Wine touring in France
By Ronald Holden

By tradition, many French vineyards are quite private. Especially in the Bordeaux area, leading chateaux and cellars against unwanted intrusion by casual tourists. This is very different from, say, California or Australia, where wineries invite visitors with open arms.

On the other hand, most wine enthusiasts who come to France for visits to the top estates do understand that proper introductions and genuine invitations make for a superior trip.

One way of arranging such introductions is throug a home-town wine merchant.
the retailer would have to contact the winery’s wholesaler or distributor, who would then


have to contact the importer, who would then have to contact the property to request a visit. Understandably, a wine merchant would initiate this cumbersome and time-consuming process only for a very good customer, and only for one or two chateaux.

A second approach is to book a trip with a company that specializes in tours of leading estates. In the course of a week, one can visit a dozen or more wineries, taste their wines, meet their cellarmasters, and often enjoy the company of their owners at private luncheons or dinners.

Ideally, these tour groups are small (a dozen or fewer guests), travel in small vans, and are escorted by bilingual wine experts who act as local hosts. Ideally, too, the guests don’t have to be wine experts but wine enthousiasts : open-mindedness and curiosity being far more valuable than an expensive cellar.

The wineries open their doors to these groups because the guests have a high level of interest in wine, a sense of propriety, and a respect for their privacy. In other words, guests who appreciate the privileged nature of this opportunity.

My own company, “France In Your Glass”, has been bringing small groups of wine lovers to Bordeaux and Burgundy since 1986.
I ask each participant to complete a “guest profile” which describes his or her professional backgroud, level of wine knowledge, and specific interests. So when it comes time to join Mme. de Lencquesaing for lunch in the Orangerie at Pichon, overlooking the vineyards and the Gironde, these fortunate wine-lovers sit down not as anonymous sightseers stepping off a tour bus but as genuine friends.