My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe, flying into Bordeaux and taking the train up to the Netherlands. We would like to visit a couple of wineries while in the Bordeaux region (2 days). My question is should we strike out on our own or book a tour? So many wineries to choose from, we tend to like the smaller ones. Do you have a suggestion of which ones to go and do you need reservations?
And is there a good wine tour company in that region?
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
We always do wine touring on our own, but I do believe that Bordeaux (at least the Medoc) is different in that regard than most of the the rest of France. Elsewhere in France we've almost always just dropped into wineries as long as someone was around. In Bordeaux, that certainly won't work for the major producers, although if you do some research I'm sure you can find smaller places to visit on your own, maybe requiring an advance contact.
On the other hand, I'm sure there are lots of tours available through the Bordeaux tourist office and the Maison du Vin. There's also a man, Dewey Meachem Jr., who contributes frequently to the TripAdvisor France forum about Bordeaux wine and Bordeaux in general. He's a former American living in Bordeaux and running a wine tourism company I believe. If you go to the TA France forum and go the Bordeaux sub-area, I believe you'll see his TA profile somewhere.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
This will give you a start.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10625 posts
We did two tours with the Bordeaux office of tourism and were happy with them.
http://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/?_ga=1.248599939.587918344.1488418286