Private Tour: Wine Harvest and Tasting Trip from Bordeaux

Treat yourself to a unique French wine experience that is available for only a limited time each year! On this full-day private tour from Bordeaux, head to the wine region of Médoc or St-Émilion to visit two wineries. Harvest grapes in the morning, recharge with a barbecue-style lunch, and then take a wine tasting workshop. Depending on where you choose to harvest, travel the Castle Road in the Médoc region or visit the medieval village of St-Émilion. Finish your trip by visiting a second winery for tastings and a workshop. This private tour makes for a more relaxed, intimate experience and allows for more individualized attention from your guide.

Depart Bordeaux in the morning in a comfortable minivan, and listen as your friendly guide tells you all about the wine region you’ll be visiting -- either Médoc or St-Émilion -- and answers any questions you may have. The grape harvest only occurs during a limited period each year and is the ultimate hands-on activity for wine lovers. Being on a private tour promises a more individualized, immersive experience.

Arrive at a winery such as Château Siran in Médoc or Château Soutard in St-Émilion and learn all the best techniques for harvesting grapes from an expert viticulturist. Then, it’s your turn! You’ll be given pruners and a little basket so you can pick grapes yourself.

Come back in from the fields and savor a barbecue-style lunch at the chateau (see Itinerary for sample menu). After lunch, take a 30-minute workshop to learn all the steps of the winemaking process from vine to bottle. Indulge in tastings and learn how to distinguish wines by their aroma.

If you choose the Médoc wine region, travel along Castle Road, admiring renowned wine estates such as Château Margaux, Château Mouton-Rothschild and Château Lafite Rothschild. If you choose the St-Émilion region, visit the medieval village of St-Emilion and tour this UNESCO World Heritage Site with its old Romanesque church and cobblestoned streets.

Your tour continues with a visit to a second, family-owned wine chateau, where you'll enjoy another wine workshop and more tastings before starting your return trip. Your wine harvesting and tasting day trip concludes in Bordeaux at 5:30pm.

• Transport by minivan
• Professional guide
• Chateaux entrance fees
• Harvest pruners and basket
• All wine tastings
• Lunch
  

• Gratuities (optional)
• Hotel pickup and drop-off