Time saving
Rather than spending the precious time wine tourism staff time on admin, vineyards are signing up to one of the many collective platforms available to list, promote and manage their visits. The objective is to make the reservation process seamless, integrated and time saving as well as a tool to understand who their clients are, how to build a relationship with them and how to reach a larger audience than working alone.
Open all hours
Digital natives browse and book visits, tastings and experiences 24/7. Research by the platform Wine Tour Booking showed that 74% of reservations happen outside office hours, and 32% of these at the weekend. Properties still relying on a phone call, email confirmation or online form will deter impatient future clients pulling together a trip. They want the same instant gratification they experience with online shopping: an immediate response – booked, paid and confirmed. It’s a time saver for the winery too: no need to personally confirm, check a diary or answer the phone. If the system is set up well there’s no double booking, errors or forgotten appointments.
Professional
These platforms might appear to be uniquely B2C interfaces, but they’re efficient tools for professionals and agencies too, with no wasted time going backwards and forwards between properties to create an itinerary. Agencies and guides can see availability straight away.
A management tool
Used well, these sites are more than just reservation platforms; hospitality technology can be a management tool to better understand and interact with clients, building and using a database as visitors register their contact details when they book.
Sites can manage payments, with the best ones nudging to reducing abandoned carts and even upselling to different tours and experiences. Multilingual, they improve access for international visitors, from screen to apps, or directly bookable from the property’s Instagram or Facebook page.
Flexible and dynamic
Reservation platforms should be easy for wineries to use, allowing immediate add-ons or changes to experiences, so wineries can adapt their offer to each distribution channel, season and feature special offers.
Channel Management
Different platforms offer different economic models, objectives, systems and reach. Many overlap, with some wineries working across several different sites, reaching a larger audience, including non-wine-centric hospitality platforms such as Airbnb (which now offer experiences), Booking.com, etc.
Subscriptions and commission systems vary depending on the reach wineries are looking for, with some offering a sliding scale influencing how high they appear on search results.
Managing them all can be a challenge for properties. This is where specialist channel management software helps. It integrates all platforms, manages the diary and avoids double booking. French hospitality specialists include Elloha.com and amenitiz.com.
Rue des Vignerons
From Bordeaux, and now spread across France, Rue des Vignerons was created to serve both winery partners and visitors, making it easy for everyone to use. With over 50,000 certified customer reviews and 500 wineries and distilleries, from family-owned producers to world-famous estates, over 1,800 different experiences are available on the platform. As well as Bordeaux, they now cover Champagne, Provence, Burgundy, Rhône, south-west France, the Loire and Alsace.
Confirmation is instant, up until 30 minutes before the appointment. Their geolocation tool solves the problem of finding vineyards tucked away in rolling hillsides of vines – important in a large wine region like Bordeaux. Once a booking has been made, an exact GPS itinerary is sent to the client. Visitors are reminded by email and SMS 24 hours beforehand so they can cancel at the last minute if needs be, avoiding the disappointment of no-shows. The winery has access to full client details.
There’s a section for sustainable wineries. Experiences include day and half-day excursions to multiple properties with a driver and guide, or tastings and workshops without leaving the city of Bordeaux. A gift card option is useful for wine-loving friends and family.
After visits, guests can leave comments and recommendations on the site, with a grading system based on the welcome, the activity and the wine. Helpful for other visitors and valuable feedback for the winery. Presence on the website is free, but a commission is charged for each adult booking.
Who? Best Of Bordeaux Wine Tourism winners on the platform include Château Grand Puy Ducasse (2026 Regional Best Of winner for Architecture and Landscape), Château La Garde (2025 Regional Best Of winner for Wine Tourism Services), Château Mauvinon (2024 Regional Best Of Winner in Sustainable Practices) and many more.
Recharge your batteries
La Bulle Verte (2024 local Best Of Winner in Bordeaux) takes a different approach to wine tourism booking. Founded in 2020, with the strapline “l’Exploration Tranquille”, they invite visitors to a gentler discovery of wine regions through immersive, responsible and accessible experiences. Created by three tourism and mobility experts, tailor-made eco-experiences are available over 62 sites across 11 French regions, from Bordeaux to Rhône/Provence, Cognac, Champagne and Beaujolais. 28 are in Bordeaux, from Sauternes in the south to Saint-Estèphe in the north. In 2023 they started working with My Private French Travel, a Bordeaux agency, to create longer-stay experiences and gift options.
