My husband and I are going to be in Paris for 4 days but want to use one of them to go wine tasting. We would like to make a day of the Loire Valley. Any recommendations on wineries? It is overwhelming to try and look up online, and the tour companies want to charge us a small fortune!
Can we do this ourselves? Can we actually go to wineries, or do we have to go to "cellars" with multiple wineries.
Any help would be great! :-)
Thanks for your insight. Good to properly set expectations.
We realize we can't do it all in a day, but we would love to visit 2-3 wineries, and we are more than happy to rent a car. Is this doable? Do we have to arrange this in advance, or can you stop in like you can in Napa, California? Any suggestions as to which ones?
Thanks!
I'm not really a wine person and I prefer to travel by train, but I know there have been other posts on this board about wine tasting trips.
Re renting a car: this page is really helpful :)
Sorry to be the bringer of bad news, but it's simply impossible to do the Loire Valley in a day. You may see a winery or two in a day. How long did it take for the people in "Sideways" to do a wine tasting tour?
Since it's not an urban area, access is limited to tours and individuals with cars. If the price of tours seem too high, consider renting a car and going on a little "adventure."
Anyone who has done this independently, feel free to share your experience.
Becky -
What time of year are you planning on coming? This may make a difference in terms of recommendations and availability. Typically, wineries are available for visits but times are usually limited in the winter months.
A very easy trip that could be lovely for you is to go to Champagne. It is an easy drive from Paris on the A4 and is reachable in 2 hours time. Reims for example is a beautiful town and there are dozens of wineries in the area.
We are actually coming the end of next week! It is for our 20th wedding anniversary. :-)
I am open to other regions as well, such as Champagne; with a car, we can go anywhere. Somewhere which is relatively easy to get around and where we could actually meet some winemakers would be wonderful. We love French wines!
Merci beaucoup!
Not sure about the Loire Valley but the Champagne region is an easy day trip from Paris--there's a TGV or you can drive. The two main cities are Epernay and Reims. There are individual wineries within walking distance of the train stations in both cities (Epernay--Moet et Chandon; Reims--Mumms), if you don't want to rent a car. Both offer tours in English and you actually go through the limestone caves, not just tasting rooms. It's possible to do both cities in one day--I say this from personal experience!
You can absolutely do this as a DIY, you don't need a tour company.
Bon voyage!
Becky -
The drive to Champagne is lovely and would be worth the short trip.
You can rent a car if you like at Gare Austerlitz (RER C or Metro 10) with Avis for example (bookable online). This is a good location because it is less than 2 miles on the Peripherique to the A4 (note there are tolls on this route) but there are alternate routes you can take such as the N3 to Chateau Thierry (beautiful we go here often for Sunday afternoons)
You can purchase a map here in Paris - I recommend the Michelin #306 (specific for the region)
Thank you both for your wonderful tips. This is starting to feel like something we can do!
Do we have to make appointments for the tastings?
Becky -
For tasting information - see this website
http://www.vino.com/wineries/france/region.asp?cr_ID=3
You will find a list of several wineries and links to their websites.
You can certainly do this yourselves !!
Thank you so much for all the help. Let me know if you want to join us! ;-)
