Château Élan, Georgia

Location: The state of Georgia is in the south-east of America. The Peach State’s capital and biggest city is Atlanta, the USA’s ninth largest metropolis. The Château Élan Winery & Resort is just north of Atlanta in Braselton.

Getting there: British Airways offer direct flights to Atlanta. Flight time is about eight hours. Braselton is only 45 minutes by car from Atlanta.

Tennis facilities: The château’s Tennis Center is designed by former Wimbledon and US Open champ Stan Smith and said to be one of the most beautiful tennis layouts in the south east of the USA. Stan’s facility offers three green American clay courts and four hard courts – all with floodlights for night tennis. The stunning backdrop to the courts is the sixteenth-century French-style château and vineyards.

Coaching: The coaching staff is led by Head Pro Wendy Fox. The centre offers private or group lessons for adults, juniors and toddlers.

Eating: For a country that likes its food it comes as no surprise to find there are eight restaurants on site offering anything from regional Southern and All-American to Mediterranean and classic French. Budding Gordan Ramseys can join Executive Chef Marc Suennemann in the Culinary Studio, a custom-built 1,600-square-foot teaching kitchen.

Drinking: As well as Paddy’s Irish Pub (they get everywhere don’t they?), this is a wine lover’s dream. The is a full production winery, built in 1985, is the largest premium wine producer in Georgia. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chambourcin, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Viognier can all be found amid the 75 acres of grapes. It goes without saying that there are wine tours, tastings and a wine market on site.

Sleeping: Choose from one of 275 deluxe guest rooms, including 20 suites, four hospitality suites and a 1,832-square-foot presidential suite all within the chateau overlooking 3,500 acres of grounds. All rooms are no smoking.

What else? If you have any energy left after all that wine and tennis, there are four golf courses, four swimming pools, an equestrian show centre, a spa and extensive gym, and a motor racetrack. With Atlanta on your doorstep, you’d be a fool not to explore, particularly as it is rich in tennis facilities. There’s the South Fulton Tennis Center which is home and training centre to top 100 player Donald Young. Its 24 courts are run by Donald’s parents, Donald Snr and Illona, who offer coaching clinics and walk-on sessions for the public. Another 16 courts await at the The Stone Mountain Tennis Center which was built for the Olympics in 1996 and has an 8,200-seat centre court. Tennis aside, Atlanta is also home to the Coca Cola HQ and the CNN Center.