I’m visiting France in late April and have a few days earmarked for wine- a day each in Burgundy, Northern Rhone and Southern Rhone. Does anyone have advice on producers who are good about taking appointments, or trade visits? I’ve also thought about going the “tour” route, but they seem like an extra expense for something I could probably do on my own.
My plan is to do 2 to 3 appointments in a day, and have some time to drive around and soak in the regions. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I would suggest two visits a day. You may have to use contacts to get into the elite estates. It is not like California at all. Do you have any producers that you really like? Any areas - Pommard, Volnay etc? If you do a search on here you should find plenty of info.
You are trying to cram too much in. Your travel into Beaune from Paris for example will take half a day as will travel from Beaune to the Rhone. Personally I would forget the Rhone. Also remember that you cannot visit domains on the weekend and as mentioned before you will need good introductions made in advance.
Why?
Seriously it is much easier to get an appointment with a fine producer in the Rhone valley, and 2nd it´s usually still possible to buy some bottles - while in Burgundy most top-wines will be sold out for decades.
Thanks all for the advice. I’ve already factored in the driving that Anthony mentioned. I work for a producer of Rhone varietals, so I’d definitely like to hit the Rhone. I think 2 appointments is a good idea if I’m putting together the day on my own, and I realize it’s going to be a bit of a process getting appointments.
Does anyone have experience with tours? I’ve found tours online that seem to be focused on a good wine experience (above the novice level), and ones that get good reviews. I’m considering taking the extra expense to just simplify things.
As for producers- there are certainly ones from Burgundy and the Rhone that I like, but I wouldn’t say I have a “must visit” producer. It’s more about getting a nice overview of the regions for me. As long as the wine is good I don’t need to visit the most prestigious producer I can find. If anyone has a particular producer that they’ve had success visiting, I’d love to hear about it.
Burghound has a decent burgundy guide for hotels/restos.
Bill Nanson’s book (iirc) has a list of good domaines to visit for english speakers … Hit a few on that list when I was there, and had a good time.
If you have any good relationships with retailers/importers/distributors, you may want to reach out and ask if they have any connections to set you up with.
My wife and I have rented a house for two weeks in May/June in L’Isle sur la Sorgue, a town just to the south of the Southern Rhone area, and I have planned to visit some producers as well. We were there about 10 years ago and spent a day in CdP, visiting Chateau La Nerthe, which is one you can just walk in to.
Robert Fleming, thanks for the recommendations on Charvin and Clos du Mont Olivet. I’ll reach out to them.
Did that trip a couple summer’s ago. Found a couple of N. Rhone producers to visit did a tour in Beaune. And did tasting at Ray Walker’s who was very welcoming. Here’s the thread.
In spite of the size, Bouchard is an interesting visit if you are not a French speaker and if it is your first time. If you speak French and are willing to plan far in advance there are many more options. If you are driving from Paris, Chablis makes a nice lunch stop. Christine Drouhin at Drouhin Larose speaks English very well. Chantal Lafarge in Volnay does as well. TW and I are racking our brains but cannot remember many visits in English.
Matt - Burgundy was a magical place that I want to get back to some time soon. Ray got me into Caves Madeleine for a great dinner. The tour through the famous vineyards and tastings is perfect. Then we drove down to the N. Rhone (Ampuis) and there is not much wine tourism going on. I contacted Guigal maybe it was wrong time of year but no go. Found smaller producers and just called them and they were like yeah sure come but we are peasant farmers. If you don’t speak French might be harder. My wife is French so that helped. The thing you have to do is hike to the top of Hermitage and see La Chaplle in Tain l’Hermitage. Bonne Chance!