The 12 Best Wine Tours from Bordeaux (Picked by a Wine Geek)
With its breathtaking architecture, darling bistros, and stunning pedestrian paths along the Garonne River, Bordeaux is a city you have to visit on your France trip.
Even better, the city of Bordeaux is conveniently at the heart of the region’s wine country!
And Bordeaux is home to some of the world’s best wineries, so why not take a wine tour from Bordeaux while you’re there?
Whether you like it white, red, or sweet, there’s a bottle of Bordeaux to match anyone’s tastes! (Yes, white Bordeaux is a thing, and it’s really tasty!)
| ⌛ Planning your trip to Bordeaux at the last minute? Here are my quick picks on what to do & where to stay! 🍷 Top Bordeaux Experiences: 1. St. Emilion and Médoc Vineyard Tour from Bordeaux 2. River Cruise on the Garonne with Wine and Sweets 3. Skip-the-Line Entry to La Cité du Vin with Wine Tasting 🏨 Best Bordeaux Hotels: 1. InterContinental Bordeaux (palace-like luxury hotel with spa) 2. Hôtel Madame (modern boutique hotel in pedestrian center) 3. ibis Gare Saint Jean (affordable, comfortable budget chain) ✈️ Flying in? Book an airport transfer with Welcome Pickups — they’ll greet you at the airport, help with bags, & bring you into the city, all pre-booked! |
Regions like Saint-Emilion, Médoc, Margaux, and Graves are all within a stone’s throw of Bordeaux, and these regions offer some of the best wine tours money can buy.
Besides the tasty wines they make, these are also some of the best scenic spots in all of France, so there’s no reason not to visit a winery on your Bordeaux itinerary!
Bordeaux wines are imported all over the world, but often, the best bottles don’t make it stateside (unless you’re willing to pay a huge premium for the big name Grand crus).
For an authentic experience where you get to try local producers that don’t get as much buzz as the big-name crus, enjoy a wine tour from Bordeaux.
Trust me, you’ll find it easy – and irresistible – to bring back a bottle to take a piece of France home with you – all at a price you can stomach.
And if you’re on a French wine tasting kick, why not do a Champagne tour while you’re up north in Paris, too?
My Top 3 Picks: Wine Tours from Bordeaux
No time to read the full article about these wine tours and just want my top 3 picks and the highlights of each?
#1 TOP PICK
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Full Day Saint-Emilion & Pomerol Wine Trip
✔️ A notable wine commune near Bordeaux
✔️ 45-minute tour of Saint-Emilion
#2 PICK
Afternoon Saint-Emilion Wine Tasting Trip
✔️ Short and affordable wine tour
✔️ Touring a lovely wine cellar in a private chateau
#3 PICK
Saint-Emilion Small-Group Electric Bike Wine Tour Tastings & Lunch
✔️ E-bike ride through the Saint-Emilion region
✔️ Group lunch at a local vineyard
The 12 Top Wine Tours from Bordeaux
1. Afternoon Saint-Emilion Wine Tasting Trip
⌛ Tour Length: 5.5 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.8/5 stars (520+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: –Short and affordable wine tour, Grand Cru visit, and tour of St-Emilion -Wine identification and tasting class -Delicious aperitif served with local cheese and bread ➜ Read more about this Saint-Emilion wine-tasting tour here! |
Held in the beautiful Saint-Emilion, this wine tour from Bordeaux has plenty to offer at a surprisingly low price for what is offered.
Located just east of Bordeaux, this quaint village is a real sight for sore eyes – and the wine it produces sure isn’t bad, either!
After a scenic drive along the Dordogne River, you’ll start by touring a lovely wine cellar in a private chateau.
Become a proper wine connoisseur by learning to identify different wines by scent, sight, and of course – taste. Of course, you’ll then get to try them all!
Next is a trip to a Grand Cru-designated vineyard, where you’ll learn all about how the finest Bordeaux wine is made.
Grand Cru is the best of the best when it comes to Bordeaux – this is what people pay the big bucks for. There’s no qualification above it!
Your prize – a taste of lovely Saint-Emilion aperitifs with some local cheese and freshly baked bread!
Plus, the view of the local vineyards is beautiful too, so be ready to take plenty of pictures to commemorate the trip (especially since your head may get a little fuzzy after all that wine-tasting!).
Next up is a thorough tour of Saint-Emilion. This place isn’t a UNESCO World Heritage Sight for nothing!
You’ll learn more of its history and have plenty of opportunities to snap photos of this extremely scenic small town.
