| Distance: |
Map
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| 4.600km |
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| Highlights: |
80%
of the French wineyards! Provence, Côtes du
Rhône, Beaujolais, Bourgogne, Jura, Savoie,
Alsace, Champagne, Loire,,Saumur, Nantes, Cognac,
Bordeaux, Cahors, Languedoc-Rousillon, etc… |
Day
0: For those interested, a wine tasting lecture
will be organized for the evening prior to the tour
departure (not included in tour price, contact for
booking).
Day
1: The tour begins along the Mediterranean coast,
through the Côteaux de Provence vineyards, and will
offer a mix of coastal sceneries and charming Provencal
villages like Saint Tropez, Bandol and Cassis, before
riding inland towards that magical place called
“Les Baux de Provence” with its delicious wine.
Day
2: This will be the first day along the Rhône
river around the many vineyards located on each
side. We will focus on the southern part of the
Rhône with a ride through the Côtes du Rhône Provence
vineyards, followed by the Côtes du Rhône Villages
and finally the Côteaux du Tricastin.We will be
leaving the Rhône for the night and experience the
“Clairette de Die” on the Vercors mountain side.
Day
3: Today we leave the Vercors and ride back
to the Rhône north of Valence with the “Hermitage”
and “Lyonnais” vineyards. The tour will say farewell
to the Rhône, travelling on to experience the lovely
“Savoie” vineyards and their exquisite dry white
wines. But this will only happen once the tour has
visited the “Chartreuse” liquor cellar in Voiron.
Day
4: Splendid winding roads take the tour through
the mountains down to the Saône river valley and
will prepare the group to face famous names like”Juliénas”,
“Chardonnay”, “Mercurey”,or “Meursault”. This day
is dedicated to the Beaujolais, Mâconnais and Bourgogne
(Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Beaune) vineyards.
Day
5: In the morning we will enjoy some more Bourgogne
vineyards such as the “Côtes des Nuits” where famous
wines like “Nuits Saint Georges” and “Gevrey-Cambertin”
are produced. Then it’s time to go east and enter
Alsace! Before reaching Thann and the beginning
of the Alsacian wine road the tour will take lovely
meandering roads along the Swiss border until reaching
the start of the Vosges mountains and the road that
climbs the famous “Grand Ballon d’Alsace”.
Day
6: is dedicated entirely to the Alsace wine
road. Along this 150km road tiny, ancient villages
follow each other around the curves while the famous
white storks of Alsace keep an eye on the vineyards
and the many wine cellars where “Sylvaner”, “Pinot
Blanc”, “Riesling”, “Muscat d’Alsace”, “Tokay Pinot
Gris”, “Pinot Noir” and “Gewurztraminer” are produced.
The tour will overnight around Strasbourg at the
northern end of the wine road. It is very close
to Strasbourg so there will be plenty of time to
visit there and taste the local beers and food.
Day
7: As the tour is reaching its half-way point,
what better beverage than “Champagne” for such a
special moment? But before arriving in the Champagne
region of France, where the world-famous sparkling
white wine is produced, the tour will first experience
the undulating roads of the Vosges mountains and
cross some places full of history like “Verdun”
where some WW I battles reached their climax. Our
reward will be to ride around in the champagne vineyards
and visit their cellars.
Day
8: With our heads being a bit lighter with all
the Champagne bubbles, the ride will be easy towards
the Loire valley, with its astonishing castles and
spectacular wines. The “Orléannais” vineyards and
the Chambord Castle are but two examples of the
wonders that will be experienced during this stage.
Day
9: This is a busy day visiting the “Nemrod”
vineyards around Cheverny and its castle and the
“Gamay de Touraine” before pressing on towards Chenonceaux
and its wonderful castle, Amboise, and the “Touraine”
vineyards. This day will be made perfect with a
bit more riding along the Loire to enjoy places
like Azay-le-rideau and Chinon. The day will be
capped off with a visit to Saumur where the world
famous “Cadre Noir” equestrian school is based.
Day
10: Following the Loire through the “Coteaux
de Saumur” vineyards the tour will reach the “Vins
du nantais” road near Nantes. Jumping from one curve
to the next we will travel to the port of La Rochelle,
a perfect place to enjoy delicious wines and seafood,
and take a good rest for the next day’s ride.
Day
11: From the vineyards through which the tour
will ride on this day comes a great, strong and
oak cask matured “Eau de Vie” called the Cognac.
The end of the day will be spent on the Atlantic
coast.
Day
12: A quick ferry ride over the Gironde and
here starts a day dedicated to the “Bordeaux” wines.
Starting with the “Châteaux du Médoc” vineyards
with names like Saint Estèphe, Lafite-Rotschild,
Pauillac, Margaux and many more. After a quick ride
through Bordeaux here come the “Pomerol” vineyards
with the world famous “Saint Emilion”, followed
by the “Pecharmant” , “Côtes de Bergerac” and “Montbazillac”
ones. Such a ride deserves a good rest at the gates
of the Dordogne.
Day
13: A great variety of vineyards awaits us on
this day, leaving the Bergerac area for the “Cahors”
and its delicious wines. After having enjoyed the
“Gaillac” vineyards, many curves will help us keep
the rhythm on the way down to the “world heritage”
historical fortress known as the “Cité de Carcassonne”
.. Once in Carcassonne it will be a great idea to
taste the “Blanquette de Limoux” sparkling wine
produced just to the south.
Day
14: This day will be spent riding across the
most productive wine regions of France,starting
with the “Minervois” and going through Béziers (wine
capital of France). We will continue on towards
Frontignan and its wine, the Montpellier Muscat,
followed by the “Vins des sables” on the Mediterranean
coast before getting to Nîmes and its “Costières
de Nîmes”.
Day
15: This last day will take the tour back to
the French Riviera through more vineyards like the
“Clairette de Belgarde”, “Côteaux d’Aix” and some
more “Côtes de Provence”.
