everret

I need some advice! I am planning a trip for my family (parents and newly-wed husband). We will be in Paris, France for 3 days, then we would like to visit "the french wine country" for 2 or 3 days.

PLEASE give me some direction! It has been easy to find information on Paris, but good, reliable, detailed guidance on visiting the wine country/wineries has been more difficult to come by!

Some questions - which area to go to? I think I am interested in the Dijon Burgundy area for starters.

- go for a guided tour or rent a car? If guided tour is recommended, any specific companies?
-where to stay?
-winery guide?
-do we need reservations for tastings?
-What other attractions are in Dijon?

HOW DOES THIS WORK????

As you can tell I am a novice.
Thank you for your patience!

-everret

Budman

Newly-wed husband & parents? I always tell my wife to leave the out-laws at home.

I like the whites in the Loire Valley and the reds in Bordeaux.

Ryan

There is a tour company in Burgandy run by an American ex-pat called wine and voyages. I used them several years ago for a day trip from Paris. You might want to contact them as they can provide you with a list of wineries to visit, or arrange the tour for you. (I know they have a website.)

In terms of getting to Dijon, take the TGV from Gare D'Lyon. It'll only take a few hours.

everret

Ryan, thanks for the lead. I have emailed wine and voyages (www.wineandvoyages.com by the way) and requested additonal information.

Does anyone have an opinion as to a favorite wine region to visit for a couple of days? This will be our first French Wine Country experience.

Again, we will be coming from Paris.

MichelleY

Since you will only have a few days, the Loire Valley is very handy to Paris Plus you'll get to see the fabulous chateaux. Since you are a novice, I would suggest the Rick Steves France guide book. It will step you through the basics. Then look for another book which will give wine info.

Good Luck!!

rcc

Alsace region - Strassbourg or Colmar is about 4 hour drive from Paris, great whites, pretty villages and towne, you can do the wine route from Colmar to Strassbourg.

jmv

The Access guidebook series has one on French wine country. We used it when we went to Bordeaux (sp?) and supplemented by accessing the Wine Spectator website that has wonderful archived articles on travel in wine districts.

BDM

Hi Everret,

Many good suggestions already. We've been all over (Champagne, Alsace, Rhone, Jura, Burgundy, Loire) all are special and each is quite unique.

One major suggestion - Unless you have a really good private tour company you should get a car. This is rural farm country and you'll miss all the fun w/out a car. Driving is EASY, all are accessible from the major highways, and the driving is fun (read fast and competetive)

The closest to Paris will be Loire and Champagne. Loire has more diversions other than just the wineries but the tours in Champagne are set up very well for Brits and Americans. Easy to get around, all in English, most open to the public.

Alsace was our favorite. Picture postcard beautiful, great people, great wine, and fantastic restaurants. If I had 2-3 days I'd go back in a heartbeat.

If you're a red wine lover Burgundy is the bomb. The wine ain't cheap but boy is it good. Dijon is nice for a few hours. We stayed right on the square in Gevrey-Chambertin which was easy to get in and out of to follow the wine route. A bit tough to get into most of the wineries since they are mostly very small family operations. It's the one area where we wished we had better language skills.

Anyway, If you want more info let me know. We're off to Amsterdam for a week (with out 8 year old daughter which may take a bit of the fun out of Amsterdam) and then back after the first of the year.

Ciao
Brian

Intex

Everret,
Bordeaux would be a nice base. We were there last year, based in a nice Hotel in the heart of Bordeaux (a beautiful city no matter what others say), and had day trips to various vinyards and cities. You'll need a car, but the distances are short. It would be best to make reservations for the vinyards from the U.S. Some chateaus such as Rocheschild do not normally do tours, others like Mouton-Rothschild and Margaux do. The area is just beautiful as well, and a short plane ride back to Paris afterwards

LoriNY

We've done Burgundy 3 times and it is still my favorite. Brian is correct, most of the 'better' wineries are small family run. We did alot of research, including the Access book, and wrote ahead to specific wineries we wanted to visit. Most accomodated us, as they were quite flattered that we sought them out. My husband carried around corks from their wines, or showed them the book. One we actually knocked on their door (it was their home) I introduced ourselves with my limited French, showed them the cork and the passage in the book, and lo and behold we were invited in, taken to their cellar and given a tasting. Truly a remarkable experience.

cigalechanta

If you are interested in the wine of Provence, you can sent for a free book
"The Wine Routes Of Provence"which also lists what to see along the routes.

Comité Régional de Tourisme Provence-Alpes-Cote dÁzur, in Marseille.

wsoxrebel

We took the train to Dijon and then traveled to the countryside to the cassis (currants) producing area. We stayed in a castle overnight and had kir (wine with cassis liquer in it) for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We had never sipped a kir or heard of cassis before the trip but we really enjoyed all of it. There is also a cassis museum nearby.

harzer

I second rcc's recommendation of the Alsace region. It is probably very much neglected by tourists from outside Europe, but deserves much greater interest both for its wines and for its touristic attractions.

Harzer