Travel trade and corporate services in the Cognac vineyards
A destination management company that lives where it operates
Cognac Tasting Tour is an incoming travel agency based in Jarnac-Champagne, in the heart of the Cognac vineyards. We are not an intermediary working from a capital city: we live in the appellation, we know the roads, the growers and the cellar masters, and we visit our partners throughout the year.
We build and operate programmes in the Charentes region, from Royan on the Atlantic coast to Angoulême, for tour operators, travel agents, event agencies and companies. Whether you need a single guided excursion to complete an existing itinerary or a full multi-day programme with accommodation, transport and guiding, we handle the ground arrangements and you keep the client relationship.
Tell us what your travellers are looking for. We will tell you honestly what is possible, what is worth their time, and what is not.
Who we work with
Travel agents and tour operators
Offer your clients a French destination that is still uncrowded, where the interest lies in the people rather than in a queue outside a monument. Net rates, ready-to-sell programmes and white label packages designed to slot into your existing France offer.
Companies, event agencies and incentive planners
Seminars, incentives, client hospitality, team activities and employee programmes, in venues that are not conference hotels: private cellars, châteaux, working distilleries and cooperages.
Anything that does not fit a category
Family reunions, private groups, film and press logistics, a single transfer, a guide interpreter for an afternoon. Describe the need and we will price it.
What makes a Cognac programme worth selling
Access rather than a brochure
Our long-standing relationships with cognac houses, independent growers, coopers and artisans open doors that are not on the public booking calendars: private tastings, cellar visits with the cellar master, small houses that receive no more than a handful of visitors a week.
Independence from any single brand
We are not owned by, nor tied to, any cognac house. We select providers because they answer a specific brief, not because they are the best known. That independence is what allows us to build an honest tasting session and to compare styles across the four crus.
A region that rewards slow travel
The Cognac vineyards sit within ninety minutes of Bordeaux, La Rochelle and Poitiers, on the road between Spain and the Loire. Romanesque churches, Renaissance architecture, Charentais gastronomy and the Atlantic coast are all within reach, yet the area receives a fraction of the visitors of the neighbouring wine regions.
A national network beyond our own territory
We are a member of France DMC Alliance, the network of French incoming travel agencies. When an itinerary extends past the Charentes, we coordinate with vetted colleagues in the neighbouring regions so that you keep a single point of contact.
Services we provide on the ground
Accommodation
- Hotel rooms, from boutique properties to château hotels
- Rooms in selected guest houses and private estates
- Whole-house rentals with associated services
Transport
- Transfers to and from Bordeaux (city, airport, high-speed rail station)
- Transfers to and from Angoulême (city, high-speed rail station) and La Rochelle
- Minibus or coach with driver, at half-day or full-day disposal
- Prestige and classic car hire, with or without a chauffeur
Visits, activities and guiding
- Private visits to cognac houses, independent distilleries and cooperages
- Industrial and craft visits: cutlery workshops, cork producers, printers, art and craft studios
- Guided cultural and historical visits across the Charentes
- Electric bike rides through the vineyards with a guide
- Tasting workshops and blending sessions led by a certified educator
- Original meals, vineyard picnics and food pairing sessions
- Guide interpreters and concierge services
Credentials, compliance and duty of care
- Licensed travel agency. Registered with Atout France, the French tourism authority, under number IM-016-11-0010.
- Financial guarantee held with APST, the French travel industry’s guarantee association. Client funds are secured until the services have been delivered.
- Professional liability insurance underwritten by HISCOX.
- Our own passenger transport licence for individual travellers and small groups on transfers and excursions. For larger groups we work exclusively with licensed coach operators.
- Certified expertise. Our manager holds WSET certification and the title of Cognac Educator awarded by the BNIC, the Cognac trade bureau.
- Support around the clock during your clients’ stay, with real-time information on local conditions and itinerary adjustments when circumstances require it.
- Responsible travel. We work in short supply chains with local providers. Our approach is set out in our low carbon manifesto.
How we work together
- Brief. You send us the profile of the travellers, the dates, the group size, the budget bracket and any constraints.
- Proposal. We come back with a costed itinerary, alternatives where they are worth considering, and a clear statement of what is confirmed and what is subject to availability.
- Refinement. We adjust until the programme fits. We would rather tell you that an idea will not work than sell it to you.
- Operation. We handle the ground arrangements, the providers and the on-site coordination. You remain the point of contact for your client.
- Debrief. We report back on what worked, which matters for the programmes you sell next season.
Start a conversation
Send us a brief through our quotation request form, or write to us directly. We answer every professional enquiry, including the ones we cannot take on.
You can also browse our packaged stays and experiences to see the kind of programmes we operate, read what our clients say, or learn more about the agency.