Ombiasy Public Relations & Wine Tours
Serves up a Couples Life Long Passion for Wine
Conceived, created, owned and operated by the venerable husband and wife team, Annette & Christian Schiller, Ombiasy Public Relations & Wine Tours represents the lifelong passion the Schillers have for wine. Their business is founded on the passion, knowledge and network of contacts they have made throughout their travels around the world, an interest that started for them both while students at the University of Mainz in Germany.
EARLY BEGINNINGS:
The Seeds are Planted
Annette Schiller first became intrigued with wine back in her days as a student at the University of Mainz. Mainz is one of the 10 Wine Capitals of the World and Annette quickly realized that in this city, wine is ubiquitous. Students crank wine spritzers; the university offered classes in wine with accompanying tastings; and every other week there was a wine festival downtown. It was here also, that Annette met her husband, Christian, and their shared passion for wine soon became a keystone of their life together.
The Schillers were curious about all aspects of wine and wine-making. They took evening wine classes, worked in the vineyards during harvest season, and spent their weekends exploring the thousands of wineries in the surrounding countryside, tasting great wines right at the source. The Schillers immersed themselves in learning every aspect of the winemaking process from understanding how the outcome of the combination of nature and production techniques play a significant role in the taste, smells and flavour of each variety; to learning the different grape varietals, terroir and soils, as well as the production aspects in the vineyard, not to mention the vinification processes. But, they didn’t end their education with those details. They also learned the role wine has played in history and politics, and, of course, its inherent links to the culinary arts.
They were hooked!
NURTURING THOSE EARLY SEEDS OF INTEREST:
The Schillers lived in Germany and France for extended periods of time travelling the regions, tasting the wines, developing close friendships with wine estate owners as they continued to indulge in the passion of learning, immersing, exploring and tasting wine from all over the world. What started out as a passion quickly became a lifestyle and is now a vocation.
A BUSINESS IS BORN
After thirty-five years of their own travels, friends of the Schillers from their student wine days asked them to organize a tour of Bordeaux. And so a new chapter in their adventures began in 2011 with their first Bordeaux wine tour for the Hochheimer Wine Brotherhood. The tour proved to be such a success that the business grew to include other tours throughout Germany and France.
THE BUSINESS TODAY
These days, Ombiasy Public Relations & Wine Tours offers a growing number of tours, tasting, wine-pairings dinners and wine talks both in the United States and abroad.
Following is just a sampling of current offerings provided by Ombiasy:
- Expert, all-inclusive tours to wine regions in France and Germany. In Germany Ombiasy PR & Wine Tours are the pioneers of the concept to visit all 13 German wine regions with international wine friends.
- Custom tailored tours to wine regions in France, Germany, and other wine regions around the world.
- Planning and implementation of wine pairing dinners in the Washington DC area and Germany for wineries / châteaux.
- Educational presentations on the wines of France and Germany (with and without accompanying tastings).
- Conceptualization and organization of promotional events for the food and beverage industry.
Ombiasy Wine Tours have the benefit of offering tours in areas the Schillers know best, in countries where they lived, and like the first wine tour they arranged for their friends, the Schillers plan each tour designed around sharing their passion, their network within the wine community, and their in-depth knowledge of the wine regions they know best and feel most at home with their fellow participants throughout France and Germany. Specific tours have also combined their love of wine with their love of food, art and theatre, depending on the area they are visiting.
WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU TRAVEL WITH OMBIASY PR:
- Guidance and instruction throughout the trip by Annette and Christian Schiller, a husband and wife team. The Schillers are both wine enthusiasts, seasoned wine tasters and wine educators, and know the wine regions in France and Germany like the back of their hands - they lived there for many years! They are fluent in English, German, and French, and are experienced travellers. When you do a tour with Ombiasy Wine Tours you never get a paid guide, you always travel with the Schillers.
- Ombiasy always travels in a small group to make the experience more like traveling with friends, and to get a better and more intimate look at the behind the scenes of the wineries / châteaux.
- Travel in the wine regions by luxury air-conditioned motor coach.
