France has the most diverse wine regions in the world, both in terms of vineyard landscapes and the types of wines they produce. To really appreciate the wines you enjoy drinking, there is nothing better than visiting the place they were made, and it is becoming easier than ever to incorporate a few days in the wine regions into a luxurious holiday in France.

A tour around the cellars where one of your favourite wines is made is an unforgettable experience, and especially at the small, family wine producers, typical of most regions of France, you may even get the chance to meet the winemaker, often the owner. When you see at first hand the careful, often physically hard work done in the vineyard, along with the investment in time and equipment (tanks, oak barrels and more) in the winery, you appreciate all the more the costs involved to make a fine wine.

The wine tasting that follows a tour is, of course, what you have been waiting for. Tasting with the wine producer gives you a much deeper understanding and enjoyment of the wine in the glass even if language might be a barrier at times. Before you leave, don’t fail to ask for recommendations for lunch nearby, the wine producer is sure to offer some insider tips.

Many wineries now offer places to stay right in the vineyards, from simple to quite up-market Bed & Breakfasts in farmhouses or châteaux (some even offer an evening meal around a communal table too). Excellent starred restaurants are another feature of the most famous wine regions, with wine lists like books, offering everything from simple young wines, to a list of old and prized vintages from the region.

The choice of when to travel can be tough. For the die-hard wine enthusiast, winter is a good time as wine producers have time to spend with you. For the prettiest scenery, when the vines are a vibrant green, choose spring or early summer, April-June. The height of summer means inevitably more tourists, but it is also the time of wine festivals in many regions and these can offer a really fun experience for all the family. A visit in autumn (September-October) means lovely colours on the vines, and may coincide with harvest when the wine producers may be too busy to spend much time with you, but the experience of seeing the ripe grapes picked and pressed is wonderful.

The Magic of Champagne:

Any Champagne lover will adore a visit to the homeland of the quintessential bubbly wine. Very easily accessible by train from Paris or by car from England, the capital of the region, Reims, has some splendid hotels and restaurants of all levels, where you can immerse yourself in the luxury of Champagne living by night, and by day, discover the incredible deep chalk cellars originally dug by the Romans for roads, and now used by many of the illustrious Champagne Houses.

In Epernay, home to many Champagne producers, the small town revolves around the industry. Several famous Champagne names are open for tours in the many miles of cellars that stretch under the town and during the tour the intricate process of making Champagne is explained. Look out for the wine shops that sell Champagnes from the smaller growers too, or better still make an appointment to visit one of the family Grower Champagnes outside of Epernay in one of the small, outlying villages.

Wining by the River Loire

One of the world’s great wine rivers, the Loire is home to wines of all shades and styles. For the visitor this undulating river dotted with grand châteaux provides a wealth of choice of activities for a relaxing holiday, and a host of welcoming winegrowers.

Starting from the east, the little hilltop town of Sancerre makes an excellent base to taste the Sauvignon Blancs of both Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé (from Pouilly sur Loire); cheese lovers should try the lovely match with the local Chavignol goats’ cheese. To explore the great châteaux of the Loire you need to travel west to Tours, reached by train from Paris in under an hour. Tours is a vibrant town in summer, and nearby you will find the lovely white and sparkling wines of Vouvray from  Chenin Blanc grapes and made in cellars dug into the limestone cliffs. To the west you can head towards the pretty town of Chinon for Cabernet Franc reds.

To the west towards the Atlantic, Saumur or Angers are both fine towns to base yourself, and in the Anjou region as well as Touraine, you will find many mansions and smaller châteaux that have been converted into sumptuous accommodations. For a holiday at a different pace, consider renting bikes to explore the riverside, you will never be too far from a welcoming wine cellar.

The fine Châteaux of Bordeaux

Arguably the wine world’s most famous region, Bordeaux can seem somewhat inaccessible to the wine lover at first. It’s true, to visit the most famous wine châteaux you need to be part of an organised tour, have a personal introduction, or with some, simply reserve a tour far in advance, but recently a few innovative châteaux are opening their doors on a more regular basis.

