Arrive in Avignon for your 3 nights stay in this beautiful old town. This historic city on the banks of the river Rhone just demands exploration.

This afternoon if you wish enjoy a self guided tour of the fascinating Papal Palace and the famous bridge or just take time to stroll the colourful Place de L'Horloge, the old city walls and the hillside gardens of the Rocher des Doms with panoramic views of the surrounding area, the town and the river. In the wine cellar (Bouteillerie) of the Papal Palace enjoy a self guided tasting of a selection of the best wines of the area.

Avignon has a wide choice of good restaurants for dinner and our recommendations will be included in your Route book.

This morning a short drive by taxi to Gigondas, in the heart of the Cotes du Rhone area.  Here you will be met by your wine guide Olivier who will accompany you on a lovely relaxing walk through vineyards into the Dentelles mountains. He will explain what makes Cotes du Rhone wines unique and you will enjoy tastings of the local produced wines during your picnic lunch.  Local cheeses, cold  meats and salads make a perfect accompaniment for a unique way to sample the wines of the area.  If you prefer not to walk or if the weather does not permit the walk, Olivier will accompany you on guided visits of two of the best of the Gigondas domaines and an excellent local restaurant will be recommended for lunch.

In the afternoon, Olivier will take you on a guided wine tour of Tavel wines. The village of Tavel is widely regarded as producing some of the best rosé wines in the world. Olivier will explain how Tavel’s unique vineyard “terroir”, the vigneron’s skill and the local grape varieties combine to generate wines of amazing complexity, balance and length. These are serious wines!

A complete day of wine discovery with visits to domaines in the Cotes du Rhone village of Rasteau and Chateauneuf. 

Your wine guide Olivier will accompany you throughout the day which will commence with a visit to the vineyards and cellar of a top wine domaine in the Cotes du Rhône Village of Rasteau. This village gained its reputation in the mid 20th Century for the complex sweet wines produced from the Grenache grape. You will have the opportunity to appreciate these unique wines produced from beautiful terraced, hills-side vineyards. You will also delight in sampling its full bodied red wines which are responsible for Rasteau’s recent promotion to “cru” status - on a par with Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas.

Olivier will then accompany you through remote vineyards into the heart of the Dentelles hills to visit a new family-run estate that is fast achieving a global reputation for the quality of its wines. As well as visiting their vineyards and cellar you will have a "tasting lunch" where the chef matches different delicious dishes to each of the four wines that they produce. The chef will provide a commentary during the lunch.

In the afternoon you will visit a leading domaine in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the most famous of the Rhône villages. As you visit remote vineyards belonging to the domaine, Olivier will demonstrate how the unique characteristics of Châteauneuf “terroir” explain the fantastic the quality and reputation of its wines. Olivier will also explain how different winemaking methods influence the characteristics of the wines that you will taste as you visit the cellars.