2. Full Day Saint-Emilion & Pomerol Wine Trip
⌛ Tour Length: 8 hours | 🌟 Rating: 5/5 stars (590+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: –Possible visit to Pomerol, a notable wine commune near Bordeaux -Education on what kinds of grapes grow in the region and why -45-minute tour of Saint-Emilion before returning to Bordeaux ➜ Read more about this Saint-Emilion & Pomerol wine tour here! |
This full-day wine tour from Bordeaux squeezes a lot of fun and exploration in around eight hours. Not bad!
The main tour site is Saint-Emilion, a must-see for any real wine lover – the name is practically synonymous with the best Bordeaux wines, after all.
There’s also a chance you stop by Pomerol, a small yet equally charming wine commune along the Dordogne River.
Pomerol wines are delicious but often get less buzz than wines from other areas of Bordeaux, so this is a great place to snap up a great deal.
Either way, you get to visit two excellent Bordeaux chateaus and try out some of the finest wines on the French market.
Besides just wine tasting, you’ll learn what makes the soil here unique and how it contributes to the flavor of the wines.
If you want to get fancy and French about it, we’re talking about terroir, how the earth literally affects the wine’s taste.
Once you’ve tasted a bunch of wines, you’ll be a little giddy as you get to explore the streets of Saint-Emilion – don’t forget your camera for this charming village!
3. Médoc or St-Emilion Wine & Chateau Tour
⌛ Tour Length: 6 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.5/5 stars (530+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: –Choice to visit Médoc or Saint-Emilion -Two separate chateaus and tastings in either village -Traditional French wines and products included in both tours ➜ Read more about this wine & chateau tour here! |
Besides Saint-Emilion, this amazing wine tour from Bordeaux covers the unforgettable Médoc region, which many other Bordeaux wine tours overlook.
You can choose which one you want to visit, but if you ask me, both regions are must-sees if you go to Bordeaux!
You’re in for a long drive to Médoc, but don’t worry – you won’t be bored, as your guide will be happy to pepper in a bunch of fun facts along the way, so you’ll have context for what you’re tasting.
The Médoc part of the tour will take you past Latour, Margaux, and Mouton-Rothschild, which are some of the best chateaus in all of France.
Whatever chateau you wind up visiting, you’ll be trying plenty of wine along with sausages, cheese, and bread so that you can learn a little more about pairing wine and food.
But don’t worry – there’s even more wine waiting for you after that. You get to visit a family-run chateau and get to know their wine cellars.
And that’s just Médoc! If you opt for the Saint-Emilion tour, you’ll get similar treatment plus a tour of the village.
There are 800 chateaus in Saint-Emilion, so you’ll be spoiled for choice when it comes to tastings!
4. Saint-Emilion and Médoc Full-Day Wine Experience
⌛ Tour Length: 9 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.8/5 stars (60+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: -A trip to both Saint-Emilion and Medoc, including a Grand Cru vineyard -Group lunch back in Bordeaux -A total of 8 tastings at 4+ different chateaus ➜ Read more about this Saint-Emilion and Médoc Full-Day Wine Experience tour here! |
The tour above asked you to choose between St-Emilion and Médoc… this tour said “why not both?”
If a whopping eight tastings spread across two iconic wine regions sounds appealing, you’ve found the perfect wine tour from Bordeaux for you!
Your visit to Saint-Emilion includes visits to three wineries (yes, three), and you’ll get to try some wine at each of them!
Next up is a tour of the village, and you’ll want to pay attention because St-Emilion is divine! It’s not a UNESCO World Heritage site for nothing.
After Saint-Emilion, you’ll be going back to Bordeaux for a group lunch to rest and digest.
But don’t worry, you’re in France, where a meal is not considered complete without wine, so there’ll be even more wine waiting at Olala Bordeaux!
With your belly full, you’ll take off for Médoc in the afternoon to see the Margaux appellation.
A family will be waiting for you there to offer (you guessed it) even more wine!
Best of all, they won’t send you back to Bordeaux before a tasting over at another famous Grand Cru winery.
5. Half-Day Margaux Wine Tour
⌛ Tour Length: 4 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.5/5 stars (30+ reviews) | 🍷Book Now
| Unique Features: -A visit to Chateau Margaux for pictures and a short walk -Taste wine at Chateau Dauzac, a regional staple -4 hour tour with morning and afternoon slots – convenient and easy to fit in ➜ Read more about this half-day Margaux wine tour here! |
Short, sweet, and to-the-point, this wine tour from Bordeaux manages to cover Margaux in extensive detail in just four hours. Now that’s efficient!
