Domaine Le Capitaine
Domaine Le Capitaine
4.5
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4.5
16 reviews
Excellent
11
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5
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DimitriDonskoi
Miami Beach, FL141 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
Vouvray and adjacent towns, like Rochecorbon, in the Loire Valley have hundreds of small wineries. Le Capitaine is a great find, a true producing winery where you walk into what looks like small, modern warehouse built into the cliff that is full of boxes of wine, vats, production equipment and no tourist fakery.
My wife and I showed up at Le Capitaine after lunch in Vouvray in late October and at first thought the place was closed. But nope, the door was open and we walked into what passes for a lobby - a section of the room where boxes of wine are stored just off the production floor full of tall steel vats - and snapped a few photos while we heard footsteps coming down the stairs. One of the owners in working clothes and tall boots stepped in, welcomed us and after a few words exchanged in French asked us in halting English, "Would you like to have a taste?"
We said, sure, and off we went, the three of us through the production rooms, through a portal cut into the rock and into the storage caves, past galleries full of wine bottles in bins to a room cut out of the rock where a modest table (you see it in the photos uploaded by other reviewers) held a rack of wine glasses and a couple of champagne buckets.
The owner pulled some bottles from the fridge and started pouring as we discussed the wines. I loved the sec (dry) Chenin Blanc Vouvray (they all, of course, are Chenin Blanc, but I use that term for convenient reference as my American friends tend think in terms of the grape and not the appelation...), the demi-sec (semi-dry, that is, a touch of sweet) less so. I also loved his traditional method sparkling wines. My wife drinks very little but the wines were so good she tasted four.
We bought about eight or nine bottles and loved the place so much we hoped to find some tourist trinkets to buy but the only thing they had for sale with the domaine's name on it was a corkscrew. We bought that, of course, but that tells you the sort of place it was: all about the wine, a highly unpretentious, friendly, working owner taking a break from his work to show you around and pour you some of his wine. Perfect!
This is not the sort of place to go for a big, formal tour for beginners. I think they'd be happy to do that but it seems wrong for rank beginners to take time out of their hands on work these people do for that.
Instead, go to one of the bigger outfits like Cave des Producteurs or one of the bigger wineries that are set up with videos that show all about wine production, take the tour there to get down the basics of how they make wine, where the dang caves come from and why the sparkling wines are in those wooden racks upside down with a dot of paint on their bottoms. And then go to Domaine Le Capitaine to see the real deal, daily life of a working, small winery and buy a few of their bottles.
The price is right, by the way, as you can buy truly first rate Vouvray wines for seven or eight euros a bottle, some a bit less and one or two a bit more. If you could get them back home in the US they'd cost you way more, even at a warehouse store or other discounter.
One last thing: Le Capitaine is easy to visit as it is just off the riverside road that runs along the Loire to Vouvray. A very short distance (few blocks) of ultra-picturesque winding road through stone houses and you are there. There's also a Romanesque church dating to the 13th century a few steps away.
My wife and I showed up at Le Capitaine after lunch in Vouvray in late October and at first thought the place was closed. But nope, the door was open and we walked into what passes for a lobby - a section of the room where boxes of wine are stored just off the production floor full of tall steel vats - and snapped a few photos while we heard footsteps coming down the stairs. One of the owners in working clothes and tall boots stepped in, welcomed us and after a few words exchanged in French asked us in halting English, "Would you like to have a taste?"
We said, sure, and off we went, the three of us through the production rooms, through a portal cut into the rock and into the storage caves, past galleries full of wine bottles in bins to a room cut out of the rock where a modest table (you see it in the photos uploaded by other reviewers) held a rack of wine glasses and a couple of champagne buckets.
The owner pulled some bottles from the fridge and started pouring as we discussed the wines. I loved the sec (dry) Chenin Blanc Vouvray (they all, of course, are Chenin Blanc, but I use that term for convenient reference as my American friends tend think in terms of the grape and not the appelation...), the demi-sec (semi-dry, that is, a touch of sweet) less so. I also loved his traditional method sparkling wines. My wife drinks very little but the wines were so good she tasted four.
