What better way to discover new wines and winemakers than by visiting the place where it's made.
In the run up to its 2010 Wine Fair in Montpellier, Vinisud picked not grapes but 6 New Wine Tourism Spots in Southern France (Sud de France).
If you want to use fancy words, oenotourism is the word.
Amongst Vinisud 6 picks is surprise Chez Serge, a restaurant in Carpentras run by sommelier Serge Ghoukassian.
Besides sharing his love of local produce and wines like Cotes du Ventoux, Serge likes take visitors to some local vignerons or the truffle market.
Emanuel Serin of Domaine de la Dourbie (French site only) near Montpellier makes room in his busy schedule for classes including winemaking basics and tastings.
They can help you book a room nearby via partners such as La DorDine ('SleepEat') in Pezenas. Their buildings have character as you can see above.
The remaining 4 options can be found in Six spots Vinisudtouristiques 2010 (WinetourisminFrance), unfortunately the English version does not work.
I will bring you more of these throughout the year
Time to plan a vacation!