Help with wine tasting Northern Rhone (just south of Lyon)

Not sure where you live or if you are connected to a wine club or really good wine shop. In California, we have K&L in SF, LA, & Redwood City. We connected with them and asked for recommendations for wineries in that area. They suggested a few and then we asked if they could make reservations for a tour. We tasted, with a small tour at Chateau de Beaucastel & a private tasting at Michael Chapoutier, in Tain-l'Hermatage. On the Chapoutier website, you can request a visit. Tain-l'Hermatage is an interesting small town on the Rhone. Valrhona chocolate is also located there and open for either tours or tasting - couldn't tell by the website.

We were staying further south so didn't do any driving around the area.

Here's a website that lists degustations for Cote Rotie / Hermitage at vignerons and caves.

You'll need a car, if you want to get from place to place, and most places require reservations, but you won't need a guided tour. Some caves a degustation might be closer together, but due to the hectares of vines involved, you'll have to travel a bit.
http://www.rhonetourisme.com/restauration/cote-rotie.html

Most places in that area don't require a reservation for tasting. We visited a number of wineries, and one of the best was Pierre Gaillard in Malleval (http://www.domainespierregaillard.com/en/index_en.php). We also visited the Cave de Tain, a very well-regarded cooperative in Tain l'Hermitage (although we were a little disappointed). Another producer we recently discovered is Domaine Bonnefond in Ampuis (http://www.domainebonnefond.com/). They're quite small, so it's possible an advance contact might be advisable. We also visited Bernard Gripa in Saint Peray, a little further south. Also small, but no appointment needed, and excellent wine.

Thank you all for your comments. I can hardly wait to taste some delicious wine :)

As to your question about a centralized tasting room, I don't know of any. However, the Cave de Tain (which I previously mentioned) is quite large, and makes wine from most, if not all, of the local appellations. As I said, I was not as impressed as some, but they have an excellent reputation.