We bought about eight or nine bottles and loved the place so much we hoped to find some tourist trinkets to buy but the only thing they had for sale with the domaine's name on it was a corkscrew. We bought that, of course, but that tells you the sort of place it was: all about the wine, a highly unpretentious, friendly, working owner taking a break from his work to show you around and pour you some of his wine. Perfect!
This is not the sort of place to go for a big, formal tour for beginners. I think they'd be happy to do that but it seems wrong for rank beginners to take time out of their hands on work these people do for that.
Instead, go to one of the bigger outfits like Cave des Producteurs or one of the bigger wineries that are set up with videos that show all about wine production, take the tour there to get down the basics of how they make wine, where the dang caves come from and why the sparkling wines are in those wooden racks upside down with a dot of paint on their bottoms. And then go to Domaine Le Capitaine to see the real deal, daily life of a working, small winery and buy a few of their bottles.
The price is right, by the way, as you can buy truly first rate Vouvray wines for seven or eight euros a bottle, some a bit less and one or two a bit more. If you could get them back home in the US they'd cost you way more, even at a warehouse store or other discounter.
One last thing: Le Capitaine is easy to visit as it is just off the riverside road that runs along the Loire to Vouvray. A very short distance (few blocks) of ultra-picturesque winding road through stone houses and you are there. There's also a Romanesque church dating to the 13th century a few steps away.
Written 27 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Paolo1005
Montreal, Canada671 contributions
Apr 2015 • Friends
We stopped at this small but charming domaine..We met one of the owners Alain..A down to earth kind of guy ..Took the time to show us around we tasted his wines mostly white..it was a good time we bought a few bottles(not expensive) and away we went
Written 15 April 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Agostina F
2 contributions
Jan 2017 • Couples
Excellent Chenin blanc wine and friendly staff... The place is very small and simple but it is authentic. It is definitely worth tasting the sparkling wine and the visit!!
Written 2 January 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eldad L
Israel1 contribution
May 2016 • Couples
Great service with a smile in this small family winery. Oh, and the wine is very good as well.
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Written 13 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
243Peter_H
Blaina176 contributions
Mar 2016 • Couples
We visited this cave after trying a bottle of this wine at lunch in a local restaraunt. It was well worth finding, the vitular was very friendly and accomadating in giving us tasting of his wine. We left after purchasing quite a few cases.
Written 13 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Justin A
149 contributions
Oct 2015 • Couples
We stopped by Domaine Le Capitaine purely on a whim - a bakery in a nearby town recommended we check it out since our objective was to visit wineries while in the region. As you could probably expect from my rating, we really enjoyed our time here.
While small, don't pass judgement on size. The two guys holding down the fort when we arrived were very friendly and patient with us as we happily tasted their current catalog of wines (mostly whites and with a few roses). After a quick tour of the facilities, we headed back to their cave where they took the time to explain each bottle to us, which was great to experience especially for a couple of novices like us. Additionally, the price points were also quite good considering the quality so we were happy to take home a small box of bottles with us.
Overall, we definitely recommend Domaine Le Capitaine as a great stop on any tour of the Loire. While it's not as large and as diverse as some of the bigger wineries, the service and attention you receive (along with the quality wine, of course), makes the short time you spend well, worth it!
While small, don't pass judgement on size. The two guys holding down the fort when we arrived were very friendly and patient with us as we happily tasted their current catalog of wines (mostly whites and with a few roses). After a quick tour of the facilities, we headed back to their cave where they took the time to explain each bottle to us, which was great to experience especially for a couple of novices like us. Additionally, the price points were also quite good considering the quality so we were happy to take home a small box of bottles with us.
Overall, we definitely recommend Domaine Le Capitaine as a great stop on any tour of the Loire. While it's not as large and as diverse as some of the bigger wineries, the service and attention you receive (along with the quality wine, of course), makes the short time you spend well, worth it!
Written 18 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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