"Ambacia Cellars", Tour And Wine Tasting In Amboise, Loire Valley

The tour provides a good introduction to the French system is classifying wines. It also provides some insight to how wine is made. The tasting mainly covers white wine and does show the impact of food on how the taste of a wine can vary.

Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and humorous. We learned a lot! The wine and cheese were excellent.

Our guide was friendly and knowledgeable. We were able to explore the cellar and ask questions. The wine tasting was a fun experience and was paired with lovely snacks.

Great experience in an historic wine cave. Guide was a sommelier who was extremely knowledgeable and kind. Wine pairing was nicely done, simple with a few cheeses and meats. Very nice 1.5 activity and just minutes from Amboise and the gorgeous Chateau.

We had an amazing tasting. Our guide was excellent and took all the time in the world to explain the French complicated wine system, then went onto explaining in depth all wines and tastes and the tasting was a feast. Highly recommend this excellent venue!

Something of a tourist trap, this 1.5hr activity could have been done in 30mins. Most of the 'tour' consisted of standing in front of a picture that the guide talked about. The cave was an underwhelming cellar. Worst was the tasting with uneven amounts poured for the guests with some guests getting less than a teaspoon while one young woman got 3 whole glasses - why not 'finish off the bottle ' by sharing it evenly given the high cost? The paired food was tiny and not explained. At one point the guided shushed an older couple who were just asking what the drink was. Awful.

This was the best wine tasting I have ever been to. They shared tasting by sight, smell and taste. Learned so much!!!! I have been to so many wine tasting places across the USA but this one explained how France is the best at making wine. They taught us how to tell what kind of wine and where it is from by sight, smell and then taste. He was funny and sociable and extremely knowledgeable. He taught us how to tell dry wine from sweet wine, the acidity, and if it went bad by sight and smell before even tasting it. He shared how we can tell what is in the wine, and where it is from. We learned how they make the wine and wnaurwd how it was the best. He taught us so much. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. I would highly recommend and will do there again the next time I’m in France.

The absolute best wine tasting experience I've ever had. Thomas not only guided us through the cellars and introduce the wines, but gave us the best wine tasting education that I have ever seen. I've taken video courses from library etc, but none compare to the education that Thomas provided. Learned enough to tell what kind of wine, characteristics, and taste notes and alcohol content without seeing the bottle or tasting the wine. Heavy focus on aroma and bouquet with a exhibit that lets you experience the aroma and bouquet in a sample environment before the actual tasting. Wines were excellent and have a great shipping offer.

10/10! We absolutely loved this experience. The ambiance inside the historic cave was incredible, and we learned so much about how the different wines are made before enjoying a fabulous tasting paired with cheeses and meats. My husband isn’t a wine lover and originally tagged along for me, but left realizing he just hadn’t been drinking the right wine! We loved several enough to purchase bottles to bring home. One tip: We did the 4 PM tour and wished we had booked earlier. Afterward, you’ll want to grab another glass and enjoy the outdoor seating overlooking the Loire, but we only had about 30 minutes before closing. We would have happily stayed longer! Definitely a highlight of our time in Amboise!

The tour was interesting and our host was great - fun and knowledgeable. Most of the wine wasn’t to our test, but I think because it’s reminiscent of the region.

Knowledgeable guide took us through the wine make process and explained well the many factors involved. The cellars are cool(both meanings) and the wine tasting at the end was interesting, portion control strict though. Outside seating with view over river was lovely, blazing row between chef and waitress just made the experience more French.

This was the most educational wine experience we’ve ever had and we’ve done wine tours, and tastings in many countries many times. This is well worth your time and money!

Really enjoyed it, Great information on production and history of Loire wines. Loved the smelling game. The cellar was great to see the old wines. Really good selection of wines, sausage and cheese. What’s not to love!!!

My family and I had such an amazing visit! The tour and the tasting were so well presented and well done!! We even bought lots of wine and shipped it back to the states!!

We did a wine tasting - 6 wines. The guide was excellent and we enjoyed the aroma part. The wines were ok - nothing to write home about. It was noticeable that nobody bought anything. On previous tours I’ve always bought. The operation seemed set up for tours rather than genuine production of wines. The kids would have enjoyed having the very small tastes of meat and cheese that the adults got. It was a bit weird to give all the adults this and not the children. We ended up giving them ours.

Good introductory Loire wine tasting with delicious cheeses and cured meats. There's an opportunity to test your sense of smell before the tasting (I failed to guess even one of the scents). Our host was charming and the staff helpful when it came to placing orders for the UK. The 2017 demi sec is on its way. Be sure to include lunch afterwards in their outdoor restaurant

Wonderful tour, I learnt so much! Our guide was engaging and clearly loved her job as a sommelier. At the end of the tour we tasted six wines paired with meat and cheese, and it was amazing to learn so much about how pairings change the taste of wine. I’m now going to sign up for a full wine course back in the UK as there’s so much to learn!

