Caves CATHELINEAU — Attraction in Tours

Having met one of the owners (Frederic) earlier today whilst he and his colleagues (friends) were hand picking the grapes for this year's harvest we asked where we might be able to purchase some of his wines. He told us the name of his Caves and explained that there was to be a tour for English speakers this afternoon at 14.30. So we made sure we were there for the start. Lucy, our tour guide was brilliant. She was both informative and entertaining at the same time whilst she told the group all about the wines, the caves and the family that own and very much hands-on run the company. She told us that Caves Cathelineau is only one of five producers in the Vouvray region that still pick the grapes by hand. After the tour of the caves came the tastings. I can honestly say that all seven of the wines we tasted were excellent. Wether it be dry, semi-dry, sweet, sparkling or still all were very drinkable. Following the tastings we chose to buy some of their wines to bring home. I think we've all been on those tours where you feel you have to buy the product that was definitely not the situation here. So after a chance meeting with a complete stranger we have experienced a brilliant family run vineyard from the grape on the vine to the finished product. Our sincere thanks to Frederic and to Lucy for a...

We had a great time at this winery! My husband and teen son showed up without booking and Frederick happily showed us through his caves, explained his work to us and give us a tasting of his delicious wines. He poured grape juice for our son and it was soooo good. This winery has been in his family for generations and the wine storage areas were hand dug into the caves over the past three generations. I don't want to say too much and spoil his tour. Suffice it to say I recommend you go there. It is a unique place for a short visit, the family are friendly and welcoming, parking is right there on site and of course it is interesting to hear about the process and taste the wines. We bought as many as we thought we could drink in the short time we had left in France and were sad we couldn't buy more because we're from Australia and they have terrible laws restricting alcohol, even wine, from being brought in. The price was affordable. The wine is delicious and the family is rightly...

Had a relay lovely tour with Lucy, who speaks fantastic English, and is deeply knowledgeable about the caves, the terroir, the wine and the family history.

The caves are amazing, dug by successive generations of the family, intricately designed and satisfyingly full of wine. The details behind the wines, the astonishing age of the families private holdings, going back to the 19th century, were enough to keep even our children engrossed.

Then the real gem is the wine tasting, the difference and subtlety of wines produced from the same grape, grown a few km apart is amazing testament to the skill of the two generations of winemakers currently working. All of them were excellent and great value as well.

You need to book the tour, but this simply done online. If you are in the area then you will go a long way to find a more interesting and better value tour, I cannot recommend this...