Three of Europe’s grape escapes

As European vineyards prepare for their busiest season, Sarah Marshall and Pete Thompson recommend a trio of top wine-themed weekends away

Someone’s calloused, sweaty foot would not be my cooking utensil of choice but according to numerous Portuguese winemakers, human tootsies are the perfect tool for pummelling grapes.

Far gentler (and with more personality) than a cold, steel machine, treading softens the treasured ingredient without extracting any nasty tannins from seeds.

Getting into the spirit of harvest season, I climb into a legare (wine vat) at Quinta da Pacheca and stomp alongside proudly professional old men as they rotate lower limbs in perfect harmony, accompanied by a cheerful accordionist.

Sloshing through alcoholic gazpacho is one of the activities offered by Six Senses Douro Valley in late September, although year-round there’s good reason to visit one of the world’s oldest wine regions.

Traditionally known for port production, the Unesco World Heritage area has earned a reputation for awardwinning table wines in the last 25 years – made mostly by a new generation of ambitious and experimental winemakers who are breathing new life into old practices.

Many are invited to lead tasting sessions and dinners at Six Senses, where Tiago Alves de Sousa, who works with his father at Quinta da Gaivosa, introduces me to Abandonado, a wine he was responsible for producing from resurrected vines.

“Diversity is what makes this place so wonderful,” he tells me, referring to the 90 grape varieties grown on a cascade of undulating hills which appear to billow like sails in the wind.

It’s a quiet secret that’s slowly seeping out but the growing popularity of the Douro has done little to disturb a traditional way of life in villages such as Lamego.

A similar peacefulness pervades the forested grounds of Six Senses, where I enjoy a massage in the hotel’s spa and hang in a wicker pod nestled between branches while listening to bird song.

I decline the traditional option to climb 686 steps to reach the Nossa Senhora dos Remedios shrine on my knees but a renewed burst of energy allows me to take part in one of the hotel’s more energetic activities – climbing a tree.

Wearing a helmet and support harness, I realise a childhood dream by scrambling to the top, although the journey down seems daunting.

Gazing at my pulsing, perspiring feet – and the diminishing ground below – I’m relieved my toes won’t be treading any grapes today.

At Chateau de la Chaize, built between 1674 and 1676, the Marquise de Roussy de Sales shares the fruits of her labour below ground in the longest cellar in Beaujolais. Her property may be steeped in history but she’s looking to the future by implementing methods of respectful agriculture in her huge vineyard of almost 100 hectares.

Right now, though, like many winemakers across Europe, she’s preparing for the busiest period of the year – the annual harvest.

Vineyards across the region are awash with a mixture of rush and excitement. However, the pace is much slower at my base, the Chateau de Bagnols, a gem of a retreat in the heart of the Pierres Dorees region, half an hour from Lyon.

Tasting fine wines on a balcony of the historic fairytale castle, I admire jaw-dropping views of Mont Blanc in the

distance – another taste of the high life.

Zipping down to the Beaujolais region is easy on the Eurostar from London.

I start my weekend break in destination hub Lyon – just a five-hour journey from King’s Cross.

The southern French city has a lot to shout about, including ancient landmarks such as the Amphitheatre of the Three Gauls of Lugdunum, an enticing climate and the small matter of being regarded as the French capital of gastronomy.

My tour guide recounts a meeting with a councillor in the 1960s, in which he was asked about his thoughts on attracting more tourists to the small city in the Rhone-Alpes region. “Why should I want people coming here to drink our best wine?” was his response.

However, as I make the trip back to London clutching a few bottles of Beaujolais red, I am grateful they are now happy to share the wealth.

Wine and wellbeing aren’t an obvious marriage but as I sip and sniff my way through a flight of fine tipples, I’m easily convinced this could be the path to rude health.

This innovative approach to choosing a treatment is part of the Spa Sommelier experience at award-winning winery and hotel Abadia Retuerta Le Domaine near Valladolid, Spain.

Based on my wine preference, an appropriate oil fragrance is selected and I’m treated to a morning of massage and steam room sessions in the Santuario Spa, housed in the former stables of a 12th Century abbey.

The main building of the Romanesque and Baroque-style property has been meticulously restored as a hotel, with stone corridors surrounding a pretty courtyard and a one-Michelin starred restaurant, Refectorio, occupying a space once used as a dining room for monks.

Here, a selection of fine wines from Le Domaine’s winery is served – all produced in this Tempranillo-rich area, known as Spain’s Golden Mile.

It’s possible to take bike rides through many miles of vineyards, eat picnics beneath shady trees or tour wine making facilities a short walk down the road.

There’s no airport in Valladolid, so travel involves an hour’s train journey from Madrid and a 25-minute transfer, which can be arranged by the hotel.

But once settled into my garden bedroom looking out to the vines, with a butler happy to attend every whim, I raise a glass in the knowledge the monks would approve.

Pictures: PA. Clockwise from left: the dining room at Hotel Abadia Retuerta Le Domaine; stomping grapes in the Douro Valley, Portugal; Nossa Senhora dos Remedios hilltop shrine, Lamego, Douro Valley; the Hotel Abadia Retuerta Le Domaine and the Chateau de Bagnols.