Wineries around Amboise

Vouvray is across the river from Amboise - we love this white wine. I would advise against stopping at any of the wine "caves," which are in actual caves along the highway on the south side of the river east of Amboise. They look interesting, but we had an unpleasant experience when we stopped at one out of curiosity several years ago. Frankly, it was a little creepy.

Amboise has some good wineries nearby, mainly across the river around Nazelles and Pocé. Montdomaine (which is an excellent winery in Nazelles run by a young family) have a shop in Amboise called la Cave, oppsite the exit from the chateau. They also run Chez Bruno, one of the few restaurants in Amboise I would recommend without hesitation.

Along the levee heading east from Amboise is Caves Duhard, who specialise in old vintages. They do an excellent tour of the caves.

Vouvray and Montlouis are about 20-30 minutes away west of Amboise, difficult to get to unless you're driving. Both only make wine using chenin blanc grapes.

For the main part winemakers in France see themselves principly as farmers, not tourist attractions. This can make visiting (except to buy direct) very hit and miss. It's taken ages for us to find the right winemakers to use on our tours.

Sancerre is far too far away, you will spend most of your time travelling.

Chinon has some wine places. It's not as far and worth visiting both the Fortress and, a little further, Fontevraud Abbey.

When I was in Amboise, I was on a bicycle. I recall seeing one or two roadside "caves" but nothing that looked particularly appealing.