The Médoc and Graves on the so-called Left-Bank of Bordeaux is Cabernet Sauvignon country and home to some of the grandest names in wine. The landscape is gentle, but punctuated by wine châteaux that range from simple mansions, to ornate 18^th century buildings, and to the most modern and innovative winery architecture in France. The tourism offering is growing to match the stature of the wines, and these days you can enjoy vineyard visits by horse and carriage, ballooning or perhaps a tour in a classic car.

A very different and more relaxed atmosphere prevails in Saint Emilion (a must visit little town) and sleepy Pomerol, on Bordeaux’ Right Bank, but here too you need to prepare well in advance to visit the grandest names. Don’t dismiss the smaller châteaux of the region and outlying appellations such as Entre-Deux-Mers or the so-called Côtes group of appellations, as it is in these that you will receive the warmest family-style welcome and be able to taste and even purchase more wines than at the grander names, where trade is generally only done through importers.

Whilst here, don’t fail to visit the city of Bordeaux, its buildings restored to former glory, and with a choice of very up-market hotels and restaurants, and some funky wine shops and wine bars too.

Gastronomic discoveries in Burgundy

Boeuf Bourguignon, coq au vin, escargots in garlic … all these gastronomic dishes are synonymous with Burgundy, home to the wonderful food-friendly wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Burgundy is divided into districts: from the north, Chablis (home to steely whites), Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune (together forming the Côte d’Or or golden slope, a fabulous strip of south-eastern facing vineyards); Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais and Beaujolais (strictly part of Burgundy, but in reality closer to the city of Lyon).

You might be shocked on a visit to Chablis to find that such a famous wine emerges from such a modest little town. Nothing beats visiting a Chablis grower willing to give you an instruction (preferably by tasting) of the difference between simple Chablis, the Premiers Crus and the lofty Grands Crus. If you are lucky the grower will take you to see the best vineyards or if you ask him, they are sure to direct you to a pleasant picnic spot, right in the heart of the vineyards.

Beaune makes a wonderful gastronomic base to visit the big guns in Burgundy wine, based around Nuits Saint-Georges and Beaune itself. It’s a pretty little town (best avoided in the height of summer) with at its heart the unmistakable buildings of the Hospices de Beaune, with their distinctive coloured roofs. Ask in the best restaurants for recommendations and introductions of producers to visit, and then indulge in exploring the villages with famous names you’ve only ever drunk before, like Meursault, Puligny Montrachet, Volnay and Pommard.

For a more relaxed experience, explore the more southerly wine areas of the Côte Chalonnaise, or the Mâconnais where you will find some great value wines, made by very hospitable wine producers.

Bucolic delights near Lyon

The great city of Lyon is renowned for its love of fine food and wine, and it’s also close to several interesting wine regions. The deep and long-lasting Syrah red wines of the northern Rhône Valley, like Côte Rôtie and Hermitage, are from vineyards that start south of Lyon, stretching from the Roman city of Vienne to Valence, both cities that boast very smart Michelin starred restaurants and hotels. Here you will find awesomely steep vineyards with the wineries usually at the bottom of the slopes. Don’t miss the lovely Viognier white wines from Condrieu or even the white St-Joseph and Crozes Hermitage. The hill of Hermitage itself offers great views over the landscape.

North of Lyon you will find the bucolic Beaujolais district, with plenty more to offer than the once ubiquitous Beaujolais Nouveau. Today producers of the juicy reds from the Gamay grape are increasingly turning back to their traditions of making fruity, but much denser and longer lasting wines. With vineyards on gorgeous rolling hills and welcoming village restaurants, the region also boasts one of France’s largest and quite excellent wine themed museums, the Hameau du Vin.

