La Trufière, to learn about making goat cheese! When you sample this authentic chèvre, you’ll realize why people come to France just to eat cheese. Meet the goats, pick up pairing ideas, taste truly seasonal French goat cheese, and shop for other regionally-produced items. After a morning in the countryside, you’ll return to home base for a relaxing lunch followed by free time to enjoy the Château. Later in the afternoon, find Chef Sylvain in the kitchen as he leads a sweet demonstration on making mouthwatering chocolate ganache and truffles. Before dinner, join Tenaya for an aperitif tasting of Cassis, an artisan liqueur made from black currants, produced from a local distillery. Cassis is wonderful when mixed with sparkling wine and served with a lemon twist (Kir Royale cocktail). Enjoy a special chef-prepared meal featuring a cassis dessert!

Day Five

Today, you’ll visit cheese royalty as we have an invitation to explore one of the finest cheese aging caves in the world. Thanks to French affineur Hervé Mons and his team, superb versions of Camembert and various other soft ripen and beautifully aged French cheese can now be found in select stores in the United States. Herve Mons’s parents started selling cheese in small markets in France in the 1960s. Hervé and his brother expanded the business to have world-class facilities, multiple retail locations in France and UK, and provide fine training in the art of affinage. Hervé is a Meilleur Ouvrier de France, the country’s highest honor of artisans. Learn what makes French cheeses so special and taste the difference when we take you to visit Mons for a backdoor tour and tasting at their caves! We’ll return to the Château in the afternoon for a swim and a classic French lawn game of Patanque paired with a glass of Pastis and a chef prepared BBQ.

Day Six

Grab your market basket and prepare for a shopping day. You’ll start the morning at the much-lauded Beaune Farmers’ Market. Stroll the stalls, picking up snacks and souvenirs, visit Alain Hess Fromagerie, an exquisite cheese shop with an extraordinary wine selection. You’ll have time to select the perfect brasserie for a classic French lunch and in the afternoon, you have many options for shopping. You may want to buy a copper pot, a French tablecloth, or join Anna for a visit to Cook’s Atelier, (a well-known French cooking school & culinary boutique). Have fun exploring the city’s historic Hospice de Beaune, a museum preserving the great history of Burgundy wine and learn about the renown international wine auction which takes place every November. The institution is one of the best and oldest examples of historical, philanthropic, and wine-producing heritage, and has become linked with the economic and cultural life of Burgundy. Travel back to the chateau with shopping bags in hand, for a relaxing evening, aperitif and classic French dinner, featuring… cheese!

Day Seven

It’s a morning to live local. After a great night’s sleep, you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast and time at the Château. Take a swim, hike, experience the Château’s many features, explore the neighboring village or join us for a classic outdoor flea market, a common weekend event in Southern Burgundy. Rummage through goods – from clothes to china, furniture to glassware, jewelry to paintings – find a treasure to take home and re-love or just have a coffee and watch the world go by! Back at the Château, enjoy a chef prepared lunch, a relaxing bike ride, or hike through the countryside. Later in the day, prepare to taste some exquisite raw-milk Époisses, the area’s most celebrated monastic cheese, along with a local triple crème that will change how you entertain forever. Hanna will introduce you to a selection of regional artisan cheeses that never cross the pond and pair beautifully with one of Tenaya’s favorite cocktails. Transition into a wine tasting with Tenaya and a fabulous chef-prepared dinner.

Day Eight

Your day includes two winery visits, a vineyard picnic, and a little mustard tasting in the charming town of Beaune. Do pack your walking shoes and sweater since most of the day will be outside. After breakfast, you’ll meet up once again with our friend Hanna Shaps at her father’s winery, Maison Shaps, for a tour and chef-prepared picnic and tasting in the vineyard. This unique estate has an interesting connection to the state of Virginia, where French-trained winemaker Michael Shaps also owns land, and produces award-winning bottles near Anna’s home. Hear stories of Michael’s international wine business, and how his American-born daughter, Hanna, became a wine and cheese expert in France. Learn about the unique and contrasting flavor profiles of wine made from grapes grown only a few rows apart and finish with a beautiful picnic overlooking one of the most renown wine villages of Burgundy.

Afterwards, you will travel to our favorite town of Beaune to visit the wine caves of Joseph Drouhin, under the streets of Beuane. These caves have belonged to the Canons of Beaune, the Dukes of Burgundy, and the Kings of France, with Roman remains dating back nearly 2,000 years. You’ll finish the day at France’s premier Dijon mustard maker (the only one who still works with locally-grown mustard seeds) for an interesting tour and hands-on mustard making experience. When we return to the Château, you’ll enjoy a gorgeous meal prepared by our private chefs.

Day Nine

Today, you’ll have two signature experiences. One group will enjoy the morning in a hands-on cooking class with Chef Sylvain, and the other half will get a back-door glimpse into how book authors write cookbooks! Tenaya, an accomplished author and educator on the subject, will help guests learn the process of how to write a family cookbook. We’ll enjoy lunch prepared by the morning group of guests, and switch activities for the afternoon. After an active day of cooking, recipe writing, storytelling, guests will have free time before the daily “wine chat” with Tenaya, followed by a fabulous dinner that – guess what? – you helped prepare! Enjoy your labor with plenty of delicious wine, and time to go for a late-night stroll around your very own Château.

Day Ten

Dijon is on the docket for the day! There’s much more than mustard to this lovely city! Get ready to daytrip to a city revered as the crown jewel of Burgundy cuisine.

First stop: Les Halles of Dijon, often considered the best food market in all of France. This is your chance to indulge in some gastronomy on your own – will you have escargots for lunch, or boeuf bourguignon, or both? Don’t forget about the exquisite patés and terrines – so good when spread on pain d’épices (local gingerbread), and don’t forget… the CHEESE! Pick up some local specialties for your cheese boards back home – like brandied cherries from renowned local Auxerres cherries, or cherry blossom honey – before returning to your Château for the evening. The chefs have prepared a lovely meal for you, once again.

Day Eleven

Enjoy a morning with Emily, our local wine expert, learning about the cultural side of serving and sharing French wine. Taste French wines using different glassware and talk about how to pair them. Learn how to properly open sparkling wine, how/when to decant wine. Emily joins us for lunch as she pairs wines with a beautiful meal prepared by Chefs Sylvain & Milo. Enjoy a relaxing afternoon at the Château before a special farewell dinner event of live music performed by Lena & Alexis – two brilliant musicians Anna first met in Paris. An evening you won’t forget!

Day Twelve

You’ve got a special farewell chef-prepared brunch as you pack your bags for a return trip to Paris. Mid-morning, you’ll load your luggage onto the coach and take one last look at your Château before heading to Paris and CDG Airport for a flight or hotel stay.

The tour ends this afternoon, so be sure to exchange emails and addresses, or make plans to meet up with your new Cheese Journeys friends for a glass of Burgundy wine and a cheese board when you return home.

DISCLOSURE

Disclosure: To the best of our ability, this tour itinerary is final. However, if, due to unexpected extreme weather, a schedule emergency with hosts, or limitations due to imposed travel restrictions, etc., Cheese Journeys reserves the right to substitute an event if needed. During the tour, you have the option of declining a particular excursion or tour, but we are unable to make refunds for any missed meals, classes, or events. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details.