Extra wineries in France are opening to guests, mentioned a French wine tourism skilled. Â
Of France’s 87,000 wineries, solely 13% have been open to the general public 5 years in the past, mentioned Martin Lhuillier, head of wine tourism at Atout France, the nation’s tourism improvement company.
Now, many extra have opened their cellar doorways for excursions and tastings, he mentioned.
“Since our final estimate, the variety of wineries open to visits has grown by greater than 10%,” he mentioned.
It is a rising development in an business that when resisted the chummy, open-door insurance policies widespread in wineries in California, South Africa and different “New World” wine areas. The considering was that French wineries — or chateaux — have been within the enterprise of creating severe wine, not courting families with playgrounds on the premises — a practice common in parts of Australia.
However that began to alter years in the past when wineries started putting in visitor-friendly tasting rooms, revamping their cellars and organizing winery excursions, turning working estates into small-scale journey points of interest.
Some French wine vacationers nonetheless assume that … if they’re shopping for the wine than they should not be anticipated to pay for the go to.
Martin Lhuillier
Head of Wine Tourism, Atout France
Actions quickly adopted, with guests capable of guide picnics, grape-harvesting workshops and treasure hunts for the children in areas as distinguished as Bordeaux.
The development has climbed up the echelon of French winemakers, from small, unbiased estates to the nation’s powerhouse producers. Now, the “overwhelming majority” of France’s most prestigious chateaux are are open to guests too, mentioned Lhuillier.
French wine tourism — by the numbers
There are 4 foremost forms of wine vacationers to France, mentioned Lhuillier. The biggest group (40%) are “epicureans” he mentioned, who purpose for enjoyment and to “please their senses.”
They’re adopted by “classics” (24%) who view wine as one expertise, amongst others, on a trip. “Explorers” (20%) worth extra in-depth information, he mentioned — they wish to meet the winemakers and discover lesser-known elements of wine. Remaining guests (16%) are “specialists” who wish to grasp the science of wine, he mentioned. Â
Wine tourism in France generates roughly 5.2 billion euros ($5.9 billion) a yr, mentioned Lhuillier.
Earlier than the pandemic, the nation welcomed round 10 million wine vacationers every year, who spent a mean of $1,430 per keep. Most of those guests got here from inside France (58%), however development from worldwide guests was outpacing that of home ones.
“The typical development charge for wine tourism in France within the final six years is round 4% per yr, with the expansion being larger for international vacationers,” he mentioned.
Two camps
Lhuillier mentioned he divides France’s wine areas into two camps:
- the “traditional” locations, the place wine performs a decisive function in vacationers’ determination to go to the world, equivalent to Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and Alsace; and
- areas the place wine performs an necessary, although not main, function within the alternative to go to, equivalent to Provence, Occitanie and Loire Valley.
Guests primarily wish to pattern and purchase wine, although the will to expertise a area’s “sceneries, cultures, heritage and gastronomy” is not far behind, mentioned Lhuillier.
Les Sources de Caudalie is a five-star resort and spa on the property of the Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte winery close to the town of Bordeaux.
Jean Pierre Muller | AFP | Getty Pictures
Others come to partake in wine-based actions, from winemaking workshops and grape-based wellness therapies to wine festivals and household actions within the vineyards, mentioned Lhuillier. He known as all of those “rising tendencies” in France.
French vs. different vacationers
There aren’t many variations between French and international wine vacationers, mentioned Lhuillier.
Nevertheless, the French are inclined to search for extra “authenticity” on their excursions, he mentioned. They normally need direct contact with a winemaker, he mentioned, whereas international guests have fewer qualms about being guided by a vineyard by a member of the property workers.
The Mediterranean Sea from Chateau Maravene in Provence, France.
@Atout France Thibault Touzeau
“One other distinction … is that French wine vacationers are much less prone to pay for a go to and tasting than their international counterparts,” mentioned Lhuillier. “Some French wine vacationers nonetheless assume that … if they’re shopping for the wine than they should not be anticipated to pay for the go to.”
However that is now altering, he mentioned, particularly since “visits have significantly grown in content material and high quality.”
“Nicely-hidden secrets and techniques”
“As a common rule, the larger the model the extra international wine vacationers are prone to go to,” mentioned Lhuillier.
Nevertheless, an “American wine buff who has been on a number of wine journeys in France is more likely to strive Jura … than a Parisian who’s solely had a single wine tasting weekend in Champagne.”
Jura is considered one of six “well-hidden secrets and techniques” that Lhuillier recommends. It is one of many smallest wine areas in France and residential to a few of its most lovely villages, he mentioned.
The “coronary heart and soul” of the world, is its vin jaune (yellow wine), which is widely known on the primary weekend of February throughout a massive festival called La Percee du Vin Jaune, he mentioned. This yr, the event has been moved to April.
Atout France’s Martin Lhuillier singled out Jura’s Chateau-Chalon as one of the crucial lovely villages in France.
@Atout France Gilles Lansard
Corsica is a widely known vacationer hotspot, however its “spectacular island vineyards should not as well-known,” he mentioned. The identical applies to Ardeche, a sub-region of the Rhone Valley, which has “bigger than life wines and … wonderful wine tourism experiences, equivalent to its underground wine tastings.”
Between Burgundy and the Rhone Valley sits Beaujolais, which is understood for its Beaujolais Nouveau wine, produced from the gamay grape.
The world is “recognized domestically because the Tuscany of France for its sceneries and artwork of dwelling,” mentioned Lhuillier. “It’s inside an hour’s drive of … Lyon, which occurs to be the capital of French gastronomy.”
Beaujolais is house to 10 crus, or high villages and wine rising areas, equivalent to Saint-Amour, Fleurie (seen right here) and Chiroubles.
@Atout France Olivier Roux
Lastly, South West France, known as “Sud-Ouest” in French, is a big wine-producing area with massive names and “off the overwhelmed observe” gems, mentioned Lhuillier. He recommends two areas not removed from the Spanish border: Jurancon, the place “the area’s Indian summer season and the nice and cozy wind supply an distinctive candy wine,” and Irouleguy, “the smallest of France’s mountainous wine area deeply rooted inside Basque Nation.”
He additionally recommends the vineyards round Bergerac and Duras, south of Bordeaux. Lhuillier known as the world an unspoiled “pure jewel” and a “rising vacation spot for wine tourists rooting for sustainability.”
