Paris and surrounding wine country

You have many choices because there are so many different regions and styles of wine. Wine is everywhere south and east of Paris, so here are just a few of the well-known regions you could choose. East of Paris is the Champagne region. If you continue going east, you'll hit the Alsace wine region. However turning south from Champagne, the Burgundy wine region begins with Chablis in the north and the famous reds and whites closer to the town of Beaune at the southern end of Burgundy. Continuing south of Burgundy and Lyon, you'll find the Rhone wine region stretched along the banks of the Rhone. If you go south west out of Paris, you'll hit the Loire Valley wine region and beyond that to the south you'll find Bordeaux. A votre sante, as they say in France.

Joy, If you decide to have a look at the Alsace region, you might get some good ideas by having a look at the Itinerary for the Villages & Vineyards of Eastern France tour. I visited Colmar and Strasbourg last year, and really enjoyed my time there. Colmar is a beautiful city, especially with the small canals (it's unfortunate that I can't post photos here, as I could provide an example). Happy travels!

If you choose to travel to the Burgundy area, there is a great Grand Cru trail just south of Dijon down to Beaune and then it goes further south. A great deal of wineries. Here's a link to further information and a map. http://www.travelsignposts.com/France/sightseeing/burgundy-grands-cru-wine-route Please note that many wineries are closed on certain days of the week (mostly Tues & Wed). We ran into this a bit as we were traveling through the Burgundy area early in the week. Check the winery websites to be sure.

Buy a few bottles of French wine. Pick your favorite and go there. Provence and Bordeaux are both accessible by high speed train. I would rent a car in either location. There may be more to do in Provence other than wine tours. Either would be a nice contrast to Normandy.