Truly a memorable trip with the most delightful guide. Beautiful views, exquisite wine and mouth-watering lunch accompanied by great stories and facts.

No tour of Lyon or the Beaujolais region could be better guided than when hosted by energetic region-native Sebastien Girard, whose professional care is honed by years of stewardship duty with British Airways.

He knowleability of the region’s vineyards, viticulture and oenology is further proofed by his familial connection to the award-winning Chateau de Vaux, where he takes you to tour the family vinewards and down to the impressive Chateau’s thousand-year old small wine cellar to engage in a select tasting (and purchase if desired) of the winemaker’s recent gold medal winning red (Gamay) and Chardonnay wines. You are also taken on a tour of the actual wine-making farm operation, where you are walked through the wine-making process from grapes to barrel fermentation and storage.

He then takes you on a most educational tour of the lovely southern Beaujolais countryside, discussing the various vineyards, their crus and their terroir in great detail, distinguishing their features and characteristics from other great French growths such as the Bordeaux, etc.

A high point of your tour is being taken for a wonderful generously-served regional lunch at “La Table du Donjon” in the historic hilltop village of Oingt with its spectacular views of the valley vineyards below, followed by a moving tour of the beautiful medieval village’s buildings, houses, walled gate, the thousand-year old fortified castle’s remains, including its old rockspur chapel, and the outstanding countryside surrounds.

Sebastien’s tour is private and van-driven by himself, with customizable site visits and hours, and pick-up/drop-off location service at request.

He is a bon homie guide par excellence.

Sebastian did an excellent job escorting us through the beautiful Beaujolais countryside and villages. As his origins were from this area, he shared much more than what I would expected from a typical tour.

The town of Oingt was exceptional and hard to forget. Frankly the whole place was terrific. The vineyards, the Beaujolais wine process and the wines themselves was well presented. My wife congratulated me for making this tour choice at the end .

I based the selection based on the passion that Sebastian showed in his original emails describing the tours. His description lived up to his words