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How To Choose The Best France Wine Tours

By Olivia Cross


Wine making is an ancient practice in France. Their vineyards have been developed for well over a thousand years with devotion to cultivating high quality grapes. Whether you are a novice in wine appreciation or something of a connoisseur France wine tours offer a plethora of options to learn more about our favorite beverage.

It is estimated that there are around twenty seven thousand producers in the country and they are spread over the regions, except the most northerly ones. Some regions are particularly renowned for one type of wine, Champagne, for example. However, in general every area has a mixture and includes small producers and large commercial operations.

The best known wine regions are Bordeaux, Burgundy for reds, Provence for rose and for those who love white wines, Sancerre. All regions have a variety of different vineyards from small artisan producers to large commercial affairs. A visit to a small producer is a very different experience to touring a large vineyard. The owner will often host the tour himself and will be able to go into the history and impart his pride in a more personal way than the paid hosts in a large establishment.

Once you have decided where you want to go you should consider the timing. Check with tour providers that the local producers are taking visitors. At certain times of year they are too busy to host tours. During blending in January and February it is impossible to visit. However, harvest is a wonderful time to tour vineyards as there are festivals and celebrations and sometimes you can even join in picking the grapes.

Many consider Bordeaux to be the perfect region for the first-timer. It has tons of vineyards producing a huge range of wines. The soil of the area is famed for its variety and quality. For someone who want to learn about how production and cultivation affects the taste of the product Bordeaux is perfect. It also has a wine school which hosts classes for novices and has longer courses teaching the technical aspects of wine making.

Provence is a great option for an extend visit as the region has so much to offer in addition to delicious wines. It is well known for its food culture and has lots of small artisan producers making exceptional food to enjoy with your beverages. There are also UNESCO sites, Medieval villages and the French Mediterranean coast. Provence has it all and you could spend weeks there drinking, eating and soaking up the culture.

There are lots of specialist tour agencies offering excellent trips in France, They usually have a number of packages to choose from which will include most things, accommodation, food, transport, guides and vineyard tours. They will also have lots of contacts in the French wine industry so can organize tailor made trips too. Most companies also have connections with shipping companies so you can take plenty of your favorite discoveries home.

French wine is coveted the world over for its quality and history. A visit to vineyards is a great way to get to understand and appreciate the technical aspects of production and how this affects the end product. The options for a tour of French wines is endless so start by thinking about the types of wine that you enjoy and then check out where you can find them.




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