Wine Tasting from Avignon: the Rhône Crus

Wine tasting from Avignon means the Rhône crus, a short drive north: Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras and their neighbours. Here is what each one pours and how a visit to an estate works. To compare the days themselves, see avignon wine tours.

The Rhône crus north of Avignon

You are in the southern Rhône Valley here, not in the Provence wine country. The crus sit a short drive north, and each is an appellation in its own right. Inter Rhône, the wine body, gives these dates.

You taste reds above all. Gigondas and Vacqueyras add rosé, and Vacqueyras and Châteauneuf-du-Pape add white. Rasteau keeps an older tradition of sweet wine as well.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape: the popes' wine

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is named for the popes, and a ruined castle still stands above the village. The appellation was one of the first recognised, by decree of 15 May 1936. It covers five communes: Bédarrides, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Courthézon, Orange and Sorgues.

The rules list 18 grape varieties, counting their colour variants. The soils mix clay, limestone, sand, sandstone and the rounded pebbles you see in the photographs. The Mistral blows through the vines and keeps them dry.

A full day in the village gives you three wineries and a tasting in an old cellar. The afternoon half day gives you two estates and a stop at the castle ruins.

Gigondas and Vacqueyras, under the Dentelles

Gigondas and Vacqueyras sit side by side under the Dentelles de Montmirail, a line of limestone peaks. Gigondas became a cru in 1971, the first Côtes du Rhône Villages wine to do so. It makes reds and rosés.

Vacqueyras followed on 15 August 1990, and makes red, white and rosé. Its name comes from the Latin for "valley of stones". Since 1998 it has been the official wine of the Festival d'Avignon.

The half days that reach this corner give you Gigondas, Vacqueyras or Séguret, then finish in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. You see more villages and spend less time at each estate.

Beaumes-de-Venise and Rasteau

Beaumes-de-Venise lies on the southern side of the Dentelles. Its red wine became a cru on 9 June 2005, after years as a Villages wine. Its soils include the white Cretaceous earth around La Roque-Alric.

Rasteau became a cru in 2010 for its dry red. It has made a sweet Vin Doux Naturel since 1935, with its own appellation from 1944. The vineyards face south and are sheltered from the Mistral. One half day starts at a Beaumes-de-Venise or Rasteau estate before Gigondas.

How a visit to an estate works

A wine day follows the same pattern wherever it goes. Here is what you can expect:

1. The vineyard. The full day starts among the vines, where your guide explains the soil and the stones before you taste anything.
2. The estate. You visit the cellar and taste the estate's wines, for about an hour at each one.
3. The next estate. Half days reach two or three estates; the full Châteauneuf-du-Pape day reaches three wineries and a village cellar.
4. Lunch. On the full day you stop for 90 minutes at a restaurant, and lunch is your own expense.
5. Buying. Bottles you buy at an estate are yours to pay for and carry.

Read the fare before you book. Most half days put the tastings in the fare. On the full Châteauneuf-du-Pape day and the shorter Châteauneuf-du-Pape tasting day, the itinerary lists the visits and tastings, while the Includes list names only the vehicle; ask before you book if that matters to you.

Wind, heat and the time of year

You taste indoors, but you walk the vines outside. In July and August Avignon averages over 31 °C by day, so take a hat for the vineyard stop. The Mistral blows hard on about 108 days a year, most of them in winter and spring.

September brings the first autumn rain, about 91 mm on average. In summer, the cellars are the cool part of your day, so save the vineyard walk for the morning.

Questions about wine tasting

Where these facts come from

Every appellation date, colour and soil above comes from Inter Rhône's pages for each cru, and the climate from Météo-France, checked 28 September 2026. What each wine day visits comes from its own listing.

• The Châteauneuf-du-Pape cru (Inter Rhône)
• The Gigondas cru (Inter Rhône)
• The Vacqueyras cru (Inter Rhône)
• The Beaumes-de-Venise cru (Inter Rhône)
• The Rasteau cru (Inter Rhône)
• Fiche climatologique, Avignon 84007005 (Météo-France, PDF)

Tours into the wine country

Chateauneuf du Pape wine tour

Seven hours from rue de Mons beside the palace: a vineyard stop, three wineries, an old village cellar and a long lunch break at your own cost. No children.

From $203 per person

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From Avignon: Half-Day Great Vineyards Tour

Five hours from a meeting point pinned on the map when you book, with two or three tastings, a winemaking visit or one more pour, and vineyard photo stops. Adults only.

From $96 per person (minimum 2)

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Wine Tasting Tour at Châteauneuf du Pape

Five hours from the tourist office, three of them at the estates north of the city. The fare lists only the minivan, so ask the operator what it covers.

From $110 per person

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