For those who love mountains and enjoy adventurous wines from obscure grape varieties and unusual styles, there’s no better regions to visit than the Jura or Savoie, north-east and east of Lyon, and also easily reached from Geneva. The capital of the Jura wine region, the small town of Arbois, once home to the scientist Pasteur, is where you will learn all about the sought-after Vin Jaune, as well as a plethora of other wines gaining a niche following amongst a clique of American wine lovers. The ever-improving restaurants and hotels help you find the best wines in the region. As for Savoie, at the foot of France’s best ski slopes, you will discover some delicious, light wines, as well as a selection of fine Michelin starred restaurants and smart hotels, near Aix-les-Bains and the large Lake Bourget.

Pefumes of Provence

The huge old Provençal district stretches south along the Rhône Valley through Avignon to Marseille and east to the Italian border beyond Nice. The finest red wines are traditionally found in the southern Côtes du Rhône region between Montélimar and Avignon, with the pebbled soils of Châteauneuf-du-Pape regarded as producing the finest wines, from a huge mix of grape varieties. You can buy wines at all price levels here, and likewise with the lodgings and restaurants, there is a wide offering from ancient villages turned into luxury residences to homely Bed & Breakfasts, or chic hotels in Avignon or Nîmes.

Don’t overlook the up-and-coming reds of the Côtes de Provence, grown in vineyards that emerge straight out of a painting by Cézanne or Van Gogh. In the west of the region the area around Aix-en-Provence and Les Baux, far inland from the Mediterranean coast is particularly beautiful, although who could resist the vineyards with gorgeous coastal views like those at Bandol, Cassis and even St-Tropez. Crisp dry rosés is what Provence is best known for, conjuring up images of blue skies, and lazy lunches of bouillabaisse, the famous fish soup, with its side dish of garlic sauce called aioli. Both southern Rhône and Provence wines match perfectly with the Mediterranean cuisine with plenty of olive oil and colourful vegetables.

The New World of Southern France

The vast area of vineyards in the Midi, or Languedoc, stretches west of Marseille to the Roussillon district at Perpignan near the Spanish border. Along with the more scattered south-western vineyards from Carcassonne north to the southern reaches of Bordeaux, the south is undergoing a welcome revolution. Not only do the wines offer serious competition to those warm flavours so enjoyed from the best of the New World of wine in California or Australia, but many wineries open their doors happily to welcome visitors.

These southern regions of France are ideal to combine a wine discovery holiday with soaking up the sun by the seaside, walking in the hillsides inland, or exploring towns steeped in Roman history. Look out for music and theatre festivals too, often held in the wine regions.

Alsace: land of spices and wine

On the border with Germany, the cute villages and the wines of Alsace between Strasbourg and Colmar, and onwards to the Swiss border near Mulhouse, present a lovely cultural mix. Alsace has traditionally been the most hospitable of wine regions, with cellar doors flung open to welcome visitors to tastings, and a programme of wine festivals in a different village each weekend during the summer.

Their wines are simply labelled with one of the seven permitted grape varieties including the fine Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer whites and the lone red, Pinot Noir. Their dry, but full styles make them perfect to match with a range of foods from local river fish or wholesome pork recipes, to modern Asian influenced spicy dishes. In good years, some luscious sweet wines are made too. You can work off all the hearty Alsace food and wine, with a network of marked walks through the pretty timbered houses of the villages and the vineyards on the hillsides, beneath the forests of the Vosges mountains.

Here is a paradise for those who enjoy outdoor pursuits ranging from hiking to water-sports, but who also love to indulge in the fine food and wine this region has to offer.

 

Wink has always worked in the world of wine, for more than 20 years she has been a wine educator and wine writer, contributing to books and magazines in the UK, the USA and elsewhere. Living between London and the French Alps, Wink has become a specialist on the obscure wines of the Jura and Savoie in eastern France. Also an experienced editor and an early adopter of on-line publishing, Wink launched the Wine Travel Guides website in 2007 to offer independent travellers who enjoy wine a comprehensive on-line resource to plan trips in the wine regions of France.  

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