This tour is very family friendly and was a wonderful way to end our day in Amboise. Our three children each got a lollipop to enjoy during the tour and listened well to the guide (they are age 8-14). The guide was lovely and gave an interesting tour with tons of information specific to the French wine making process and the appellations of wine. We visited during a heat wave and this tour was refreshingly cool in the caves! The tasting was awesome and we enjoyed the food pairings quite a bit. This tour is very well done and we would highly recommend it for families!

We had a lovely private wine tasting experience. We did not do a formal tour but booked a 6 bottle tasting experience with a cheese board. The guide was perfect, the right balance of knowledge and personability. The wines were Devine and the cheese board absolutely next level. We enjoyed a glass of wine on the terrace afterwards with a beautiful view of the Loire. Would highly recommend

François was an amazing guide. I knew nothing about wine and learned a lot. The entire experience was fun and informative. Would definitely recommend.

Beyond a Wine Tasting Experienc

Very knowledgable , we learnt a lot about wine , just the right length and we had a fabulous lunch (not included in the tour but at the restaurant attached). Very well run

Experience in the cave of Ambacia was delightful! Knowledgable tour leader.

Great experience. Partially guided in some parts. Wine tasting was good. Staff was friendly and explained each wine well.

A fantastic experience. Interesting and informative and engaging. We enjoyed smelling the fragrances and guessing what they were. The wine tasting and pairing is excellent. 6 wines to taste (3 red and 3 white) paired with different cheeses and different sausages. All delicious! Tomas did an excellent job.

Our tour was very good, and the wine tasting was the best. Thomas was so knowledgeable and a great teacher. We learned so much and really enjoyed every minute. He even gave us extra time. Would highly recommend.

Very informative tour, it was a whole experience -learning, smelling, tasting and the best I’ve experienced so far.

Great fun with a very knowledgeable guide

It was great, Thomas was brilliant and we all enjoyed it very much. 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🤞🥂🥂

Our tasting host was truly wonderful! The cave(s) are amazing. Walking through the passages and looking at the stored wines was impressive. The scent identification stations were very informative. The wines we tasted were identified (by our host) largely by sight and smell, just amazing… from the Loire region, of course! After the tasting, a walk through the village is a must!

An easy tour that is full of little tidbits of fun facts about the caves in the region, how wine is labeled in France and then how to understand more about a bottle of wine. Very interesting.

We had a lovely afternoon at Caves Ambacia. The tour of the caves was very cool and the lesson in understanding winemaking was so insightful! Highly recommend!

Each year the Caves Ambacia gets better because of the main host Jonathan and his team. Whether you take a cave tour, sit down for a wine tasting or just come in for a bite to eat, there is no other place better than this in Amboise. If you haven’t had a cave tour, it is highly recommended. There is a lot of useful information especially for first time visitors to Amboise and their Caves Ambacia wines. Thomas is an excellent cave tour guide and can answer all the questions regarding the cave and the history of the wines. The best part of my visit was wine tasting with Jonathan. They have a great selection of red and white wines to taste along with delicious boards from the bistro. The atmosphere in this place is like no other. Whether you are sitting inside the window or outside on the patio, there are beautiful views of the Loire Valley. Lookin forward to my visit next year!!!

You’ll learn how they store their wines and enjoy sampling some outstanding local wines, paired with charcuterie. A great afternoon.

Wonderful experience with a patient and informative guide in Thomas. Highly recommend this for both new and experienced wine drinkers.

Gives you a wonderful exposure to the in and outs and do’s and dont’s of wine buying and consuming in a beautiful cave followed by a tasting. The host Thomas shares willingly from his vast knowledge of wine growing and making

This was a very educational experience. I came away having learned a ton about wine, tasting, and pairings. The guy who led it was incredibly knowledgeable. The pairings are cheese and meat (optional of course). If any food restrictions, just tell them. Really a great time. Recommended.

Wow, great tour, super old caves, great wine. The owner loved his place and the passion showed. There is a nice wine bar for drinks and lunch as well. It was a short walk from the train station. There was a great view of the Loire river as we crossed the bridge.

Excellent wine tour and lunch! We learned so much. Staff is a friendly and our guide was very knowledgeable and great fun!

Very informative. Nothing like you’d get in the states, and you actually feel like you’ve learned something about Wine. I loved it.

Truly such a great tour. We loved our tasting experience and the sommelier was wonderful. Highly recommend this excursion

Group of 16–information about wines of the region and smell tests to determine fragrances—wine tasting was excellent and fun. Thomas was so knowledgeable —highly recommend

I like the place, and the person that guided us explained everything about the wines in an excellent way and was very friendly.

We wish we had done this the first day of our stay and not our last! Very informative, even though we've been drinking wine for years!

The tour was informative and the wine tasting awesome. Thomas was wonderful and very knowledgable. We enjoyed it!

The Caves and history of wine making in the region was excellent. The tour guide was very knowledgeable about all things wine as well as the whole Loire region.

Fantastic wine tour with ample wine tastings paired with cheese and cured meat. Yum! Our guide was superb. Highly recommend.

This was an informative and also entertaining tour. Francois was wonderful! I loved the smelling test - enlightening

The experience was so fun, Francois was very informative and made the experience as fun as it was educational. Definitely a must-do. The wine was delicious!!!