- Accommodation in 3-star, 4-star, or 5-star hotels depending on availability in the regions, including breakfast buffets. Wine regions in Europe are for the most part pretty rural and the availability of standard international hotel chains is very limited. Where international hotels are not available, Ombiasy always choose charming, family-run boutique hotels, typical of the region. Very often those hotels are in historic buildings, where strict building codes apply that make any standardization impossible. All hotels are categorized by the government and the amenities correspond to the star system. However in some of the smaller hotels room sizes vary, elevators are impossible to install, and internet connections are shaky.
- Restaurants are as carefully chosen as the vineyards and range from gourmet restaurants to local cafes typical to the region. Guests get as much a feel for regional specialities as they do for the area’s wines.
- Ombiasy wine tours include wine pairing lunches and dinners right at the wineries / châteaux with the owners or winemakers. You will enjoy gourmet and regional food, deliciously matched to the wines served which include older vintages. Dining as a private guest at a renowned winery or Bordeaux château is one of the ultimate experiences that you can have that is not usually open to the independent traveller.
- Access to wine estates normally not open to visitors.
- Expert wine tastings at top wine estates and châteaux as well as barrel tastings, vertikal tasting, etc. depending on availability.
- You will meet the owners and winemakers and are treated to private tastings with them. Since they are friends of the Schillers - you get the privileged access!
- Guided city tours and sightseeing tours of spectacular historical sites.
- You will receive a personal, authentic experience and total immersion in the particular wine region.
- The "INSIDE TRACK"!!
2015 TOURS
Germany East Introduction – Wine & Art:
Germany’s Undiscovered Wine Regions and World Renowned Art Centers: The Eastern Tour
10 day immersion in wine, culture the arts: June 11, 2015 – June 20, 2015
This 10 day tour allows wine lovers and art aficionados to experience what the statement “wine is a form of art” entails. Participants will live the profound relationship between wine, music, dance and the visual arts by visiting Germany’s beautiful wine regions in the East and the cradle of German intellectual thinking. Visit 19 wineries, among them wineries that embody the wine and art approach; attend performances at the Gewandhaus Leipzig; Semperopera; and Stuttgart Ballet.
Germany South Introduction – Wine & Food:
Pinot Country and Michelin-Star Meals: The Southern Tour
7 day immersion: August 30, 2015 – September 05, 2015
This 7 day tour takes participants to the southernmost German wine regions where you will experience the German red wine revolution, in particular gorgeous Pinot-Noirs. You will visit 16 wineries, among them Germany’s unconventional but exceptionally gifted winemakers. This tour has a strong culinary component reflecting this region’s historic affinity with good food, and its proximity to culinary Alsace in France across the Rhine.
Germany North Introduction - Riesling Country
Quintessential German Rieslings and the Northern most Pinot Noir: The Northern Tour
7 day immersion: September 06, 2015 – September 12, 2015
This 7 day tour lets participants explore the regions that are quintessential to understanding “Riesling”. You will visit 18 wineries and many cultural gems. The tour includes a cruise on the romantic Rhine River with its castle-and-vine ribboned banks; the Mosel valley with its dizzying steep vineyards; delving into 2000 years of history; and tasting first class wines at world-renowned wine estates.
Bordeaux 2015: Quintessential Bordeaux
10 day immersion: September 15, 2015 – September 24, 2015
Spend 10 days in Bordeaux! “Bordeaux” embodies more than just wine. In France the interplay of wine and food is very important and plays an integral part of the journey through the Bordeaux wine region. The tour focuses on top ranking classified Chateaux, but visits to unknown, excellent and very charming producers are also included. Drawing on the Schiller’s love and deep knowledge of the region as well as their personal ties to many of the players in the Bordeaux wine scene, you will visit many of the hidden gems that other tours pass by, but which are essential to understanding what Bordeaux is all about. This is a hands-on Bordeaux wine class on the ground.
Here's what some of their fans are saying about them:
"Thank you for setting up such a tremendous Bordeaux Wine tour. I cannot believe that you were able to get our small group of 13 people into the very special wineries …plus they really treated you (and us) as Royalty with the special tours, talks, and great meals. The places you selected spent much much time with us, like the 4 hour lunch and tasting of 15 of their wines. Annette, you did a great job of infusing history, meals, as well as the top selection of wines. You balanced costs with having us stay close to the places we were visiting.
We highly recommend your tour. On a scale of 1-10, your tour is a 15!"
