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Nicolas Martin, A Wine Affair

Discover Languedoc’s Hidden Gems with A Wine Affair

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Deborah Bine

The Barefoot Blogger

An Unforgettable Wine Tasting Tour in Uzès

If you plan to visit Uzès, you’ll love the authentic French wine-tasting experiences by native son Nick Martin of A Wine Affair. His “Discovery Tours” take you to micro-wineries near Uzès and in the scenic foothills of the Cévennes. The scenery is enough to excite you, and the wines? They’re extraordinary.

Exploring Micro-Wineries with Nick Martin

I tagged along with A Wine Affair’s Nicolas Martin to see a micro-winery firsthand and meet some of the winemakers. It was a perfect excuse for tasting wine, too. What fun!

Some of the micro-wineries are just a stone’s throw from Uzès. Most are hidden, off the road, reminiscent of the moonshiners in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. However, in France, micro-wineries are perfectly legal; most produce Duché d’Uzès AOP wines alongside their emblematic IGP counterparts.

Meet the Generations of Winemakers

My favorite part of visiting the boutique wineries in Languedoc was getting to know the winemakers. Most spoke little English, so I could only guess what they said. Fortunately, Nicolas is fluent in French and English, so he translated.

I learned that many vignerons are third–, fourth–, and fifth-generation winemakers. They have lived and worked in other wine regions of France and overseas. They’ve learned winemaking from the ground up—literally. They’ve returned to the villages where they were raised to run the family businesses. This new generation is dedicated to the terroir their fathers and grandfathers labored to perfect. They’re bringing new technology and enthusiasm to the authentic French wine culture.

While respecting tradition, they breathe fresh air into the processes and the end product. Most importantly, they’re creating unique wines recognized and acclaimed throughout France.

A Worldly Wine Guide

Nicolas, who runs A Wine Affair, lives in Uzès. He was raised overseas, living in Italy and later in Asia, but returned to his family home in Uzès. He intends to share his worldly knowledge of wine with folks like me.

While in Singapore, Nick was an importer of French wines. He says his outstanding achievement was introducing locals and expats to wines from the south of France. He loves that they quickly began to appreciate wines from places they never knew existed.

Spending a day with Nicolas in vineyards and wine cellars is like tagging along with a wine professor. He knows his stuff. He’s willing and able to communicate the intricacies of the winemaking process on a level that I can understand yet sophisticated enough to talk confidently with the most seasoned vignerons.

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Wines of the Cévennes: An Immersive Experience

Discover the charming French countryside with A Wine Affair’s expert guide, Nick Martin. Soak in the natural beauty of the Cévennes and visit three extraordinary winemakers creating exceptional wines from centuries-old family vineyards. Enjoy a picnic-style lunch at a colorful local winery. Full day: 8.45 am – approx. 6 hours.

There’s More!

More Wine-Tasting Tours 

A Wine Affair offers a variety of wine-tasting discovery tours. Don’t miss out while in Uzès; here’s information and links to book your tour.

 

6 Responses

    1. Please do! you will love everything about it. The region and the wines are unforgettable.

  1. Although we have visited France 5 times and several regions and vineyards including Chateaunef du Pape, we have not had a proper wine tour. Wine is a interest and we have has tours before in Tuscany our favorite was at Verrazzano Vineyard and in Sonoma and Napa Valleys in California, we haved the tour at Simi. We need to check out a proper South of France tour on our next visit.

    1. Hi John, I’m surprised you haven’t met Nick of A Wine Affair on your visits here. His tours in this area and the Cevennes are extraordinary. Remind me to get you two together next time. Hope it’s soon!

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