Wine tasting in Loire Valley

I don't really have a specific wine tour to recommend (nor do I know of any), but I can recommend a few places to sample. If you drive east along the D751 from Amboise, you'll see a few wine caves. I spent a delightful hour talking (in my broken French) with a jolly-old-soul of a wine merchant in one of them.

My understanding is that it is quite different than the Napa. I think if you have specific vineyards in mind, appointments might be best. I believe that Rick Steves' book on France goes into some detail on the procedures. Also, there is often a charge. Try googling Wine Tasting in France to find out about procedures. I hope someone has some recommendations as to vineyards. ; )

Pam

We spent time in the Loire Valley. There are lots of wineries and we merely stopped at them as we drove to see things. If open, they were glad to see us and my poor French was not a problem. A word of advice, though, buy some wine, if you stop. These are family businesses and taking time to let you taste is time away from their work. I love Chinon wines from that city.

Thanks everyone for the helpful information. I will try to google search, good idea. I have tried some Cabernet Franc from Chinon and loved them so I am hopping to try some of their wine caves. I am not very good at speaking French so maybe I should learn some common phrases. Thanks again