How to Plan an English-Speaking French Wine Tour from Barcelona to the Cabardès AOC Near Toulouse and Carcassonne in 10 Easy Steps

 

Introduction

Hi! My name is Darren.

I am going to be doing a little bit of guest writing for the O’Vineyards Winery and B&B (bed and breakfast) blog. I am part of the O’Vineyards Winery and B&B family through marriage. I also have a special relationship with O’Vineyard’s Winery and B&B that is in development and will be announced in due time if the circumstances play out as hoped.

I am an American who lives on a budget but likes to enjoy the finer things in life. I love to travel and have traveled all over the world to some of the most luxurious spots on the globe. I especially love to travel to places that are away from tourists, places that are easy on my wallet, and places where I feel linguistically comfortable. Although I dabble in several languages and have especially taken a lot of French, I don’t consider myself to be fluent in any language other than English. Therefore, when I plan a trip to a locale such as a French wine region, I try to plan the trip so that I will also be comfortable with my native language skills. A trip to O’Vineyards Winery and B&B makes a perfect vacation for an English-speaker who wants to make an affordable yet luxurious wine visit to the Cabardès AOC (Appellation d’origine Contrôlée) near Toulouse and Carcassonne.

 

 

I am currently in the middle of planning a trip to Villemoustaussou and the O’Vineyards Winery and B&B to see the proprietors, my wine-making in-laws, Liz and Joe. Since we will be traveling through Barcelona on this particular trip, I thought I would share with you my planning process for the trip. I think that the things I have learned planning the trip will be very helpful for any English speaker who would like to plan a side-trip from Barcelona to the French wine region near Carcassonne. The O’Vineyards Winery and B&B is located in the Cabardès AOC which is part of the western extremity of the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region of France. This AOC is near the city of Carcassonne, a walled medieval city that is a popular international tourist destination and a UNESCO world heritage site.  O’Vineyards Winery and B&B is about an hour from Toulouse by car and is just minutes from Carcassonne. It is located in the village of Villemoustaussou. My brother-in-law, Ryan, has previously written about how to plan a wine trip near Toulouse and things you can do in Carcassonne.

Beginning with my next entry, I will write a 10-part series on how to plan an English-speaking French wine tour as a side-trip from Barcelona. I’m sure that since I am writing on the O’Vineyards blog, you have already figured out that the O’Vineyards Winery and B&B will be fully featured in my write-up, but I’ll give you lots of additional pointers to help you make the most of an all-inclusive French wine tour near Toulouse and Carcassonne that originates from the magical city of Barcelona.

 

 

Here are the 10-easy steps that we will use to plan our English-speaking French wine tour from Barcelona:

1. How to Get to Barcelona
2. How to Select a Place to Stay in Barcelona
3. 10 Things to Do in Barcelona
4. 10 Foods to Try in Barcelona
5. How to Get to Carcassonne from Barcelona
6. How to Select a Place to Stay near Carcassonne

Coming soon…

• 10 Things to Do Near Carcassonne
• Wineries to Visit Near Carcassonne
• 10 Foods to Try in the Carcassonne Region
• 10 Souvenirs to Buy to Remember Your Trip to Carcassonne

We will begin with a review of how to get to Barcelona in my next entry, but to conclude this entry, I would like to tell you about some of the amazing things that you can do when you visit my family at the O’Vineyards Winery and B&B.O’Vineyards Winery and B&B is a boutique wine, dine and stay experience in the South of France near the medieval city of Carcassonne.

My father-in-law, Joe, is also an American and is an experienced French wine-maker. He gives tours of the winery in English or “en franglais”. The tours are excellent. You will learn all about the wine-making process and you can meet fellow foodies who may be taking the tour with you. After you complete a tour with Joe, you can spend time relaxing on the gorgeous decks overlooking the sloping hills of vines.

My mother-in-law, Liz, prepares street foods for you to sample on the decks in the afternoon, and she serves the tasty bites with delicious wines made directly from the vines in your view. Liz is an excellent fusion-inspired chef. She is the mother of my spouse and she is a native French speaker and citizen.

 

 

O’Vineyards Winery is also a full-service B&B (bed and breakfast). The spacious rooms in the O’Vineyard Winery and B&B are each equipped with a private bath, and breakfast is served each morning. The O’Vineyards experience has been reviewed by many happy visitors on TripAdvisor. Click here to read reviews of the winery and here to read reviews of the B&B. Please explore this website for more information about O’Vineyards Winery and B&B, and do not hesitate to contact my in-laws at the vineyard if you need help planning a visit.  I’ll see you here next time when I share with you all that I have learned about how to get to Barcelona so that I can make my way to Carcassonne and Villemoustaussou to visit my in-laws and sip some delicious wine.

 

Cheers!

Darren