2 déc. 2008

Cheers to Suze-la-Rousse



Rhone Valley wines



Located in the southern Drôme, the Université du Vin de Suze-la-Rousse has been active on the business tourism market since 1978.
It offers two spaces : the château, which has a conference room with capacity for 100 people plus three rooms offering space for 20-25 people each, and the Espace Médicis which has three rooms.
Companies choosing the venue for their seminars can combine work with the chance to learn more about wines. Situated right in the middle of the Côtes-du-Rhône vineyards, the Université du Vin de Suze-la-Rousse takes more than 200 students a year and about 2000 people for in-house training.
Alongside the training, it has been active on the business tourism market since 1978 offering conference and incentive organisers the choice of two venues.
The first is within the château, consisting of one conference room with capacity for 100 people, three rooms for between 20-25 people, a 50-cover dining room and the arms room which is mostly used for special functions and which offers space for about 100 people.
The second venue, known as the Espace Médicis, was created in 1990 within the walls of the château's old stable block. It offers three rooms, with the flexibility to set them up to take 60 people. There are also two other rooms in the Espace Médicis reserved for wine tastings and sensory investigations as well as the château's old chapel which is also used by groups of 15 people for wine tastings.
Making the most of its stunning location and easy access via the A7 and TGV stations at Valence and Avignon, the Université du Vin is especially committed to the business tourism market, and its wine-themed activities are very popular with clients.
"We offer activities centred around wine for every event and often companies will choose us especially for that," explains Jacques Avril, who is responsible for incoming groups and for organising the range of activities. "We offer various options starting with a post-meeting option lasting for three hours after a day's work. This includes an introductory tasting within the tasting rooms involving wines and tutors from the Université. For groups of between 8 and 30 people, this option costs820 € (exclusive of VAT) for an explanation in English. The second option, based on the major wines of the Côtes-du-Rhône costs 925 € (exclusive of VAT) in English, for a three hour tasting.
Lastly we also have the day's orientation coursesfocusing on the great French wines, which lasts for 7 hours from 9 am to 5.30 pm plus a lunch break. This costs 1680 € (exclusive of VAT) in English". All these costs exclude the conference room hire which is invoiced at 400 € (exclusive of VAT). The Université du Vin uses local caterers for all its meal requirements, and whilst accommodation is not available on site, there are about 100 rooms to be had in a 9 km radius including 60 in 3-star and 4-star properties such as the Pourcel brothers' Villa Augusta, the Château de Rochegude and l'Esplan. "Our facilities are best for small conferences involving 50-60 people," explains Jacques Avril. "Most of our business comes from sales meetings, often within the scientific and medical sectors. We often have requests for product launches, where clients also offer wine tastings".
Two thirds of the business comes from the Rhône-Alpes and PACA regions.

Practical
The Université du Vin, in Suze-la-Rousse (Drôme)
Tel. : 00 33 4 75 97 21 31
universite-du-vin.com

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