France - Wine Regions

[Cruiser Elite]

Am starting to plan June / July 2015 France tour - especially seeking advice re hotels, sights, general grown up touristy tips if some kind people are prepared to share.

Am planning on arriving into CDG ~June 18, 2015 - would like to first head to Champagne region - Reims / Epernay. Firstly hotel tips would be best - really do want a pool if possible - budget prolly up to €300 or so - prolly spend 4 or 5 nts here. Thoughts / tips / suggestions good people?

 

[dmitri]

Book yourself a house in Turenne. I stayed in a great old stone house there with my wife, my parents and the outlaws. Heaps of good small towns to drive to and look around, real french country living.

 

[Deleted member]

I look forward to hearing of your experience.
I am planning a similar trip in 2016 ( my 60th birthday) as I am a Bastille day baby, a week in a nice wee chateau in July is planned.

 

[JohnM]

How long are you in France for and how are you travelling about?

Just a few quick thoughts:

I think it's better to stay in Epernay than Reims. Pay homage to Dom Perignon's abbey in Hautvillers just outside, and overlooking, Epernay. Try some champagnes from the smaller producers or those outside of the mainstream that export to Australia; one that comes to mind is Gobillard, just across the street from the abbey.

If driving to burgundy, visit Chablis on the way. Nice town surrounded by the grand cru and premier cru vineyards on the slopes. Slurp some nice chablis (crisp, unwooded chardonnay). Vezeley is a great place to stay; not strictly in a high-level wine region but very historic (staging post for the crusaders) and up on a high hill.

Beaune is a must-do if you're into burgundy wines (red & white). Have dinner at Les Jardins des Remparts. In June/July it should be warm enough to sit out on the terrace which was the case the first time I went there. Do the degustation.

Sancerre in the upper Loire valley is a nice little town and the sancerre is great (natch!). None of that gooseberry-flavoured NZ-style sauvignon blanc there!

If you get to Bordeaux, make sure to visit St Emilion (inland). The famous chateuax on the left bank of the Gironde are worth looking at but don't expect a lot from the scenery there. There is a car ferry near the mouth of the estuary to cross to the right bank to save the drive back over old ground to Bordeaux.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

JohnM that's fantastic info thanks very much. The plan ATPIT is approx 3 weeks in France. I have done zero planning ATPIT apart from booking flts. I was kinda thinking 3-5 days in champagne region and 3-5 days in Bordeaux. Apart from that am very flexible. Might sneak over to San Sebastián for a few days at end but not sure. I have 2 weeks in US next month and when we return from there will start the planning process.

I know I started this thread plenty early but better to have the info up here than not as then everyone can benefit.

 

[Paddy55]

Can make the following recommendations:

Epernay - Le Clos Raymi - great B&B in town and easy walk to Dom/Moet where the tour and tasting is a must. Bit of a stagger back to the B&B mind you! No pool unfortunately.

Burgundy - Hôtel-Golf Château de Chailly - fair dinkum chateaux experience with golf course attached.

Gordes (Provence) - Le Mas des Romarins - startlingly good view and centrally located, especially if you like the movie "A Good Year"

Love France!

 

[Pushka]

Can second the thoughts on Epernay and Beaune. Beautiful countryside. Lovely villages. Et tres Francais!

 

[RB]

It is going back to 2009 but we visited St Emilion- had a half day bus tour for the wine here. Also visited Carcassonne & then Prades. We stayed at a great B & B in Prades- Villa Lafabreque- I see it is still getting good reviews & has the same owners. Could look up some more details if any of these spots are of interest

 

[Major]

We toured these areas in May and had a great time.
Bordeaux is a huge city and did not appeal so we stayed at Blaye and can recommend Villa St Simon - Boutique B&B and Wine Tours in Bordeaux.

From Blaye you can take your car on the ferry over to the Medoc or drive around and visit St Emilion as well as the other Bordeaux wine areas

I also support a visit to Carcassonne | Office de tourisme de Carcassonne

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Thanks so much to all contributors - very much appreciated.

As I indicated earlier we are only in pre-planning stage at moment - serious consideration of all info will take place on return from USA late Sept.

Again thanks for all your posts - keep 'em coming.

