Bordeaux Wine Tours

[doorco]

Looking for tour operators from Bordeaux to do surrounding wine region. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[cberge]

Looking for tour operators from Bordeaux to do surrounding wine region. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have done a few wine tours from Bordeaux,and we have taken them with different people over the years,but nothing recent.We got our info from the Tourist Bureau which is near the Wine Museum.We were staying in Bordeaux at the time.I am sure things have chaned greatly so I would suggest that you Google the TB and see what they have on their website if you want to go that route,but I am sure someone will have someone they used.You want to make sure to go to St.Emillion...small town in the heart of wine country.Also know that you can buy a lot of the wines from there here in the US for a lot less unless you want a remonder of your trip.They also sell some nice wines in BD at the wine shops.

[Delray2002]

Through our CruiseCritic roll-call, six of us hired published wine expert, Dewey Markham (a "transplanted" New Yorker) for a private 2-day 6 chateau tour of wineries near Bordeaux. He [picked us up at the pier in Bordeaux. Some guides like to prove to you how smart they are. They're "talking to themselves," not their audience.

 

Not Dewey! He wants you to come away from your experience with an appreciation and knowledge of Bordeaux wines and how they're rated. He's totally accessible - full of facts and and anecdotes - happy for interruptions that focus the conversation on what his guests want to know. He customizes his tour based on the knowledge level and areas of interest of his guests. Ever get a "course hand-out" from a tour guide? We did -- chock full of information on the wines of the region, their grading, and specifics on the wineries we were visiting.

 

All I can say is -- we've travelled a lot, and had lots of guides. Dewey was the best by a mile. Dewey Markham (www.dmjwineworks.com)

[jwds]

Through our CruiseCritic roll-call, six of us hired published wine expert, Dewey Markham (a "transplanted" New Yorker) for a private 2-day 6 chateau tour of wineries near Bordeaux. He [picked us up at the pier in Bordeaux. Some guides like to prove to you how smart they are. They're "talking to themselves," not their audience.

 

Not Dewey! He wants you to come away from your experience with an appreciation and knowledge of Bordeaux wines and how they're rated. He's totally accessible - full of facts and and anecdotes - happy for interruptions that focus the conversation on what his guests want to know. He customizes his tour based on the knowledge level and areas of interest of his guests. Ever get a "course hand-out" from a tour guide? We did -- chock full of information on the wines of the region, their grading, and specifics on the wineries we were visiting.

 

All I can say is -- we've travelled a lot, and had lots of guides. Dewey was the best by a mile. Dewey Markham (www.dmjwineworks.com)

 

 

Would you mind sharing what the cost of this tour was? We are very interested in this type of tour.

[robbie21]

I can also highly recommend Dewey Markham (www.dmjwineworks.com) for a personalized wine tour of the Bordeaux area. I recommend you contact him directly for his fees. They seemed to me to be comparable to other private wine guides there. Larger tour companies that offer "canned" tours are a bit cheaper. We all felt we got our money's worth especially after we talked to others who took some of the larger agency tours.

Earlier this month Dewey led us (with delray2000 and another couple) on an interesting, informative and fun tour of the Bordeaux wine area. Our group of 6 was very mixed in wine experience and exposure ranging from many years of wine tasting on the west coast to almost complete novice. Dewey handled us all beautifully.

Dewey is a native New Yorker who has lived in Bordeaux for 19 years. He is a respected author of a key reference book on the 1855 Bordeaux classification as well as other writings on Bordeaux wines. In addition to his expertise he is an engaging and interesting teacher and conversationalist. If you visit his web site you can find a video interview that illustrates this.

For our two day tour we had an extensive e-mail conversation about our wine likes and interests and our goals before he proposed an itinerary. He has access to wineries that do not normally take visitors and definitely do not take large groups. At each of the six wineries we visited we were the only visitors there and at two we were met and guided by the owners. Each tour included a tour of the winery and discussion of their wine making approach and style followed by a tasting of their most recent release(s). Dewey was with us to clarify and amplify the winery presentations. There was no expectation to buy and, in fact a couple of the wineries did not sell to visitors. Most of the wines we tasted are available in the states by mail order (usually for about the same price) so there is no need to buy and ship. Check out winesearcher dot com.

In addition to the winery tours we had time to explore Saint Emillion town on the first day. On our second day on the left bank we also did some sight seeing as we drove through the countryside stopping to view some spectacular Chateaux. So his tour, while mostly dedicated to wine, also covered other areas of interest to visitors to the area. His insights on living in France were also interesting.

I can highly recommend Dewey to both experienced and novice wine aficionados. Unlike many wine guides in this area he will tailor your tour to your specific interests and desires. As mentioned by delray2000 he is there for you. He is also one of the most informative and interesting guides I have ever encountered.

Robbie

[doorco]

A little late with this thank you but berg, Delray2002, jwds and robbie 21, your time and advice is greatly appreciated