I may have a last minute opportunity to book a trip to France, and would like to cover Burgundy, Rhone and a bit of Provence (i.e. St. Remy, markets, etc.).

Interest in Burgundy & Rhone are wine centered and for Provence, a bit more market and sightseeing only.

I normally like to plan extensively for a trip such as this, however, I've been in career transition and a bit busy in other areas of life.

My question is how much time, for a leisurely paced traveller, should be afforded for Burgundy, Rhone & Provence. I was hoping for a 2 week trip. Let's assume 14 days on the ground. We would pick up a rental in Dijon and drop off in Avignon, TGV to & from Paris, with 2 nights in Paris. That would be the ideal. If a region should be dismissed, or reduced, which? I love Burgundy wine and am focusing my next career move into the wine industry. But I would also like to see a bit of Provence.

Thank you for your assistance.

It looks like you have a pretty good plan. Get some detailed maps, e.g. Michelin. The Michelin Green Guides to Burgundy and to Provence will also serve you well. Also a wine book would be good prep. Try "The Red Wines of France" by Margaret Rand.

In Burgundy try the Passetoutgrains, a blend of pinot noir and gamay. A good white is alligoté (sp?).

Hi,
If you enjoy good food as well as wine, then you should definitely make time for Lyon on your itinerary. You could spend a couple of days visiting the city and then use it as a base for a couple of wine-based day trips (e.g. Côte Rotie, Condrieu, Beaujolais...). There are some beautiful off-the-beaten-track places to eat (and drink!) up in the Beaujolais hills.

Thank you Hopscotch,

The wine of the french Aligote is in the Cote Chalonnaise of the Burgundy region, which I may also visit. My first 2 priorities are Cote d'Or & Cote De Beaune.

For the Rhone I'm focusing on Cote Rotie, Hermitage, Cotes Du Rhone-Villages (I've specific ones in mind) and Chateauneur du Pape.

I'm presently studying with the International Sommelier Guild and have extremely detailed vineyard maps. What I'm not comfortable with is the logistics of getting everything booked in the most adventageous order (i.e. North to South or vice versa).

Also, I'd like to keep economy in mind. Car rental is a requirement, so I'd like to keep the train costs as low as possible since we are renting a car.

Welcome to Dijon which I hope you'll visit.
Those websites could help you with wines :

http://www.burgundywine.net/
http://www.terroirs-b.com/english/wine/wines.htm

Have a great trip!
corinne

My husband is a former sommelier and would love to know about the course you are taking with the International Sommelier Guild. Anyway we visited Beaune a few years ago and had a tasting at Patriache Cellars. We ended up buying and shipping two cases of fabulous Burgundies home to MA. They include the shipping price in the bottle price and the prices for what the wines were was very reasonable. They also have a fabulous Creme de Cassis.
We emailed Chateau Beaucastel (which is our favorite Chateauneuf du Pape) to set up a tour. You must do this in advance. That is the only way you can get to see this vineyard. Don't tell them my husband swiped a stone from the vineyard.
While in St Remy go to Chateau Romanin and get some of their biodynamic wines. The rose and reds are particularly good. We bought a half case to drink while we were there. Last year we brought back half a case. Definitely a drinking wine not something to put down like the Patriache wines.
I don't know if you will get to the Dentelles but if so plan on visiting Gigondas, Beaume-de-Venise, and Vacqueyras. We just stopped at the local cooperative and sampled. My husband really wanted to get one of those plastic litre jugs which they fill from a hose like a gas pump.
I hope you have a great time and please let us know what you learned, saw and enjoyed.

Four days in Burgundy, three in the Rhône, and the balance in Provence. That's at least a start for these interesting areas and will give you a hint of their flavors.

In the Rhône Valley, add Gigondas and Vacqueras to your list, along with Beaumes de Venise (slightly sweet white) if you have time. Those red wines will surprise you.

Thank you for the replies.....

From them I gather travelling North to South is ok and my 60K view of an itinerary seems reasonable.

Underhill...From your allocation of days this is what I'm coming up with:

Cote d'Or & Cote d'Beaune = 4 days with 1 base out of ?????

Northern Rhone (Cote Rotie , Condrieu & Hermitage) & Southern Rhone (CDP, Cotes du R/Villages) = 3 Days Base s/b where?

Provence (St. Remy base for fun, frolicking & marketing)= 4 days

Paris (hubby loves) = 2 days

We would prefer to limit the # of times we move our base, perhaps our St. Remy base can serve for day trips to the Southern Rhone? Your thoughts please.

AGM Cape Cod......oh you must swim in wine. What a dream. I'm sure my hub will be tossing me back to work soon as I keep procuring product "for educational purposes".

The courses at the ISG are 12 weeks, very intense and are the prerequisite to their Sommelier Diploma program. I've been told that my insructor is the best at ISG (this came from Chicago's #1 rated Sommelier). He teaches throughout the US.

I smiled when I read Creme de Cassis. I have been drinking this wonderful product since I was 18 in a Vermouth Cassis. Its probably my favorite drink. The key is good Cassis (LeJay) and good Vermouth, which I've finally discovered in Vya vermouth.

Your recommendations will be taken to heart. As I normally plan our trips in significant detail and for a significant period of time, this one has a "by the seat of your pants" feel which makes me uncomfortable.

Any further recommendations are welcome.

Thanks........

St-Rémy to the Rhône Valley would be a bit of a drive up and back; you might consider staying at Crillon le Brave or Séguret instead.

On the other hand, you could drive through Nyons, a noted olive town with a good cooperative for olive products, and stay in Vaison-la-Romaine; from there you can do a nice one-day circuit of the Gigondas and Vacqueras regions You could also stay in Nyons and head north and south.

For the Côte d'Or and the Côte de Beaune, you can stay in Beaune; distances are not far. But if you'd like a night or two farther north, the Hostellerie de Clos in Chaplis is quite nice.

Thank you Underhill,

Beune may be the place for us to base, at least we have an equal distance up and down the Burgundy area.

If looking for accomodations close to $100, but would like TV & minibar, what would you recommend. My accomodations budget is rather low for this trip as I'm watching those $'s since I'm in "career transition".

Trying to live off of one income and do this trip for our 20year anniversary will be by Gods grace.

I was checking into rental car for 12 days and Autoeurop, all inclusive will cost me $520.....ouch!

Hhhhmmmm.

topping

Consider staying in Dijon (north to some vineyards, south to others) at the nice apartment owned by one of our posters, happyindijon. She's changed her accress, but someone here will have it.

Jean thank you again but delvino already stayed at myhomeindijon last June!
here is her trip report
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34838366

BTW I had changed my website address once into a tinyurl just to be able to post here without advertising but my posting has been deleted anywyay. It is still the same one!
You make me think I didn't add delvino to my guest book, I hope to do it soon with her comment from here.
coco