Home > Avignon > Small-Group Wine-Tasting Day Trip from Avignon
USD $75.00
Small-Group Wine-Tasting Day Trip from Avignon
Avignon, France
Travel deep into the Rhône Valley and explore the region’s rich winemaking heritage on this wine-tasting day trip from Avignon. Stop at one or two different wineries which produce red, white and rosé wines including the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Learn how grape varieties including Grenache, Cinsault and Counoise flourish in the fertile soils. Follow your guide through the cellars and sample the wines during tasting sessions. Take in panoramic views over the Rhône Valley and enjoy personal attention from your guide on this small-group tour, limited to eight people.
Following a morning pickup from your hotel in Avignon, meet your guide and hop aboard your air-conditioned minivan for the journey deep into the rolling hills of the Rhône Valley. The fertile, sun-drenched soils around Avignon offer perfect conditions for growing grapes, and wine has been produced in the region since Roman times.
Stop at two different vineyards in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape winemaking territories and listen as your guide explains how grape varieties including Grenache, Cinsault and Counoise flourish. Gain insight into the age-old winemaking techniques in operation and enjoy panoramic views from the cellars over the Rhône Valley’s castles and mansions — many of which date from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Explore the cool cellars — where wine sits slowly maturing in barrels — then enjoy a tasting session of some of the wines produced. Listen as your guide details the complex flavors and scents at play in your glass, then sip the wine to identify them yourself.
For tours on Monday and Thursday you'll visit two wineries. On any other day of the week, enjoy one wine-tasting in a winery as well as a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Roman amphitheater in Orange. Built early in the 1st century AD, the amphitheatre is widely considered the most impressive in Europe.
After approximately four hours exploring the rolling vineyards of the Rhône Valley, hop back aboard your minivan for the return journey to your hotel in Avignon, where your tour will come to an end.
This was a good tour if you know very little about wine. It's a nice intro and you get a basic rundown of the region. If you know anything about wine and have a decent palate and would like to experience the area, then maybe try something else. I was traveling with my grandmother who knows nothing about wine and just barely started drinking it, while I have been to several wine regions of the world and know what I like and can tell good wine from bad wine for the most part. It worked for her, which was all that mattered to me, but if I had been on my own I definitely would not have enjoyed it. It's all a matter of where you're coming from.
Review by: Patricia L, August 2017
Well, our tour guide, Julien, was super-friendly and informative along the route. We were picked up at our hotel in a minivan that was more than clean and comfortable. We did ask for water, however, and there was none available. Given the very hot temperatures, it would have been a lovely perk to have been offered bottled water along the way. I only did a half-day tour, which included two wineries in Chateauneuf du Pape. The first, Brotte, included an audio self-guided tour of a petit museum within the winery that was helpful but actually somewhat duplicative of what Julien had already told us. The second, Bouachon, was more interesting in my opinion. There was a young woman, Natalie, who presented a little lesson in wine tasting not for the pros but for beginners that was interesting and the wine tasting a wonderful experience. Overall, it was a very good tour and would recommend it! Enjoy.
Review by: nchaires, December 2016
Great time! recommend for anyone who is interested in wine. Everybody involved from the tour guide to the reps at the winery were very personable and professional. It was supposed to be a small group but because of the time of year it turned out to be a private tour.
Review by: Cynthia O, July 2016
Great tour .. learned lots, and our guide Remi was fabulous .. I would certainly recommend this trip !
Review by: Anne T, July 2016
It was an enjoyable tour of Oranges's Roman ruins and one winery. I really would've liked more wine! The tour of the winery was interesting and the wine we tasted was lovely but we only sampled three wines. In California, most wineries give you at least six!
Review by: Wing Lan Y, July 2016
As our trip was on Tuesday, we visited one winery and Roman amphitheater in Orange. _br/_ Visit to the winery was interesting and we got to learn some basic knowledge of wine from the owner himself. I wish we would be able to spend more time at the winery though we were already behind schedule as we were too excited during the wine tasting part. The guide is knowledgable and friendly. Thank you for such a great half day !
Review by: Reynir S, June 2016
We had a great half day tour.
