Plan a trip
A route through the vines
Pick a country and a style, and we'll sketch a few days through it — real sub-regions in a sensible order, with what to expect at each stop and when to go, drawn from everything already on the site.
Where to
Style preference
Your route
A 5-stop route through France
The character of this trip
A country best read one village at a time
France rewards the traveller who slows down. Its great regions are small enough to cross in an afternoon, yet the wine changes from one hillside, one village, one bank of a river to the next — so the trips that pay back are patient ones: fewer stops, longer lunches, and the habit of asking what makes this appellation taste like itself. Come for the names on the labels; stay for the small differences between neighbours.
Route length
Stops
5
Total driving
~397 km
Behind the wheel
7h 13min
Worth setting aside
5–7 days
What to expect
Notable producers
- Domaine A. et P. de Villaine — Bouzeron; run by Aubert de Villaine of Romanée-Conti, and known for Aligoté.
- Maison Faiveley — A leading name in Mercurey, with a range of Premiers Crus.
- Château de Chamirey — Mercurey; a long-established château estate.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in early autumn (September), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in spring (April–May), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~110 km · 2 hours to the next stop
Moving from a Aligoté-led stop to a Gamay Noir-led one, the route changes grape as well as place: Côte Chalonnaise, then Beaujolais.
What to expect
Notable producers
- Georges Duboeuf — The négociant who made Beaujolais famous, especially Nouveau.
- Marcel Lapierre — Morgon; a pioneer of low-intervention winemaking.
- Jean Foillard — Morgon; a leading natural-leaning grower.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in early autumn (September), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in spring (April–May), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~91 km · 1h 39min to the next stop
Beaujolais is Gamay Noir country; Côte-Rôtie is Syrah. The drive between them is a change of grape, and the glass changes with it.
What to expect
Notable producers
- E. Guigal — Makes the famed single-vineyard La Mouline, La Landonne and La Turque.
- Domaine Jamet — A family estate making classic, long-lived wines.
- René Rostaing — Known for elegant, perfumed Côte-Rôtie.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in early autumn (September), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in spring (April–May), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~59 km · 1h 5min to the next stop
Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage share a climate — continental — so what sets them apart is subtler: the soil, the aspect, and the estates that work them.
What to expect
Notable producers
- Jean-Louis Chave — A family estate, known for its blend from many parts of the hill.
- Paul Jaboulet Aîné — Makes Hermitage La Chapelle, a benchmark, from the chapel's slope.
- M. Chapoutier — The largest owner on the hill, with several single-site wines.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in early autumn (September), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in spring (April–May), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.
~137 km · 2h 29min to the next stop
Moving from a Syrah-led stop to a Mondeuse Blanche-led one, the route changes grape as well as place: Hermitage, then Savoie.
What to expect
Notable producers
- Domaine Belluard — Ayze; the reference for the rare Gringet grape.
- Domaine Dupasquier — Jongieux; a family estate for Roussette and Jacquère.
- Louis Magnin — Arbin; known for Mondeuse and Altesse.
Best time to visit
Come for harvest, in mid-autumn (October), when the cellars are busiest — or earlier, in early summer (June), for a quieter, greener look at the vines.