The abridged review:
This is the best tour experience I've ever had, hands down. If you enjoy wine, you'll drink a lot of it. If you appreciate learning about it, and seeing a more behind the scenes experience, this is for you.
The full story:
Luiz picked us up right on time at the meeting spot, and was immediately very friendly and accommodating. He gave us a bit of a rundown of what to expect for the day, and then we were off to Bourgogne. It was my wife and I, and one other couple, so if you're into small, personal groups, this will suit you well. He could have fit 3 more people in his van, so I suppose you could see as many as 7 tour guests on a given day. With 2 couples, it was an extremely comfortable ride. In fact, I think most of us took a bit of a nap at some point in the trip from Paris and returning back to Paris.
After about a 2 hour ride out of Paris to the French countryside, we arrived at our first stop, which was one of the vineyards that produces the Chardonnay grapes for some of the Chablis Grand Cru highest quality wines. There, Luiz explained some of the reasons that certain places produce superior grapes than others. After this brief stop, we drove a short way to the beautiful little town of Chablis, France. We made a brief stop in a cafe to use the toilet, and grab a coffee, and then walked with Luiz to a small bakery. We went inside where he bought us each a cheese filled croissant like roll, called gougeres. These delicious rolls of happiness, he explained, are something that are specific to the region, and sadly, are difficult to find outside of Burgundy. My hunger is typically not satiated by just a single baked good in the morning, but these were quite dense and filling, in addition to being amazing. A perfect base for what would turn out to be LOTS of wine!
While we ate, we walked and talked about the history of the town, and pointed out some buildings that were architecturally unique and interesting. After a short walk, we arrived at the tasting room for the William Fevre Vineyard, which is renowned for their fantastic Chablis Chardonnay wines. We tasted about 6 different Chablis in ascending order of relative quality, though Luiz was quick to remind us that there is nothing wrong with not finding the best quality to be your personal preference. It was an interesting change from most wine tastings I've done, where the wines were of several different varieties. We also watched a short video showing the process of harvesting the grapes and producing the wine, as well as seeing some examples of the soil found in the region. Once some bottles of wine were purchased, we were off to our next stop, Irancy.
Prior to entering town, Luiz stopped at a vineyard that overlooked the town of Irancy. The harvest had recently been completed, but there were still some bunches of grapes on the vines, which we tasted. It was interesting seeing the difference between wine grapes, and the grapes that are typical in a US grocery store! While there, Luiz educated us on the history of Irancy wine, and informed us that we had the opportunity to make an extra stop, which isn't always possible. It was to a small family run winery, owned by a Viscount with a ton of character. Even though he didn't speak English, and my French is very poor, we had a fantastic time visiting and chatting with the help of Luiz to translate. While there, we were able to see the grapes in the fermentation tank, and taste a ton of wines, some as old as 2007 vintage. We bought several bottles of wine here, which they pulled from the wine cellar, and hand labeled for us. We were also provided a personally written receipts, and notes, which added to the authenticity and genuineness of the experience.
Our next stop was another family owned winery, that provided our group with a lunch of a delicious variety of meats and cheeses, which were all produced by local farmers, as well as fresh baked bread and a very tasty salad. Of course, lunch was also paired with several more fantastic wines. Our final stop was to yet another small family run business, where we had the chance to walk through their wine cave, which was over 1000 years old, as well as taste and buy! more amazing wines.
All in all, the experience Luiz provided us was an incredibly genuine and authentic one. He clearly has developed close personal relationships with the families who run these places, which yields his guests with a level of hospitality that I can't describe. We were able to have hands on experiences with the wine production that would never be allowed in the United States, or would be a more manufactured experience versus being authentic. Book it now!