Wine tasting workshop : wine and wine tourism in Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Vaucluse)

Initiate yourself to wine tasting in the heart of the most famous appellation of the Rhône Valley

Discover the wines of Chateauneuf du Pape and the vintages of the Rhone Valley by participating in fun and educational tasting workshops based on exchange and sharing. The Nez des Papes offers different formulas of initiation to wines and sommellerie, to be booked according to your desires: workshops on the spot or oenological walks.

Our workshops
in the cellar

Alone or with friends, book your Rhône Valley wine tasting workshop.

The Nez des Papes offers two friendly and original formulas lasting about an hour.

Discover the history of our vineyard and what makes it so rich: its different types of soil, the climate, the grape varieties used, the birth of the world-renowned Châteauneuf du Pape AOC. At the end of the workshop you will have the keys to better taste and understand the world of wine.

Oenological
walks

As we are wWine merchants based in Châteauneuf du Pape in the Vaucluse and specialized in wine tourism, we offer wine tours/walks off the beaten track that will make you discover the incredible richness of the Castelpapal vineyard.

Two tours are available (1h30 and 3h) to introduce you to the wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and the art of wine tasting. You will discover what makes the strength of our land and in particular the processes of wine making by visiting the cellar of committed and passionate wine growers. The wines you will taste are carefully selected and produced by winegrowers who love their land and whose values we share.

The origins of wine tasting

In France, there has been a growing interest in wine tourism for several years, as well as a craze for learning how to taste wine. Wine holds an important place in French culture and is part of our country's heritage. The culture of the vine, the elaboration of wine and the vocabulary around wine tasting have always fascinated people.

Thanks to writings, frescoes and other traces left by our ancestors, we know that wine has been consumed since antiquity and that the need to understand and define it was already present. The history of France tells us that it is in the 12th century in Burgundy that the profession of "gourmet" was born, which was then made official during the Renaissance. The "gourmets" were generally members of the clergy and of an advanced age. These trusted men were present in the great French vineyards to ensure the marketing of fine wines. They knew their terroirs and had the ability to authenticate the provenance of the wine they tasted. With the growth of the wine trade, the gourmets were able to fight fraud and set prices. In the days of the gourmets, tasting was done in a cup, the "tastevin", and not with a glass, in order to privilege the touch of the mouth through texture and salivation. This type of tasting is called geo-sensory tasting.

The profession disappeared after the French Revolution with the grimoire detailing all the steps of this method.

This tasting practice was re-initiated by Henri Jayer and then Jacky Rigaud, two legends of the Burgundy wine industry, and is taught today as a complement to analytical tasting (a universal tasting method) which is more widely used, and intuitive tasting (a method that consists of letting go of one's emotions in order to understand the wine) Intuitive and geo-sensory tasting allow for a more relaxed approach to wine for novice sommeliers, since they take into account the taster's feelings and the variables of perception that are specific to them. These three axes of wine tasting are complementary and allow one to approach the wine from different angles in order to better appreciate and decipher it. In short, to understand it in its entirety.