Each unique “Bulle Verte” eco-station, whether at a winery, farm, hotel, tourist office or natural site, is co-created with local partners to highlight their specificity and take people off the beaten track. Between them they welcome nearly 20,000 visitors a year.
Their objective is to encourage ‘slow tourism’, reducing the carbon footprint by renting electric bikes, cross-country e-scooters, cargo bikes for children or shopping and even rechargeable electric Méhari cars. There are charging stations for electric cars and guests are also offered walking tours. Their mobile app tells independent guests not only where to go but where to stop, what to look at and who to talk to, thanks to pre-planned itineraries. La Bulle Verte works with partner wine producers and other sustainable specialty producers and shops, all committed to a more sustainable way of both producing wine and sharing their passion. They highlight sustainable initiatives in each region. Members pay a monthly subscription that covers the app and the promotional activity around all the operations of the community.
Who? Château Fage (2024 Regional Best Of Winner in Accommodation), Château de Cérons (2025 Regional Best Of Winner for Innovative Wine Tourism), Château Theuiley (2026 Local Best Of Winner for art & Culture), Château Malartic-Lagravière (2024 Regional Best Of Winner for Culinary Experiences) and Château Prieuré Lichine (2019 Regional Best Of Winner for Wine Tourism Services) are all part of the organisation.
Creation stations
In 2025, La Bulle Verte created a brand-new, low-carbon tourism concept: solar-powered bike stations made from upcycled shipping containers. The concept includes maintenance, repairs, cleaning and full servicing of the bikes, with a concierge service helping with the details, including luggage transfers.
Collaboration
The first station was launched in collaboration with the Route des Vins de Bordeaux en Graves et Sauternes at the train station in Cérons in July 2025. Just a 28-minute train trip from Bordeaux centre, it encourages a car-free wine tourism experience across Sauternes et Graves.
Since 2009, La Route des Vins de Bordeaux en Graves et Sauternes is the first Bordeaux wine route. It runs from Bordeaux in the north to Bazas in the south, through the wine appellations of Pessac-Léognan, Graves, Sauternes et Barsac. A non-profit association, it was created by six founder members: the three wine syndicates (ODGs) and three regional bodies, which together continue to finance its operation. It is overseen by volunteers from the region, currently under the presidency of Laure de Lambert Compeyrot of Château Sigalas Rabaud (2022 Regional Best Of Winner for Accommodation) in Sauternes. Their aim is to raise the profile and accessibility of this large and diverse region so close to Bordeaux city.
The 130 members include 90 vineyards (all certified Vignobles & Découvertes), of which 41 are classified. They work with different actors from accommodation and restaurants to cultural and leisure activities, including tourism offices. From the site, visitors are sent directly to the sites of individual properties to book through their chosen platform.
An interactive map allows visitors to visualise their itineraries and a printable map of the region is available to download. Weekly updates allow properties to flag when they are open in the coming days, both with and without appointments. This unique ‘no reservation’ option is popular with visitors who prefer to be spontaneous. For planners, a fun ‘Create my journey’ option prompts them to select the length and style of their stay – dynamic, relaxing, chic or sharing – their budget constraints and whether it’s for adults only or includes children. Answer these questions and a selection of destinations pops up. There’s even a filter to select Great Wine Capitals Best Of Wine Tourism winners.
Who? Members include Château Olivier, Château Carbonnieux, Château Les Carmes Haut Brion, Château Malartic-Lagravière, Château Léognan, Château La Garde, Château de Portets, Château de Cérons, Château Sigalas-Rabaud and Château Guiraud.
Better together
Working together through these efficient and collaborative booking and promotion sites makes Bordeaux more accessible than ever. It showcases the diversity and dynamism of the region through the experiences offered. They save precious admin time and provide valuable feedback for wineries to adapt their offer and create a closer and more profitable relationship with visitors and future clients. Come visit!
Author: Wendy Narby – Insider Tasting
Photos credits: ©studiotonelli