 

[Major]

For the Burgundy area we stayed at the little village of Chassagne- Montrachet in Bienvenue au Gite du Montrachet. A fabulous self contained cottage surrounded by vineyards on 3 sides. There is no restaurant or shops in this village but the Village of Puligny-Montrachet is only a 5 min drive and has a great restaurant. Le Pelugney.
Beaune is about 20 min away but the little villages in this Burgundy area are the main attraction.
We tasted some of the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in this area. The NZ and AUS products do not come close. There are bottle shops everywhere for tasting but we found the supermarkets to be the best place to buy. Very few vineyards have tastings

This area is a must for the wine drinker

 

[JohnM]

Very few vineyards have tastings

Good point - and it's a general rule to don't expect many vineyards/wineries in the Old World to be like the 'rock up' style in Australia.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

We are thinking of doing a similar thing in September... So Cruiser if you don't mind I'll hang from your shirt tails/ apron strings and try and learn some handy tips from our AFF experts

 

[Cruiser Elite]

We are thinking of doing a similar thing in September... So Cruiser if you don't mind I'll hang from your shirt tails/ apron strings and try and learn some handy tips from our AFF experts

Absolutely - conicidental timing also - I have been sitting at home all night playing on iPad looking at trains / accom / regions etc - I will actively start research again next week - stay tuned - please participate wherever you desire.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Uppy just had another thought - at some point in time in next few weeks you and I should sit down with a bottle or two of Champers and give this concept some serious attention - strategyisationment even! (Google that word - historically used by some of the world's greatest philosophers)

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Uppy just had another thought - at some point in time in next few weeks you and I should sit down with a bottle or two of Champers and give this concept some serious attention - strategyisationment even! (Google that word - historically used by some of the world's greatest philosophers)

See.. BFFs already

 

[JohnM]

We are thinking of doing a similar thing in September... So Cruiser if you don't mind I'll hang from your shirt tails/ apron strings and try and learn some handy tips from our AFF experts

UITA, you need to make sure to go to Sancerre and spend a little time exploring that region to ensure you come away a full bottle (so to speak ) on what Sauvignon Blanc can really be like, and the nuances it can take on, when it's out of the hands of mass-producer New Zealanders... And, on top of that, Sancerre is a gorgeous little town in a scenic area.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Totally agree. Sancerre is a small but loverly town not to be missed. some very nice food in the town as well - see the Michelin guide. Been to long since we were there for recommendations I think but La Tour if it still exists was very good, also a number of négociants in the town itself to try wines. Also go over the river to the Pouilly fumé Region where you'll find some great wineries to visit.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Thanks JohnM and TheRealTMA! This is all great info.. The difficulty is that I am an extremely lazy traveler (I know.. that surprises you all ) who generally likes to hide-away in some luxury place for a few nights at a time rather than travelling around a lot and living out of a suitcase. So assuming a few nights in Paris (to recover from jet lag), then a few in Epernay (to try and sample a Dom close to my year of birth on my birthday ).. are we thinking Burgundy for a few nights (with Sancerre on the way)? If so should we train to Epernay and then hire a car or can we train the whole way?
Thank you

 

[JohnM]

Thanks JohnM and TheRealTMA! This is all great info.. The difficulty is that I am an extremely lazy traveler (I know.. that surprises you all ) who generally likes to hide-away in some luxury place for a few nights at a time rather than travelling around a lot and living out of a suitcase. So assuming a few nights in Paris (to recover from jet lag), then a few in Epernay (to try and sample a Dom close to my year of birth on my birthday ).. are we thinking Burgundy for a few nights (with Sancerre on the way)? If so should we train to Epernay and then hire a car or can we train the whole way?
Thank you

If you look at a map, Epernay is E of Paris with Beaune S of that (with Chablis and Vezelay between). Sancerre is is S of Paris and W of Beaune. So, depending on how much time you have, there is quite a good loop that could be done in either direction. I don't know about the train as I always prefer to rent a car for independence and flexibility. I think you really need a car within a region such as Burgundy to get out and roam through the villages and vines. Chablis is also quite a nice small town.

If you are flying into or out of CDG, it is to the E of Paris and only about a 1.5h straightforward drive to/from Epernay.

I think you mentioned being there in September. If that's so, harvest will be under way so there will quite a bit of activity in the wine regions.

How long are you allowing for the trip?