On top of the tour being cheap, these groups tend to be pretty small and intimate. Perfect for a couple looking to fill up part of a day in Bordeaux!
You can even choose between a morning and an afternoon slot, making it easy to fit this tour into your trip, even on the busiest of trips.
Chateau Margaux is the first stop of the trip, where you get to enjoy the scenery and take some awesome pictures!
This is one of the biggest names in Bordeaux, so you can rest assured that the wines here will be fantastic.
You’ll be visiting a number of wineries along the way, each with their own take on Bordeaux wine, informed by the terroir and terrain of the region.
Another highlight is Chateau Dauzac, where you can try some of France’s most delicious wines.
6. Full Day Médoc Wine Tour
⌛ Tour Length: 8 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.5/5 stars (190+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: -A visit to Pauillac with free time to explore -Potential visits to St. Julien, Margaux, and St. Estephe -Thorough breakdowns of what makes each sampled wine unique ➜ Read more about this full day Médoc wine tour here! |
The Médoc region has some of the best chateaus in the area, and this wine tour from Bordeaux devotes an entire day to it!
You’ll be stopping by multiple wine estates and learning what makes each of them world-class, with tastes along the way, of course.
Because what other way is there to learn than by doing?
Next up is a visit to either St. Julien or Margaux. Wherever you end up, there’s some great wine in it for you!
You’ll have a break from wine-tasting to visit the charming town of Pauillac, where you’ll have some unstructured time to explore the town at your own pace.
This is a good place to eat if you’re hungry – otherwise, you can just do another tasting!
You may also visit St. Estephe, another appellation with its own unique style of wine.
The cherry on top is a visit to a winery that’s been designated either Classified Growth or Crus Bourgeois, two high honors in the region.
7. Saint-Emilion Small-Group Electric Bike Wine Tour Tastings & Lunch
⌛ Tour Length: 8.5 hours | 🌟 Rating: 5/5 stars (200+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: -E-bike ride through the Saint-Emilion region -Group lunch at a local vineyard along with a wine-tasting class -Informative visit to a Classified Growth estate ➜ Read more about this small-group wine tour here! |
Nothing beats doing a wine tour from Bordeaux while cruising on an e-bike through the beautiful French countryside!
With over 8 hours of touring ahead of you, you can cover every nook and cranny of the gorgeous Saint-Emilion, especially since you’ll have some electric battery assistance.
This means you’ll have plenty of time to chat about the village’s history with your guide and fellow travelers and learn more about its wine history.
After sightseeing and exploring the town, you’ll visit a local family vineyard to enjoy lunch and try a wine-tasting class.
Right after that, you’ll head out to a Classified Growth estate for a taste of the higher-caliber wines that Bordeaux produces.
You also get to learn a lot about the production process here, so pay attention because it’ll make your wine tasting all the more enjoyable if you know what you’re tasting!
8. Private Half Day Wine Tour in St Emilion or Médoc
⌛ Tour Length: 4 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.5/5 stars (15+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: –Private half-day tour caters to your interests -Spread of tastings across different chateaus and wineries -Option between Médoc and St-Emilion ➜ Read more about this private half day wine tour here! |
This is one of the costlier wine tours from Bordeaux since it’s a private tour, but it’s perfect if you want a small, intimate experience.
You can choose to visit either Saint-Emilion or Médoc, each boasting some spectacular region-specific wines.
If you go for Médoc, you can visit two smaller, humble local wineries as well as a high-class chateau for some once-in-a-lifetime tastings.
The Saint-Emilion option includes a detailed tour of this charming village. As you go through it, you’ll be trying red, rosé, and white wines.
Keep in mind that you’ll be paying for the wines yourself, at a price of around 10 to 35 euros per tasting flight.
That said, this tour will bring you – and only your group – to some great chateaus and wineries, so it’s definitely worth it if you don’t mind the additional expenses.
9. Saint-Émilion Food and Wine Tour
⌛ Tour Length: 6.5 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.8/5 stars (100+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: –A walking tour of Saint-Emilion and three wineries -A delicious lunch with your group and several tastings -Getting to try macarons, Saint-Emilion style, on a picnic lunch ➜ Read more about this Saint-Émilion food and wine tour here! |
You can’t go wrong with a wine tour from Bordeaux that takes you through the Saint-Emilion for a day – and pairs it with food to boot!
