Has anyone had a Guide for Rhone they could refer me to? I am going to be there this Summer. I would love to visit Voge, Allemand, Clape & Juge. If you have had a particularly good experience with someone please send their contact information my way.
Thanks! Jim
Are you looking for a guide to tourist sights or for a book to give you information on visiting vineyards? Most Rhone books I know are out of date in terms of recommendations for wine or even vineyards. If you are looking for information on how to arrange visits to vineyards, I would look online for info about those vineyards you wish to visit, get phone numbers, email, etc. and contact them. I have found, in the northern Rhone, that few domaines are prepared to welcome walk ins. Cornas, in particular, is a small town, with domaines scattered about the surrounding countryside and some places in town where you can buy wines. For walk in touristry, Tain is a better bet.
marcel juge passed away so that’d be a tough one.
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You can probably find Coronas in the US
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Thanks for the information! Yes I was looking for a tour guide that would have access, know how to put together itinerary and help me bridge language barrier if needed.
Thanks everyone!
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Ah, this sounds like you mean to hire a human being who speaks French and knows his or her way around. Never having done that, I am no help. You might consult a travel agent or, indeed, someone who works in a local wine shop you frequent, or, even better, an importer if you can contact one, who is likely to know about such things. You can also look up local touriste places on the internet and contact them about it. Any of these outlets is likely to know more than you’ll find here unless there is someone here who has already done this.
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Are you a subscriber to drinkrhone.com? Jonathan Livingstone-Learmonth is my No. 1 guy on the Rhone. I’m sure he’d give you great advice, maybe even if you’re not!
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No, but thank you for the suggestion! Just now getting into Rhone.
Try Rhone Wine Tours. Paul Barker arranged and drove my wife and me all over the Northern Rhone. It was about 6 years ago but i’m assuming he’s still in business. He did a great job and introduced me to Xavier Gerard.
Almost scary to think that it’s coming up nearly six years since I was last in the northern Rhône.
Back then a friend and I walked into Voge so I’m guessing that will be the same now. As mentioned; Juge passed away so that’s not a happening thing. I suspect Allemand & Clape are likely to need an introduction through some trade/ITB connection…without that I would think that your chances are low at those two.
Given that you are new to the wines of the region you might have more fun exploring some newer names, while newer, younger producers are both more likely to be accessible in terms of visits along with having english language skills. Have a look through some of the threads on the board for producers that people have enjoyed and go from there. I’ll pop an old link that I have below for Côte Rôtie producers below, though I can’t promise that all the email addresses are still correct. Good luck…
Thanks! Really appreciate all the suggestions. Going to pursue all the above & Mark agree with you about some of the newer producers.
Good luck with securing some interesting and educative visits Jim: you might end up meeting young women/young men that are the stars of the future. I am often amazed at the willingness of winemakers to entertain visits when they are already busy in the vines etc, especially given that travelling means that you can really only buy a bottle or two at best. Given that I live in New Zealand, a small marketplace for wine, it’s not uncommon that producers I have visited do not export to my country, so they can only hope to make me an ambassador for their label. That makes their willingness to allow me to visit even more amazing.
Some of the little wine villages are just that, working wine villages with not a lot of food or accommodation options so you could base yourself in Tain, or in the case of Cornas there is the larger town of Valence almost next door.
Cheers…Mark