Friday, February 20, 2015

How To Choose The Best France Wine Tours

By Olivia Cross


If there is one country which is synonymous with wine, it is France. Not only is some of the most highly prized wine in the world produced there but it is part of the nation's famous culinary traditions too. In France wine tours are something special, a true taste of ancient viticulture.

Except for the most northern areas most regions of France produce it. Some make higher quality offerings than others and many regions have a swathe of vintage producers. Your preference for wine should have some bearing on where you decide to go. It could be as simple as deciding according to the color of wine you prefer. If you only drink red then head to Burgundy, Bordeaux or Medoc. Some of the best white wines in the world come from the Sancerre region and Provence produces some outstanding rose wines.

A good starting point is to consider the wine you like to drink. Tours are usually sold by region so this is a good place to start your decision. If you do not like red and always go for white then Sancerre would be a great place to go as the white wines from there are very popular and of a high quality. If red is your thing then you have more choice, Burgundy, Medoc and Bordeaux all produce lots of the red stuff. Some areas have a mixture such as the Loire Valley.

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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