Hundreds of castles and chateaus call this place home, so the tour starts with a scenic drive and a crash course on everything you should know.
Those 18th-century buildings are incredible, so you’d better believe there’s a walking tour of this UNESCO World Heritage site included!
Also – macarons, a picnic lunch, and a nice glass of wine. Could you imagine a better afternoon?
As for the wines, you’ll be going to two incredible wineries and sampling their tastiest wines.
You’ll also visit a gorgeous Grand Cru property (the top-tier category in Bordeaux!) for some more tastings and an informative chat before heading back to your accommodation.
The tour ends around mid-afternoon, so there’s plenty of time to get out into Bordeaux that same day… if you can manage to stave off that wine nap, that is.
10. Half-Day Graves Winery & Château de La Brède Tour
⌛ Tour Length: 4.5 hours | 🌟 Rating: New! | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: –A chance to try multiple different kinds of wine (sweet, dry, red) -Visit Graves, which few other tours get to (less crowded!) -A tour of the home of Montesquieu, a beautiful castle ➜ Read more about this half-day winery tour in Bordeaux here! |
This wine tour from Bordeaux takes you through Graves, arguably the region with the most diverse array of wines in the area.
Graves is known for producing sweet, dry, and red wines, so there’s something for everybody here!
You’ll be visiting a Graves winery where you get to taste at least two different kinds of wine as you what makes Graves unique compared to other regions of Bordeaux.
Next up is a visit to Château de la Brède, a beautiful castle that was once home to Montesquieu!
Why stop at wine tasting when you can also learn about one of the greatest thinkers in the history of France?
The castle is located in a gorgeous park with breathtaking greenery, so be sure to bring your best camera with you!
11. Private Saint-Emilion Wine Tour in a Sidecar
⌛ Tour Length: 4.5-8 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.7/5 stars (5+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: –Private class for up to 4 people (2 per sidecar) -Very interactive, friendly drive to Saint-Emilion -You can stop at any point throughout the trip for pictures or breaks ➜ Read more about this private Saint-Emilion wine tour here! |
Have you ever seen something beautiful during a drive and wished you had time to stop and explore?
If the answer is yes, I have the perfect wine tour from Bordeaux for you!
Besides a wine tour, this is essentially one big road trip in a sidecar across the Bordeaux countryside and its stunning fields of vineyards.
Along the way, you can stop and admire the scenery as much or as little as you want.
Depending on stops, the tour can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours!
Either way, you’ll be driving to Saint-Emilion and tasting some Grand Cru wines at a local chateau – the finest that Bordeaux has to offer.
You’ll conclude the trip with a nice tour of Saint-Emilion before heading back to Bordeaux.
12. Full-Day Arcachon Bay & Médoc Vineyards Tour
⌛ Tour Length: 5 hours | 🌟 Rating: 4.9/5 stars (5+ reviews) | 🍷 Book Now
| Unique Features: -A visit to two iconic places: Arcachon Bay and Médoc wine region -A mini-nature tour at Pilat Sand Dune and Landes Forest -Try oysters and shrimp while drinking wine ➜ Read more about this full-day nature & wine tour here! |
How can you resist a wine tour from Bordeaux that takes you to Arcachon Bay, one of the most stunning vistas along the Atlantic Ocean?
The trip starts with a drive from Bordeaux to the Pilat Sand Dune, a prime photography spot.
You’ll also visit the Landes Forest, so be sure to put on your comfiest clothes and walking shoes!
As for Arcachon Bay, you’ll be treated with some lovely wine and a side of oysters (yes, oysters – that’s what the region is known for!) and shrimp before going back to Bordeaux.
After enjoying some lunch, it’s time to take a scenic drive to the iconic Médoc region for some more wine tastings!
You’ll have several hours to explore a family-run estate and try out some of their best wines.
Finally, there’s the great Classified Growth Estate. Besides the obligatory wine, there will also be cheese, sausages, and other staples of French cuisine to help you digest and pair.
Allison Green is a former teacher who has been travel blogging since 2016, visiting 75+ countries in total. She has a Masters in Teaching and a B.A. in English and Creative Writing. As a former educator, she merges her writing and educational experience to encourage ethical, sustainable travel. She has been a speaker at the World Travel Writers Conference and TBEX. Her writing, photography, and podcasting work has appeared in National Geographic, CNN Arabic, CBC Canada, and Forbes, amongst others. When she’s not on the road, she lives in Bangkok, Thailand.
