Winery/wine country out of Marseille

[laurieb]

We'll be cruising next July on Nautica and would love to find a tour to some of the wineries. Any advice/experience?

[moyaroo]

Best wines are near Avignon, Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueyras, but the area around Aix has some excellent wines. Cellar Door/Cave visits in France are a treat and the prices at the cave usually way better than at home.

 

Look for Domaine du Dragon and see if they offer degustation (tasting)

[laurieb]

thankyou for the reply. Have you had the opportunity to visit these? Will we need to rent a car or are there any organized tours that you are aware of?

[jdvmd]

We visited a winery in the Cote du Luberon this past June. It was arranged for by our tour operator and something like out of the movie, "A Good Year" with Russell Crowe. Beautiful home, British man married to a French woman. Great time but I also think he wondered why the heck we were there but was gracious enough to entertain the group from the cruise ship. Wineries are different in Europe than in the U.S., and you must make an appointment. Many are also not open to the public.

[laurieb]

great, thanks! May I ask who your tour operator was?

[jdvmd]

We used Delphine Segret from Transferts Service. There was a thread that I posted to also yesterday regarding a private tour from Marseilles that has more information about this company.

 

Also, because we were cramming so much into our day, it would have been too far to go to Chateauneuf du Pape, which was my first choice. We went to Avignon, Popes Palace, Rousillion, Gordes, to the winery in the Luberon region (can't remember the name of it this second) and finally back to Marseilles. We were the first ones off the ship and the next to the last to get on.

[laurieb]

thankyou, I'll read the other thread. Did you happen to visit any in Italy?

[jdvmd]

Wine is our passion so we seek out wineries everywhere we go.

 

What part of Italy? I assume you mean Tuscany. We have visited the region twice, most recently in June prior to our cruise on the Prinsendam. We have friends who live in Cortona ("Under the Tuscan Sun").

 

What type of wines do you enjoy?

[laurieb]

we've always been very fond of Napa cabs, OR pinots, WA merlots, and NZ Sauvignon blancs. Jim's favorite wines to try now are those recommended online at wine library. Good cal. chardonnay (no ml) once in awhile.

[jdvmd]

Are you going to be spending some time in Tuscany or just during a port stop? If you are going to have a few days, I would recommend the area of Montepulciano and Montelcino (big red wines), which are in southern Tuscany. If you only have a port stop in Florence, you will be more in the Chianti region. There will probably be a ship's tours available. Same with Civitavecchia.

[drjdm]

My and wife and I met you and your husband as you were getting off the tahitian princess. We are big wine fans and have been to france and italy on many cruises. jdvmd has great ideas. Are you going to Sicily? Have you been to florence before? If not and you only have one day you should go to florence. If you have been to florence go to the chianti region as if is reachable from the port(long day). My wife can give you a lot more info you can email me at drdjm@pacbell.net

 

Jeff and mari marks

[laurieb]

Hi, Jeff, we remember you. As I recall you were considering another cruise on the Tahitian Princess when we went our second time. Did you ever go back? 3 times for us, too bad she stopped sailing there.

We will be stopping at Taormina. I've been to Florence but Jim has not. We're debating on where to spend that day. I will email you, thnaks!

[laurieb]

I tried to email you but it got bounced back. You can email me at laurieb97304 at yahoo dot com