Hope this is OK to post here. I thought about /r/travel but reckon I can get better info here given my specific interest and I am sure many of the wine pros and experts here have made this journey already.
Spouse and I are going to the south of France next month. It’s our third visit to the country, but our first to this region, and our first wine-focused visit. We’ll be in Nice for a short period of time and then will have a car and will drive up the Rhône Valley to Lyon where we take a train back to Paris. We will be based in Avignon for a week where obviously we’ll focus on the southern Rhône before driving north.
About 20 years ago we got interested in wine and wanted to not be so intimidated ordering out at restaurants and we picked up a copy of Johnson/Robinson’s World Atlas. Perhaps because Rhône seemed less mystifying and more accessible than Bordeaux and Burgundy, that’s where we began our study and tasting. And today, the vast majority of French wine we consume is from this region. In the south we are most interested (dare I say knowledgeable?) in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, and Vacqueras. In the north, Condrieu, Côte Rotie, and Hermitage. I am sure we will discover more as we move about and we will be open to whatever comes our way.
With that background out of the way, I am interested to learn more about the culture of visitng wineries. I am from the DC area and there are lots of wineries outside the beltway and closer to the mountains. While we love to visit, the culture seems to be overwhelmingly “let’s rent a bus or limo and be driven from winery to winery and get wasted.” There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but we are more interested in tasting and actually learning and these places are usually so crowded on weekends so as to make this a near impossibility. Not to mention, we observe a “hell no” policy for consuming any alcohol and drivng a car so having a spit bucket is a necessity. Are these typical in French wineries?
I have the understanding that is not really the culture in France, and that is great. But I’m not sure how to visit if that makes sense. We use Airbnb a lot in our travels and there are many Wine Experiences we can book and we plan on that once perhaps twice. But I am wondering more about our driving around. Do wineries typically have hours posted? If so, can we generally go in for a visit if we pass one? My only frame of reference was our last visit to Normandy and Britanny and the many cideries there. Many had hours posted but the several we visited really weren’t situated for tours or tastings. Rather, their posted hours we to stop in and buy cider. One or two showed us around and let us taste, but I think that was only because they weren’t busy and maybe they felt bad for us. Are most wineries typically appointment only? Are they generally set up to expext inqusitive visitors?
Thanks for reading all of this - any information would be much appreciated. Also, given the specific regions I mentioned, if there’s anything specific you would recommend we do or visit, please do share.
Thanks for reading.
For 15 years, Athan Zafirov has traveled the vineyards around the world and worked with some of the greatest chefs including Francois Duc and Alan Brown.
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