How to go about visiting a domaine

If you are looking to visit the area in person, I have put on the relevant page what you can expect at each domaine.

Visiting a domaine for the first time can be somewhat intimidating, so if you’re just starting out, I would suggest going to one of the bigger domaines (Moulin de Lene, Saint Georges d’Ibry etc.); they are able to keep the cellar door open and staffed all day, certainly throughout the summer (not Sundays) and you just have to turn up. The smaller domaines almost always enjoy offering their wine to taste, but you usually need to call up first to arrange a time. After all, where there are only two or three workers in the operation, they may well be outside in the vineyard doing their work for much of the day. The upside of the smaller domaine is that you’re often talking directly to the chief winemaker, who can explain why they have made the wine in a particular way, rather than an assistant. Be mindful of the time of year: harvest these days starts in mid to late August and from then until the middle of October, the smaller domaines in particular won’t have much time to see you.

Anyway, once you’ve arrived at the door, just start by saying, “Je voudrais déguster du vin, s’il vous plait.” and the person on the door will be happy to bring out some options. At Moulin de Lene, Arjolle etc., they are well used to clueless tourists, looking to taste some of the local wine, so don’t feel self-conscious.

Note that the general convention is that they bring out their white wines first, and then the reds, and that within each colour, they will start off with their cheapest, and graduate up to their finest later on, so if you want to look like a connoisseur, hold back your loudest whooping and ‘Oh la la!’s for the later wines. Usually, you’ll have spotted that they are better anyway.

The delicate etiquette of buying/ paying

In California, loads of cellar doors are open; the deal is that they charge you $10 for four tastes, and then if you buy some actual bottles later on, you get the money back. I think that appeals to British people, because they know where they are. However, no French winery, certainly no Côtes de Thongue winery, operates on this principle. They just pour out their wines, and if you like one, you can buy a bottle (or a case!). This leaves the perennially embarrassed British in a difficult situation. What if you don’t like the wines/ can’t afford to buy them?

So some advice.

First, if you just walk out the door without buying any or just buying one bottle, that’s actually okay; most domaines know that people who have travelled to the Languedoc by plane or train aren’t going to be able to bring back much. If you are genuinely interested in their wine, they normally appreciate that fact on its own. That said, I think once you’ve had the first four samples at any given domaine, and you’re still asking to try some more, in my view you ought to be considering making some kind of a proper purchase e.g. a case of six of something or other. I have written in the general price range for each domaine, on the relevant page, so that should help guide you to somewhere within your budget.

In terms of getting to each one, where there are tricky road directions, I have written them into the relevant section of the guide. Sat navs work pretty well to get you close, but the last mile can involve driving off-grid towards the cave, in the middle of a field somewhere.