One-day tasting in the centre of Chinon where around sixty Chinon winegrowers pour their wines. Entry is free; a tasting glass costs 8 euros. The 2025 edition was held on Saturday 26 April and the 2026 edition on Saturday 25 April, 10:00 to 18:30.
Tip: The date moves from year to year within April, so check chinon.com before booking travel.
Address: Chinon, 37500, France, Loire Valley
The Salon des Vins de Loire is the Loire's flagship trade tasting, bringing several hundred Loire producers together at the Angers Centre des Congres each February.
Tip: Combine the salon with the Levee de la Loire and Demeter Loire satellite tastings the same week for the most efficient Loire-wide assessment of the new vintage.
Festivini is Saumur's rolling wine and culture festival running from June through September, with producer open-doors, vineyard walks, tuffeau cellar concerts and tastings spread across the appellation.
Tip: Saumur Brut producers including Bouvet-Ladubay and Ackerman participate. The festival calendar refreshes month-by-month so check the Festivini site for the active programme.
Sancerre's annual wine fair is held on the Pentecost weekend in the hilltop town centre, with dozens of growers from Sancerre, Bue, Chavignol, Verdigny and surrounding villages pouring the new vintage of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Free entry on Saturday and Sunday with paid commemorative tasting glasses.
Tip: Buy the commemorative tasting glass on arrival, which gives access to all the producer stands. Combine with a walk along the GR3 footpath through the Sancerre slopes to Chavignol (3 km, ~1 hour) for a vineyard hike between the fair stands.
Anjou Velo Vintage is a vintage-bicycle festival staged in and around Saumur, combining period costumes, pre-1987 vintage bicycles, routes through the Saumur tuffeau cellars and the Saumur-Champigny vineyards; tastings at producer cellars.
Tip: Vintage bikes are required for the headline routes; rental supply is limited so reserve at registration. The 30 km Saumur-Champigny cellar route is the best wine-tasting itinerary of the weekend.
Vouvray's village harvest festival is the largest annual public event in the appellation. The Chenin Blanc growers of Vouvray, Vernou-sur-Brenne, Reugny, Chancay and Noizay set up tasting stands in the village centre, pouring the full sweetness range (sec, demi-sec, moelleux) and the sparkling Vouvray Brut. The brotherhood (Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin de Vouvray) inducts new members in a traditional ceremony.
Tip: Vouvray's tuffeau cellars cut into the hillside above the village are open during the festival; combine the tasting stands with a free cellar tour. Domaine Huet's cellar door is in the village and runs by-the-glass tastings.
The Fete des Vins de Bourgueil is the appellation's headline annual gathering, held on 15 August in the Bourgueil town centre since 1977. Several dozen Cabernet Franc producers from Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil pour the new and library releases alongside the Touraine wine brotherhood.
Tip: Bourgueil and Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil are separate appellations on adjacent gravel terraces; taste both side by side at the fete and decide which Cabernet-Franc profile suits your palate.
Les Vignerons dans la Ville (Chinon) runs in April. These are the wine tours and tastings in Loire Valley to book for the days around it; most cancel free up to 24 hours ahead.
Let us take you to some of the best vineyards in the area - Chinon, Saumur, Bourgueil - and discover the amazing wines - whites, rosés, reds, and sparkling. Walk the v...
I'm formerly of Devon in the United Kingdom but now live in Chinon. I've always cycled and loved my bike, and for the best part of my adult life, always loved wine... ...
Experience a full-day wine tour in the famous Loire Valley, accompanied by a local and expert guide. Your day will include two visits of local wineries followed by tas...
Wine tastings and winery visits in Loire Valley (22) · Wine tours and day trips in Loire Valley (35) · Wine tours by bike in Loire Valley (5)
