Ok, i think everyone knows that france has many vineyards and we love Touraine wines, and are staying in Blois. How do you get the best out of the vineyard, what is on offer, are there tours, local to Blois, anyones experiences will be invaluable, we will have a 5 year old with us so will have to be able to take him with us.
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Val de Loire Prestige will organise a first class tour of the area for you but it will not be cheap!
val-de-loire-prestige.com/english/loire_vall…
Personally, I would go it alone especially as you have your son with you and my experience of wine tours is that they can become very technical and in depth.
A good place to start will be at the Maison du Vin in Blois, which is directly opposite the Chateau. It has lots of maps and leaflets etc with details on opening times etc of all the local winemakers.
The 4 main AOC areas around Blois are Touraine, Tourain-Mesland, Cheverny and Cour-Cheveny.
All the winemakers in these areas can be found on this link,
…chambordcountry.com/PDF/TerroirsdeLoire.pdf
Only the larger vineyards offer there tours in English but do not be put off as you do not need to speak French to get the most out of visiting the smaller producers.
Happy to recommend some specific vineyards if you wish.
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Thank you for that at least its something for me to think of to decide where to start, i have looked for guide books for france and they dont really seem to cater for what i want, i think studying the links you gave me will certainly be the best plan, thanks and im sure i will be back for more information.
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To get the best out of your visits, I suggest making appointments with a couple of producers in advance - just telephone them (they often don%26#39;t respond to email) a week or so before and explain about your son too. If you tell them you enjoy the local wines and want to learn more, they should react well! I suggest one or two visits per day maximum.
The other vineyard areas and cellars to visit are the spectacular tuffeau cellars in Vouvray and on the opposite side of the river in Montlouis. Both appellations are famous for their white wines, from dry to sweet, and sparkling wines too.
In Vouvray, the classic producer to visit is Huet - www.huet-echansonne.com and I would have thought you should get an English visit there, especially if you contact them in advance. They have sensational troglodyte cellars here so fun to visit.
In Montlouis, you could try Francois Chidaine (www.cave-insolite-chidaine.com).
Both of these producers make top-class wines using biodynamic methods (extreme form of organic farming, working with the phases of the moon and planets).
General information on Loire wines in English you can find at www.loirevalleywines.com
I%26#39;ll send you a private message with more information about my guides.
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