Wine

Liz..will you have a car?

No car. Just walking, trains, bus,...

There are wine shops in many cities/towns that offer tastings. Check Ricks France book for suggestions.

Since you are without a car, may I recommend that you catch a train to Beaune, in the heart of Burgundy. We were there a year ago. It is a small, quaint city that lives & breathes wine. Wine shops and tasting opportunities abound and you can even rent bikes and peddle out to vineyards (Google "Bourgogne Randonnees"). One thing I really enjoyed was that there are miles and miles of ancient wine caves beneath Beaune that you can tour (self guided). We really enjoyed seeing stacks of very old and very famous bottles of wine down there. Of course, Beaune also has old city walls, great outdoor cafés, a lively produce market and everything else you'd hope for. We rented a chateau outside of town (la dee da!) and I'm embarrassed about the amount of excellent wine that we downed in a week. It was a really great week. Good luck!

Spain is divided into several regions that produce differing winds under different "DO's" or Denomination of Origin. You can check a map of the various wine regions at www.winesfromspain.com (click on English to the right, then look for the pdf map file under "Downloads" to the lower right.) Compare that to a map of your stops in Spain, then simply order a glass of the local denomination. Some of the more popular include La Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and even some of the DO Madrid wines.

Beaune is a really good choice IF it fits in with your itinerary.

There are tasting opportunities in town--and nearby, so cycling really is an option.

I'd suggest trying lots of different wines at restaurants and cafes. Write down each one and whether you like it. That way when you return, you'll have a record of what you tried and liked and can use that to look for it (or similar varieties) at your local wine stores. Without a car, getting to wineries will be difficult.

If you are in France, Riems is a nice day trip from Paris by train and you can visit the Champagne cellars. Also check guidebooks for the towns you'll be visiting, many have wine tasting rooms where you can sample various wines.

In Northern Italy there are wine growing establishments offering bed and breakfast. I found several via this website http://www.redrooster.it/en/
Since I'll be going in the spring, I'm looking at the apple orchard locations but the wine growers sure look tempting.