Budget wine trips in France ¢ò
Saumur, Loire
Saumur in the heart of the Loire Valley and its vineyards is within easy distance of the Channel ports. If your budget allows, book into the handsome Hotel Anne d'Anjou (+33 2 4167 3030, hotel-anneanjou.com), where rooms start from €105 per night. If budget doesn't allow, head for the Ile d'Offard in the middle of the river and the Hostel rue de Verden or its neighbouring campsite, Camping de l'Ile d'Offard (€16 for a two-person pitch, +33 2 4140 3000, cvtloisirs.com). Enjoy the superb local sparkling wines and honeyed chenin blancs and take a tour (and sample the excellent absinthe) at the tiny Combier distillery (48 rue Beaurepaire, +33 2 41 40 23 00, combier.fr).
Alsace
Alsace is a perfect place for pottering about with its Route de Vin (alsace-route-des-vins.com) easily negotiated by bicycle, so long as you're prepared for the occasional steep hill (you're in the foothills of the Vosges here). The region's medieval towns and villages such as Colmar, Obernai, Ribeauvill¨¦ and Turckheim are absurdly picturesque with cobbled streets and half-timbered houses. Nearly all producers have free tastings for the public, with no obligation to buy. Park your bike at the foot of the main street in Riquewihr and wander up to the clock tower, taking in the various wine shops en route, perhaps stopping for a plate of choucroute ¨¤ l'Alsacienne. Hugel et Fils (3 rue de la Premi¨¨re Arm¨¦e, +33 3 8947 9215, hugel.com) is the best place to start.
Gascony, Aquitaine
Gascony is a blessed spot, whose inhabitants, despite enjoying a diet rich in foie gras and confit de canard, boast lower levels of heart disease than anyone else in France and live an average five years longer. They put this down to their wines. Stay at British-owned Domaine de Lauroux (+33 5 6208 5676, lauroux.com), where a gîte for six starts at €600 per week, and explore the region. Visit Bastide d'Armagnac (labastide-darmagnac.net) with its enchanting square colonnaded central place; Notre-Dame des Cyclistes (notredamedescyclistes.net), a tiny 11th-century chapel where Tour de France competitors come to pray; the exquisite hamlet of Larressingle (and taste its equally exquisite armagnac ¨C tinyurl.com/6z7yo22); the food market of Eauze and buy foie gras, croustade and armagnac direct from artisan producers. (tourisme-gers.com).