Seven Of The Best Wine Tastings And Culinary Experiences To Book Now

Now is the time to truly raise the bar on your travel experiences (especially now that the return home testing requirement is finally lifted!). Take your average wine tasting or private chef-driven dinner to an entirely new level with experiences such as a Top Gun flyover of Champagne or a day-tripping picnic on a private yacht in the Caribbean.

Indulge in a private dinner created by some of the world’s finest chefs at Auberge’s Chileno Bay Resort & Residences Los Cabos, where they offer private in-villa tasting dinners from featured chefs as a part of their ongoing exclusive gastronomy series. May featured Chef Virgilio Martínez of Peru’s Central, one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Chef Joaquin Cardos arrives on June 24-25 as part of the property’s Baja Lab Kitchen culinary program, originally of Mexico City, trained in France, and now owner of Loup Bar, a natural wine bar in Mexico City. He will present a private in-villa dinner on June 25.

Take a private wine tour and tasting via helicopter at Montage Healdsburg. This private helicopter tour and tasting experience takes guests on an aerial ride along the Russian River Valley out towards the Pacific—all the better to understand how that “cooling pacific breeze” impacts winemaking. Return flight will land at one of three wineries for an exclusive tasting.

An exclusive wine tasting near Billionaire’s Beach: The Malibu Beach Inn, Los Angeles, has an exclusive partnership with the Dierberg Estate in Santa Barbara County to give guests access to its vineyard. The estate is not open to the public, only to guests booking the Dierberg Suite can experience the winery and estate with a private tour and tasting followed by a catered gourmet lunch overlooking Happy Canyon.

A Top Gun Flyover of Champagne at the Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa. Take a fighter jet ride over Champagne with the hotel’s exclusive arrangement— airplanes are flown by former military and professional pilots at medium and low altitude. You might even enjoy a few aerobatic maneuvers including loops, rolls and tight turns.—guests can even take the the controls for a bit.

Tour New Zealand’s top wine regions via helicopter at Wharekauhau Country Estate: Discover the valleys of the upper South Island, and the terrace of Martinborough—all very customizable. Tastings and tours at Vavasour, Grove Mill and Te Kairanga, lunch and a scenic flight that takes in the Marlborough region, Martinborough region, Cape Palliser Lighthouse and the rugged South-East coast of the North Island.

Set sail on your own Van Dutch Yacht for a day. At Mayakoba Resort, south of Cancun, head out for a day of cruising and snorkeling on Mayakoba’s $1.7M, 55’ yacht. Tuck into one of the Hermes leather seats for your own bespoke voyage including lunch by one of the resort’s world-renowned chefs plus snorkeling, scuba diving, jet skiing or even using our underwater scooters.

Ride your own two wheels across the Relais & Châteaux Château de Berne’s stunning 2,470-acre estate and 60 miles of trails—explore its farming areas, riverbanks, forests, and vineyards of course.