Cruising the French vineyards
Inspiration

Taste the best wine on board and discover the secrets of wine-making on land

If you are looking to enjoy the best France has to offer, including its large choice of delicious wines, cruising the French vineyards on a luxury hotel barge will provide you with the finest wine-tasting experiences. Forget the hassle of having to choose a wine or to decide which winery to visit, simply sit back, go with the river flow and be sure to enjoy some of France’s finest vintages, selected especially for you.

Every hotel barge makes a careful selection of wines for you to taste all along your cruise, with a particular focus on local wines and vineyards so that you can truly experience your French vacation with all your senses. Whether it’s the tangy, mineral Chardonnay wines from northern Burgundy, the fruity and subtle Loire Valley whites or the bold and beautiful Bordeaux reds in the south-west, you will taste some exquisite wines, from the most famous labels to the small, independent producers.

Immersive vineyard visits and wine tours

France’s wine industry produces almost 3,000 different wines – quaffed worldwide from 8 billion bottles each year – lovingly crafted in time-honoured fashion or newly created by inspired and talented fledgeling producers, reflecting the particular conditions of their local terroir, aspect and climate. Each location favours a different grape variety, and sometimes a handful will grow side by side, providing new and exquisite combination opportunities for passionate entrepreneurs.

In fact, whilst vineyards are laid out in almost every region of France, Alsace, Burgundy, Languedoc (Canal du Midi) and Bordeaux have the lion’s share, producing quite different flavours for the palette to discover. Most fortunately, cruising along their ancient routes to market makes it possible to sip and savour your way through famous and not-so-famous vineyards to your heart’s content.

Your knowledgeable and experienced wine hosts and crew members aboard the barges are all passionate about French living and will be happy to guide and advise you on the vintages they have on their wine list. You will have the chance to taste a wide variety of wines served daily on board.

On land, whether in the cool, earthy cellars of a small winery or the chic tasting rooms of the finest wine houses, a vineyard visit is the best way to taste French wine. Most cruises include tours of one or several French wineries in their itineraries and, naturally, this includes an exclusively curated and immersive wine-tasting, often with the wine-producers themselves or with the most professional sommeliers.

You could enjoy a wine tasting in a castle in the south of France with the Athos or with the Savannah, taste the fine bubbles of Champagne with the Pivoine, the Hirondelle or the Saroche or tour the iconic Chablis vineyards with La Belle Epoque or the Randle.

Expand your knowledge about French vineyards

You could also take it a little further with some exclusive and informative wine experiences. Aboard the Savoir Vivre, cruising on the Burgundy canal, you can enjoy a wine-tasting after a tour explaining everything about viticulture.

With the Jeanine, the Grand Cru or the Rendez-Vous in southern Burgundy, enjoy several excursions along the Route des Grands Crus, exploring the many wine-producing villages along this picturesque route taking you through some of the world’s finest vineyards. Alsace, in eastern France, also has its beautiful Route des Vins featuring quaint villages and rolling, vineyard-clad hills which you can explore while cruising aboard the Panache.

While wine may be France’s main claim to fame, this beautiful country has many other tipples for you to enjoy. Why not try Armagnac, a fortified wine produced since the Middle-Ages in the south-west of France! You can visit a distillery while cruising with the Rosa or the Saint Louis. Craft beer is on the up in France but its cradle lies in Alsace where the Germanic influence helped produce some very fine beers and ales. If you board the Madeleine, the Panache or the Après Tout, you will be able to visit local breweries, including the famous Meteor villa, to learn about and taste this famous Alsatian beer.

Become a wine expert on a themed cruise

If French wine is your passion and you are keen to develop your understanding of vinification, why not indulge in a special themed cruise where you will enjoy all the comfort, luxury and top class service of a hotel barge cruise in France but with a little extra to satisfy your budding wine-expert palate. You can still have the cruising experience with other optional excursions, too.

With its soft hills, world-famous vineyards, historic villages and authentic French living, Burgundy is a destination of choice for wine enthusiasts. Cruising the French vineyards aboard the lovely Luciole hotel barge can invite you to a special Wine Week itinerary in which you’ll visit not one but three distinct wine growing regions along the Nivernais canal. You will discover the wines of the Chablis, Beaune and Pouilly Fumé and Sancerre regions.

Still in Burgundy, L’Impressionniste has a special wine appreciation cruise where you will master the tasting technique, learn of the mysterious Tastevin knighthood, enjoy private tastings in unique settings and see the beautiful UNESCO-listed Côte de Beaune vineyards. The Grand Victoria also has a special Wine Lovers themed-cruise in Burgundy imagined with an experienced sommelier in which you will learn to build your own cellar and get a sense of the delights of properly pairing wine with food – one of the great benefits of hands-on cruising in the French vineyards.

Cruising the vineyards in Bordeaux

The Rosa barge proposes a special oenology cruise on its Bordeaux itinerary. Expect visits to wineries set in stunning castles, a professional wine-expect coming aboard to teach and advise you on wine-tasting and superior quality wines served throughout the cruise.

For an in-depth discovery of the world of wine, Le Phénicien’s special wine cruise ‘In the Footsteps of Bacchus’ in Provence promises to teach you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about wine. Cruising the French vineyards on your five-day trip, you’ll be accompanied by a professional oenologist who will explain the different appellations, offer an introduction to tasting and the fundamentals of oenology and bring you on visits to six excellent wineries. A gala dinner with wine tasting competitions will bring this fantastic cruise to a fitting close.

Saint Louis’ week-long St Emilion and Bordeaux Wine Experience Cruise is a must do as its itinerary is set in a fantastic wine location. Highlights include a whole day in St-Emilion with a tour, a visit of a castle, tastings and a luxury meal in a Michelin-starred restaurant plus some exceptional wines on-board.

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by Sophie Gardner-Roberts
Independent Specialist Travel Writer