Visit a Bordeaux Chateau with Kids: Family Wine Tours

A château visit with children doesn't have to mean an hour of adults tasting while the kids wait. Four estates around Bordeaux and Saint-Émilion have built their visit around them, with grape juice served in proper tasting glasses, puzzles and things to do with their hands. All four run in English.

Under 5 - Château Bernateau, from 9€, one hour: a short walk through the organic vines and cellar with explanations pitched at ages 3 to 12, then an aroma game during the tasting. Organic grape juice for the children, two organic wines for the parents.

5 to 10 - The Kids of Chauvin, from 17€, one hour: a treasure hunt across the Saint-Émilion estate where each puzzle piece found matches a step of winemaking. Or Château Lanessan, from 15€, two hours, in the Médoc: a horse museum in the old stables, riddles to solve as a family, and a grape variety garden.

7 and up - Escape Wine at Saint-Émilion, from 30€, two hours: the winemaker has vanished and there's a code to crack before the curse lands. The one that still works with pre-teens, when workshops built for younger children no longer do.

All four estates are less than an hour from Bordeaux, in the Médoc or around Saint-Émilion.