Two weeks in France focusing on wine

Maybe train after your arrival in Paris, to Strasbourg via Champagne.
Move Bordeaux to the end of your journey, flying from Marseille.
I think I might like a 2nd night in Strasbourg, but it sounds like a sublimely wonderful trip. Jealous !!

Don't let yourself get distracted by the fact that Rick doesn't focus much on Bordeaux in his books. There are lots of other good resources out there, and you're interested in a wine tour of France!

I wouldn't spend one night in Strasbourg and one night in Colmar; I'd pick one and stay both nights there, with a day trip to the other. They're so easy to get between and you save yourself the hassle of one day of check-out of your prior hotel and search for, check-in, and getting installed in your new one.

I'd personally skip Bordeaux, as it is logistically a pain. I am, however biased, as I am not really into the wines from that region (I don't claim that they're not good - I just prefer other wines). One of my favorite wine areas in France is the Loire valley. You could always consider that area. Small wineries are literally everywhere, and the biking is relatively easy (super easy if you stay on the north side of the river). My wife and I would just bike and stop in at a winery that looked cool (and was open to the public). There are also some shops that carry wines only from particular wineries. We stopped at one in Vouvray that represented around 5 or 6 wineries. One in particular had amazing sparklers made in the Champagne method which were every bit as good as several champgnes that I've tasted.

I'd also recommend not staying in Strasbourg as was suggested, and just stay an extra day in Colmar. The train to Strasbourg from Colmar is fast and easy. There's a little wine bar in Colmar that is outstanding: L'un des Sens (on Rue Berte Molly). It's a really cool place with good wine and snacks. Highly recommended. Colmar is also easy for biking, but it was really hard to find a bike shop with decent bikes if you want to go outside of the city. (And if you like macarons, there's a fantastic bakery there that makes some of the best I've ever had: Patisserie Gilg - well worth the stop, and much better than you'll find even in Paris - I kid you not).

Beaunne is also a great place to stay, and the area is pretty condusive to biking. It's easy to rent decent bikes there, as well. We didn't go to any wineries there, as there are many places to sample wines in town (wine is everywhere in Beaunne, and you can actually afford quality Pinot Noir there!). Beaunne also has a great outdoor market. There is also a great cheese place in town, but I forget it's name. My wife and I had the best Comte from there we've ever had! Also lots of other great cheeses.

Sorry I can't help you more on specific wineries, but we rarely go to them unless we can stop in unannounced (and they are always small wineries). I definitely believe that the best way to visit the wineries is by bike, especially around Beaunne. We would have done more biking there had we not been there during an extremely wet and rainy spring.

That's about all of the places that I can help you out on. Most of the trips that my wife and I take are based around wine, biking and hiking, to one degree or another), so I can appreciate your trip, and wish you the best in your travels.

Jan

P.S. As an aside, since you're a sommelier, you may be interested in one day going to the V'alle d'aosta in Italy. It's super close to Chamonix France via a long tunnel, and has some of the most unusual and amazing wine I've ever had. If you like unusual grapes and cool climate wines, then I highly recommend a trip there. There are so many different types of wine there that you can't get anywhere else. I could have spent a month there just sampling all of the different kinds of wine!

Thanks to all for your insightful and useful replies. I have already made some changes based largely on the responses here (along with my own qualms about some aspects of the trip).

After looking over plane fares I found a flight from Bordeaux that leaves later in the morning. Since their airport is also more accessible than Marseille and I prefer to avoid international flights that leave before 6:00, I took David's suggestion and moved Bordeaux to the end of the trip. I simply removed Marseille and added a day in Paris, a day in Strasbourg, and a day in Reims. The order is now Paris (2) - Reims - Strasbourg (2) - Colmar (2) - Beaune (3) - Lyon (2) - Avignon (2) - Bordeaux (3). This eliminates air travel within France so I don't have to deal with airports on the outskirts of town. Avignon to Bordeaux is a slow regional train trip but I will be going through some breathtaking country.

I am already planning on a two day stay in Colmar, and I feel that Strasbourg will help to break up the routine by inserting a city between wine towns. While the purpose of this vacation is certainly to learn about and experience wine, I love European cities and am extremely excited about Lyon and Strasbourg.

I actually agree with you Jan about Bordeauxs. They are not my favorite style at all. I much prefer a Burgundian Pinot or Chardonnay to a heavy Bordeaux or sweet Sauterne. The region is so important to testing that I cannot afford to skip it. Also, while they are typically not my choice they are a well known region often requested by my guests, so I need to know it for them as much as for me.

The Loire valley looks enchanting and I would love to see it. Sadly I just don't have the time. I think a trip through the Loire would work well with Brittany & Normandy (which I have not seen) and perhaps the Netherlands and a return trip to Paris. I don't think I will ever be able to go to France and skip Paris.

I take trips at least once a year, so I am not too worried about missing out on the charm of the French Riviera or the history of the Normandy coast. I will be going back. Last year I visited Italy, although I missed the Piedmont. I think a future voyage starting in Bilbao and working my way through Barcelona and east along the Riviera, veering north through the Alps before flying out of Milan or Genoa would be a great chance to see these parts of Italy along with Marseilles. Valle d'Aosta looks like a beautiful location, and as Pinot Noir is probably my favorite grape I know I would love it.

Great ideas there with your changes. Perhaps the perfect solution.
And the future plan sounds equally enticing. Jealous now x2 !!

Unless there's a typo, you are planning to see Reims as a stop on a travel day from Paris to Strasbourg. Make sure you have a place to store your luggage at the train station.

Reims is an overnight stop; It's the only one night stay of my planned journey. I may stay in Epernay instead but I'd like to see Reims' cathedral.

We enjoyed Beaune, stayed out of town at Abbaye de la Bussiere (highly recommended). Rick recommends either driving or taking a minivan tour in the area and I agree, we had a car so we took one of his recommended driving tours and it worked well. There was some construction and we ended up going backwards, but I'm such an awesome navigator I made it work. There are many wineries and they're fairly spread out, I wouldn't recommend biking and drinking unless you just absolutely love to bike.

The town is full of wine bars, and/or check out the Patriarche wine cellars under Beaune, 3 miles of tunnels and tasting stations http://www.patriarche.com/spip.php?lang=en. It's pretty much DIY, at the end someone pops out and wants to know if you want to buy anything. We told her frankly we weren't knocked over by the reds (which is what we like), when she realized we were American she said their wines must be too flinty for us. Flat and thin equals flinty? Well OK then.

tdbrought:

Don't bother looking for the Imperial War Museum while in Paris; it's not there, it's in London. However, the Invalides is the French equivalent. It's not as extensive as the IWM, but it is interesting, and you can see Napoleon's Tomb next door. Have a good trip.

Phred, it sounds like Patriarche hasn't changed with respect to the wines they put out for tasting. Four of us were there about 18 years ago, and toured the cellars. We tasted a lot of wines along the way, but didn't think anything was worth buying. Flat and thin describes them perfectly.

In fact, Patriarche has the reputation in France that Gallo jug has in the States. But just as Gallo has moved on and moved up since the 1970s, we can assume that Patriarche has added some other wines to its portfolio. It's not what one expects in Beaune, but if the tour is free and interesting, that counts for something.

I'm glad you aren't skipping Bordeaux even if you are partial to a heavenly Burgundy pinot noir experience (the way I am).