Vicky and Bruce Ballantyne (Bordeaux Tour)
"In 2013 my wife and I joined Annette Schiller and her husband, Christian, for her Bordeaux wine tour and had a wonderful time. Annette's tours are top-notch, well organized and lots of fun. Annette is fluent in French, English, and German, her mother language. Our best experience? Our stay in the town of Saint-Emilion, and the City of Bordeaux, both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Saint-Emilion with its Romanesque churches and famous for its Merlot based wines. We very much enjoyed the excellent food and top wines from renowned wine makers.
We highly recommend this tour for wine lovers of French wines.
In 2016 we plan to join Annette again for another round of her terrific Bordeaux wine tour."
Gisela and Ray Leon (Bordeaux Tour)
"I joined the German tours in both 2013 and 2014 as I love both Germany and German wines. As I knew that dry German white wines are becoming more available in the U.S., I wanted to learn more about these and the new VDP classification system. From the superb visits I learned so much about these topics and really appreciated the great "grand cru" German Rieslings. In addition, being a Red Burgundy lover, I was fascinated with the top Pinot producers on the Southern German trip in 2014, and found many which were as enthralling as top Burgundies. Annette's organization of the tours was excellent, and I look forward to the 2015 tours".
Brian Thomas (Germany north and Germany south tours)
"I am a wine lover who took the Bordeaux wine country tour in September 2013. I had always been intrigued by Bordeaux and wanted a structured approach to exploring the region. Annette and Christian Schiller were excellent guides: remarkably knowledgable about the wines, vineyards and winemakers; talented transmitters of information; very caring; fun to be with. I tasted a great variety of red and white wines and enjoyed amazing food.
I cannot say enough about this wine tour and recommend it highly."
Stephen Kent (Bordeaux Tour)
" As a wine lover with a reasonable knowledge of German wine (I have been a member of the German Wine Society since 1986) I had always wanted to visit German wineries. In September 2014 I took the northern and southern German wine country tours led by Annette Schiller. Our small group visited a total of 36 wineries (many hidden gems bypassed by other tours) in 9 different regions. Annette is a lively speaker with a deep knowledge and love of German wines and culture. We also greatly benefited from her close personal ties to the winemakers and owners visited.
I have nothing but great memories of my German wine experience. Thank you Annette."
Stephen Kent (Germany north and Germany south tours)
"I have traveled on many wine trips, often with highly qualified locals who know the wines of their region and the local producers very well. I would put Annette in the very top tier of wine travel organizers. She knows well and fully understands the regions and producers of Germany. Her trips were perfectly organized and carefully planned. While it was a high energy undertaking, the good news is no time is wasted and there is room made in the action-packed schedule for the occasional historically or culturally significant place. An added benefit is Annette's charming husband, Christian. A wine blogger and dedicated foodie, he added another fun dimension to the trip. Their driver is a great guy, and almost every participant was someone I would gladly travel with again. My advice is do these trips if you are serious about understanding German wines. "
Ellen Kirsh (Germany north and Germany south tours)
"Everything about the Bordeaux trip - the wineries, the wines, the meals, the travel arrangements -was great. This is all due to Annette Schiller’s extensive knowledge of, and contacts in, the region. One could not ask for a better guide to Bordeaux wine and culture. The group benefitted greatly from Annette’s relationships with many of the vintners. Annette and the vintners taught us much about the terroir and the all the steps in the process that makes these great wines, as well as the foods with which to enjoy them. Moreover, given differences among vinters over some of the steps in the process - e.g., hand vs machine picking, use of pesticides, etc. - the group experienced an on-going debate as we travelled from one winery to the next. The openness of the vintners to our questions further personalized the experience that stemmed from Annette’s meticulous preparation of the journey. We are grateful to have had this experience and highly recommend it to anyone with a love of wine, regardless of the extent of their knowledge."
Anne and John Parisi (Bordeaux Tour)
For more information please visit: www.ombiasypr.com
or email: [email protected].
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About Dr. Christian G. E. Schiller
Christian Schiller lives in the greater Washington DC (US) and Frankfurt am Main (Germany) areas and writes about wine. He is a member of the FIJEV (International Federation of Wine and Spirits Journalists and Writers). Before starting to write about wine in 2009, Schiller was an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Click on the following link to read his blog:
Schiller-Wine Blog: http://schiller-wine.blogspot.de/
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