Visiting a Winery

The LVTT team have recently been enjoying some sparkling red wine from Domaine de Rablais, run by the Simoneau family. Célestine's boot (trunk) may not be as capacious as a modern car, but it can certainly hold important cargo such as a couple of boxes of wine. Our guests really enjoy visiting this small family run vineyard, especially during late September and early October, when the harvest and grape pressing is underway.


Sparkling reds are not traditional in the Touraine, so the wine is sold without the Appellation d'Origine Controllée certification. Nonetheless, it's a fun wine to serve for apéro, and we compare it very favourably to the Australian sparkling reds. It's not as heavy, not as syrupy as some of the Australian offerings, and comes across as a nice light red, albeit with bubbles. The Simoneaus are rather pleased with how their little off piste adventure has turned out, and have very sensibly included a decorative metal cap on the cork for the collectors, too.

We plan on attending the Simoneau portes-ouvertes this Saturday (the 27th of November) to try some of the new season's wines. However, the winery can be visited at any time of the year and the staff are enthusiastic about showing our visitors the cellars and winemaking process. Why not book a tour of the chateaux of the Loire and visit the winery with us?