Rhone Valley Wine Tour with Picnic : Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Ventoux and Tavel

This was an excellent tour. We chose the full day option, so it was just the four of us in the morning and we were joined by other people doing the half day option in the afternoon. In all honesty, I thought the best part of our day was in the morning when we did toured the winery, learned how to do a wine tasting and had a picnic lunch on the grounds of the vineyard. It was really beautiful, and we all learned a lot. We were then joined by the half-day group for the afternoon, but they missed out on all the information received in the morning. I would highly recommend this tour, but spend the extra money on the full day option!

We decided on the full day tour which was a great decision. Our guide Marc was very knowledgeable about Avignon, the area, the history and the wineries. In fact he hosted the first wine tasting. We stopped for lunch in Beaumes de Venise but the market was not open on that day which was disappointing. We went back to Avignon to drop off some people and to pick up some more and then went to Tavel and Chateau Neuf -de -Pape in the afternoon. Again the wineries showcased some of the different wines of the region and Marc gave us more information about each wine. We had a cellar tour at Chateau Neuf - de- Pape which was also interesting.

My wife and I joined this day tour with Julien as our tour guide, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We visited one winery in the morning, where Julien talked us through the wine making process, also showing us the barrels in which wine was fermented in that Chateau, giving us a glimpse of how modern technology played a part in the wine making process of this part of France. Being a local brought up in Chateauneuf De Pape, Julien had all the knowledge to answer your questions about wine making, the grapes, terrior, Chateaus etc in Provence! He also had some sense of humour, which made it very enjoyable chatting to and learning from him. We managed to try 7 types of wine in the morning, with Julien giving us some knowledge on how to sample wine. We were then taken to a small town, Beaumes-de-Venise, for lunch, were we spent about an hour. It was a Tuesday morning, with a small local market, where we bought some juice, fruits and even some oysters from a local seafood stall to eat on the spot! In the afternoon, we went to Tavel and Chateauneuf de Pape, two wine regions well known in Provence. The drive up to Chateauneuf de Pape was great, with Julien driving us through the vineyards, where we could actually get off the car and have a brief walk in the vineyards. We made a stop on the remains of the castle in Chateauneuf de Pape, where we could take some photos. After that, we were taken through a local winery in Chateauneuf de Pape, where we were guided through the wine cellars, and were able to see these large oak wine barrels. A local in the winery introduced the place to us, which was a good experience for someone to know more about the wine making process. The tour ended with wine tasting in the local winery in Chateauneuf de Pape, tasting one white and two reds. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed the tour, with Julien giving us good recommendations on where to dine at night. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone who would like to gain some knowledge and to have a glimpse into wine making in Provence, also if you would like to try different types of wine from this region of France. I would say it is suitable for you, whether you know nothing about wine, or already have some knowledge on it.

My wife and I enjoyed this tour immensely. Our guide, Adeline, was very knowledgeable about wine and the wine-making process. She also was a wealth of information about the history, geography, and meteorology of the surrounding region. The highlight of this tour was a wine tasting class at a winery in Ventoux where Adeline explained how to evaluate and taste wine. We were able to taste seven wines during this class. After lunch we went to a winery in Tavel where we tasted several rose wines which Tavel specializes in comparing wines made from grapes grown in different soils. We ended our day in Chateauneuf-du-Pape at a winery which discussed the specialized wine-making process in that region. We found Adeline to be utterly charming. Her English was impeccable.