Review by: Elliott H, June 2016
Tour of the winery was terrible. Both our guide and the person at the winery seemed bored and eager to end the tour quickly. The trip to Orange to see the Roman ruins was worthwhile._br/_ Our guide was terrible. She even refused to drop us off a few blocks from the center of town.
Review by: Emma M, May 2016
I had a wonderful time at chateaunerf du pape. Both my tour guide and the staff at the wineries but very knowledgable, friendly and good fun! It was a great start to the day. Also the wine is amazing!
Review by: Sara T, October 2015
Our tour guide was very nice and I enjoyed the tour. She even spoke in French and English for us, so that we could practice our French. The wine tasting was interesting and fun and the Roman ampitheatre was very cool.
Review by: Christine I, October 2015
Would have liked to taste more wines. Usually the wine tastings we have been at before give you 6-8 samples. You don' t have to drink it all, but at least 2 whites, 2 rose's and 2 reds. We enjoyed the drive and our driver was very passionate and knowledgeable.
Review by: Marlene A, September 2015
Only visited one winery.
Review by: Sandy F, September 2015
I had a great time on this tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and found us easily. I wish we had toured more than one vineyard, but Chateauneuf de Pape was fascinating.
Review by: Christine B, August 2015
Excellent half day tour, Roman theatre in 'Orange' followed by wine tour Chateau nerve du pape, well worth the money, guide excellent, wine tasting even better. Learnt a lot about wine, as it was our first wine tasting tour.
Review by: Sarah A, August 2015
Great tour guide and great tour stops, but even though the title states wine-tasting day trip, the focus was not wineries or wine tasting. There was one stop out of about 4 tour stops that was at a winery.
Review by: Sara B, September 2014
Really enjoyed this trip. I love wine, but had little knowledge of French wine. This tour helped to educate me, and I walked away with a greater understanding. Plus, the wine was delicious and the area was beautiful. I am very glad I signed up for this.
Review by: Lorilea F, December 2013
We were met promptly at 8:45 by Julien, a young man who grew up in Avignon. He was extremely pleasant, spoke very good English and had a wonderful sense of humour. There was six of us on this tour (four in our group) and it was wonderful chatting with the other two ladies. We arrived promptly at the Winery however had to wait for the other tour groups, which was fine as it gave us time to look around ourselves. The tour in the winery was excellent and very worthwhile . The tour guide in the winery was incredibly knowledgeable and showed a passion for wine making. We sampled three wines at Chateauneuf-de-Pape and then went to Brote where Julien our guide described the wines after we went through a small museum of historical wine-making equipment. This was my favourite part of the tour as it was just the six of us along with Julien. We sampled three more wines and were able to talk amongst ourselves about the tastes, etc. rather than in the large group at the first winery ...where of course there are always those people who need to let know how knowledgeable they are! Definitely would go on this tour again, especially if our guide was Julien.
Review by: Sarah H, December 2013
Our guide, Vanessa, was amazing! Great tour of the area and the wine tastings were fun :)
Review by: Jane S, August 2013
Extremely pleasant and knowledgeable courier and tour really good.
Review by: Maria S, June 2013
Truly disappointed with this tour. The description is a half day wine tour and we only went to one winery (for 1 hour). The rest of the tour was spent traveling to a historical sites.
Review by: monika t, August 2012
Nice trip. Very educational
Review by: Bryan G, June 2012
Fabulous day at two wineries with very knowledgable and friendly people. I loved the small group size and convenience of being picked up from our hotel! Wine in Provence? What's not to love?
Review by: Peter H, September 2011
Excellent. Our guide arrived on time at the prearranged location. Her english was very good and the wine tasting locations very interesting. Great tour and highly recommended.
Review by: James F, September 2011
We enjoyed our tour very much, particularly the Skalli winery and the brief stop in the town of Chateauneuf du Pape. Madeleine was a fantastic tour guide!
Review by: Tamara H, United States of America, March 2010
I went alone and had a wonderful time. The guide made things so easy for us. It was a magical day.
Review by: Patrick L, March 2010
We had a very knowledgeable guide, and I had a good time.
Review by: Patrick L, Canada, October 2007
We had a very knowledgeable guide, and I had a good time.
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