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Based in Argentina, Wine and ride has quickly expanded into France. With a great success in Condieu for the past 3 years, the concept just arrived in Tain-l’Hermitage.
The idea is, between friends, co-worker or just to celebrate a special occasion, in the company of a guide, you will explore the exceptional vineyards with electrical bikes and meet with local winemakers and producers in total immersion! It is ideal for amateur in wine tourism who wants to discover a soil outside of the most famous touristic routes.
Discover the breath-taking panorama and the local savoir-faire thanks to the advice of a guide who will take you to discover artisans and producers specially selected for you! All in a sustainable tourism approach. The perfect match between nature, gastronomy, soil and wine tourism!
Wine and Ride offers full-day or half-day discoveries, with a choice between themes such as Wine and Gastronomy, and Wine and Crafts.
Lina tested for you a bike, Wine and Gastronomy tour with Wine and Ride!
In search of the perfect gift for our cousin’s birthday, and with the desire to discover the vineyard of the North of the Rhône’s valley, we looked for an activity on the vines around Tain-l’Hermitage. Wine and Ride was the perfect choice! I booked the reservation on their Website for a bike tour « Wine and Gastronomy » for half a day. We were quickly phone called by Louis, the guide that will lead us on the D-Day through the hillsides of the Tain-l’Hermitage’s region. As amateurs of gastronomy, we picked the gourmand’s formula.
On D-Day, we left by train from Lyon to reach in an hour or so the Tain-l’Hermitage’s train station. Wine and Ride’s site is located directly inside the train station, convenient isn’t it? We only had a few meters to walk to drop-off our suitcases. Louis enthusiastically welcomed us for breakfast included in the gourmand’s formula: I enjoyed a local fruits’ juice and tasted the « pogne », the renowned brioche scented with orange blossom, a local specialty. We took this opportunity to talk about the program of the day: no worries, the tour is accessible to all, and we will go through small road with little traffic and dirt tracks.
After we tried our helmets and adjusted our saddles, we left for our Wine And Gastronomy Tour!
We started by climbing the mythical Hermitage hill, and the magic happened. In pleasant sunshine, helped by our electrical bikes, we were delighted to discover the Hermitage hillsides.
We headed to the commune of Larnarge and discovered its magnificent ruined castle.
A few more pedal strokes and we were in front of a breath-taking view of the entire Crozes Hermitage appellation vineyard! Louis suggested that we would stop for a moment and he would explain us the basic on the appellation: soils, hillsides, plains… they no longer hold any secrets for us.
We arrived to the goat farm of Méjeans: Celine welcomed us in the field a little further down, where her goats are located.
I can’t help myself from petting the goats’ babies , they’re so adorable! We could see the passion coming from Celine, which made the experience so enjoyable for the group.
After showing us her entirely organic goat farm, we move on to the tasting. Celine offered us various cheeses at different stages of ripening. It was with undisguised pleasure that we taste every sample on offer, a real delight!
After an hour or so of visiting and tasting, we took our bikes again. Louis made us go through an incredible yet narrow road heading to The Delhome Domain, the next stop to the Wine and Gastronomy bike tour with Wine and Ride.
Romain, the winegrower, warmly welcomed us for a visit of his domain composed by a great variety of soil: for example, there are soils composed of kaolin’s, a white clay that accounts for only 1% of the soils in the Crozes Hermitage appellation!
The visit continued in the cellars and winery of the domain. A profound immersion in the winegrowing profession! At the end of the visit, Romain offered us to go back to the cellar to do another tasting: five wine batch were served*. Some were named after the soil on which the vines grew: I particularly like the “Loess” wine batch so I decided to buy a bottle.
It was time to go; the return journey is a leisurely one through the vineyards. We ended this experience with a glass of friendship shared with Louis and the locals, with local charcuteries. We left with an impression of a unique experience, with our heads filled with memories.
We picked up again our suitcases to go to our hotel. The program for the next two days: a walk inside the historical side of Tournon, restaurants and a visit to the Jardin d’Eden!
This Wine and Gastronomy tour with Wine and Ride was a beautiful moment of discoveries that we will recommend!
* The quantities of wine are adapted to comply with all cycling safety rules!
Ardèche Hermitage and its three appellations Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Saint Joseph is the perfect destination for amateurs of wine! Look at the program of Mai and Vin, a whole month of activities around wine! Click here.
