If you come to France, one of the many things you can do is wine tourism. Provence region is no exception, there are plenty of vineyards you can visit and have a tasting of wines. In addition to the discovery of French wine culture, it is a great way to take a look at Provence’s landscapes and enjoy the beauty of southern France.

Provence wine tours:

In Aix en Provence, the company “Provence wine tours” proposes tours of some vineyards in the region. You can choose between 3 half day excursions or a full day excursion. Great way to discover the culture of wine and Provence landscapes !

The full day trip last about 7 hours and a half and will take you around Luberon vineyards with a specialized guide. You will visit 3 wineries and taste their wine. Furthermore, there is free time to eat lunch in the provencal village of Lourmarin, which is said to be one of the most beautiful villages in Frances.

For a half day trip, you can either :

-go at the foot of Sainte Victoire Mountain where you will learn about the terroir, the local grape varities and the making process in 2 wineries. The tour also offers to meet with the winemarkers and of course, to taste some wine.

-or go between Luberon regional Park and Sainte Victoire mountain and discover the wines between Luberon region and Provence region. In this tour you can enjoy a ride in 2 wineries and a walk in the vineyareds with a tasting of red, rose and white wine.

-or go in Cassis and Bandol. In this tour you will go visit 2 wineries and taste white and rose wines from Cassis but also rose and red wines from Bandol. In this trip you can enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the region and these two cities bordering the Mediterranean sea. The tour also includes 30 minutes of free time in the port of Cassis.

Vinomed:

Vinomed is a wine toursim organization that offers many activities to the tourists, it also sells wine in their local. Once a month, they organize a half day excursion in Richeaume domain, 10 minutes awy from Aix en Provence. There, at the foot of Sainte Victoire mountain, have an introduction and initiation to the tasting of wine. Learn how to use your olfactive and visual senses and of course your sense of taste. Then, visit the caves and have a private access in the winemaking process, form the grapes to the bottle. Finally, have a walk in the vines and discover the wine-maker work, and taste 8 wines form the domain. 

They also have simpler formulas where you can have an activity around wine and cheese, or you can choose to taste only champagne, bordeaux wines, or even bourgogne wines, or choose to offer you a degustation of "Grands crus", vintage wines. In this last activity, the goal is more to exchange with people and enjoy the degustation than learn something as in the other formulas.

If you are not convinced yet, they also propse to have an entire weekend around wine tasting. 

Chateau Henri Bonnaud:

In this domain, agriculture is biological since 2010. It offers the visitors simple tasting, with no need of booking, but for those who want to learn more about wine, it is possible to register for tasting and then visiting the cellar, with explanations of a guide about the making of wine and its secret, but also the history of the domain.

If you are not satisfied with this option perhaps learning how to taste wine and appreciate it will be something you like! Indeed, this domain proposes an introductory activity about degustation. In a ludic way you will learn how to develop your olfactory and visual senses but also your sense of taste. (It is for minimum 6 persons and last 2 hours)

Chateau de Calavon:

This castle is the perfect place to do wine tourism. As a matter of fact the cellar visit is labeled as “touristic quality” since 2014. In this historic winery you can enjoy a guided walk in the vineyards and a picnic, thus a guided tour of the cellar and a tasting. To book your visit, call the domain.

Chateau Gassier:

In this domain you have different activities available. First, you can take a walk in the vineyards and around for free or you can have a guided walk and the visit of the cellar, followed by a tasting. Otherwise you can go biking with electric bicycles in the vineyards, have a visit and a tasting, and also have lunch at Gassier Castle. The booking are made by phone.

Cave de la Bargemone:

This domain has few rewards for their wine, for 2018 they won two silver medals and one gold medal of the 2018 general competition in Paris.  On appointments, you can have a commentated tasting or a visit of the winery with the owner.

Author: Hélène Marchandise