***THE BWE FRANCE 2020 ITINERARY***

[Chateau Vin]

Wow... no travel for a month between US and Europe...

Sad to see this situation and heartbreaking to see the scrapping/postponing of BWE France trip...

[gene m.]

Wow... no travel for a month between US and Europe...

Sad to see this situation and heartbreaking to see the scrapping/postponing of BWE France trip...

Release Date:
March 11, 2020

(WASHINGTON) Today President Donald J. Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation, which suspends the entry of most foreign nationals who have been in certain European countries at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States. These countries, known as the Schengen Area, include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. This does not apply to legal permanent residents, (generally) immediate family members of U.S. citizens, and other individuals who are identified in the proclamation.

Statement from DHS Acting Secretary Chad F. Wolf:

“Protecting the American people from threats to their safety is the most important job of the President of the United States. The actions President Trump is taking to deny entry to foreign nationals who have been in affected areas will keep Americans safe and save American lives. I applaud the president for making this tough but necessary decision. While these new travel restrictions will be disruptive to some travelers, this decisive action is needed to protect the American public from further exposure to the potentially deadly coronavirus.

“In January and February, the Administration issued similar travel restrictions on individuals who had been in China and Iran. That action proved to be effective in slowing the spread of the virus to the U.S., while public health officials prepared. In the next 48 hours, in the interest of public health, I intend to issue a supplemental Notice of Arrivals Restriction requiring U.S. passengers that have been in the Schengen Area to travel through select airports where the U.S. Government has implemented enhanced screening procedures.”

The real kicker is what airline you want to fly on and what airports you want to be screened and possibly detained.
I wouldn't risk it on the whims of our current administration.

[JimHow]

As recently as today I was receiving enthusiastic welcoming emails from several estates.
Palmer and VCC were the only two that had formally cancelled.
In the end, though, it is just impossible for us to get there.
As a result, we have had to cancel.
A very bitter disappointment, but we hope to get there at the some point in the not too distant future.
My note to the chateaux:

Dear Friends in Bordeaux:

I am very sad to report that we have had to cancel our trip to Bordeaux.
Obviously, this is an enormous disappointment.
We have been overwhelmed by the graciousness and friendliness of everyone in Bordeaux as we worked to schedule what was surely going to be a spectacular, once in a lifetime trip.
We held off on our decision as long as we could, but, as you all know, events have made it simply impossible for us to get there. All but two or the 19 participants in our trip would have been flying in from destinations around the world.
We are very sorry for any inconveniences this has caused.
Everyone in our group is committed to reorganizing and visiting at some point in the future.
We are terribly disappointed but I am sure we will get to see you all at some point soon, and raise glasses of the wines of Bordeaux, the greatest wines of the world, with the people of good will from France.
Please stay safe over there in France, and, again, my sincerest apologies on behalf of our group for not being able to get there next week.

Sincerely,
Jim Howaniec
President, Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts
www.bordeauxwineenthusiasts.com
+1-207-754-3900

[Jay Winton]

Sorry for all involved!

[Nicklasss]

I'm so sad for the group. But consider it is just postpone. Stay all safe.

Nic

[stefan]

It is unfortunate that this great BWE twentieth anniversary event had to be cancelled. Under the direction of our BD, Jim, the organizers put together what was going to be an epic event, as you can see from the itinerary Jim posted. Lucie and I thank all of them for their hard work. But there will be other times and places for great BWE get togethers. Viruses come and viruses go, but the spirit of BWE continues!

[Blanquito]

Everyone is welcome in Denver to make up for the missed trip. Tom and I have 2 cases of classics already pulled and ready to go.

[Nicklasss]

I wish i could go to Denver see you guys. Or to Australia see felixp21 to help him with his 1990 LLC.

Very hard to do.

Nic

[tim]

As I may be moving to Denver soon, I may take you up on that offer!

[felixp21]

Jim and all the guys going, back luck, sorry to hear your misfortune.
I guess you will just have to drink twice as much in 2021 to make up for it

[dstgolf]

Guys,

It didn't work out this year but hopefully everyone will be safe through this unexpected pandemic. Thanks to Jim for making the right decision to keep everyone out of harms way. Afraid as Felix has warned will likely get worse before things get better but as BWE has always been noted for we'll regroup and make this bigger and better next time. Thanks to everyone for help planning and certainly it will be easier next time with an amazing backbone already established. Everyone be safe and look forward til we meet again.

[Blanquito]

As I may be moving to Denver soon, I may take you up on that offer!

Keep us apprised of your movements, Tim! It would be great to have you in Denver.

[Claudius2]

Folks
Yes, thanks to the organisers for their work, it always feels awful when all of your time and effort is stymied by events you have no control over.

[Blanquito]

Been trying for days to get through to Chase Travel to cancel my plane ticket and it keeps telling me my call can’t be made at this time. I just finally got through to the automated system and the system told me I can get a call back rather than wait on the line. The estimated call back window was 21.5 hours to 32 hours from now!

[Tom In DC]

As I may be moving to Denver soon, I may take you up on that offer!

That would be great!

[JimHow]

Bump.

[JimHow]

The closest equivalent week in 2025 would be:

Sunday, March 23, 2025
Monday, March 24, 2025
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Friday, March 28, 2025
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Sunday, March 30, 2025

Does anyone remember what the size of our group was?

[Tom In DC]

18 brave enthusiasts.

[Michael-P]

Nalan and I are looking into flights for that 24 March 2025 week. What do we need to lock this down and start chateaux booking? Michael-P

[JimHow]

I was thinking of sending a group email to the same 20 chateaux/restaurants and seeing how many of them could accommodate us in the same timeframes.