Come to the heart of the Roannais & Forez vineyards for a fascinating weekend! You will have the choice between unusual evenings, concerts in the vineyards, gourmet hikes, dinners with starred chefs, discovery of heritage ...
Next edition in October 2024
The Fascinating Quésaco Weekend?
Destinations labeled " Vineyards & Discoveries » are mobilized throughout the territory during the Fascinating Weekend by offering more than 200 activities in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and 600 at the national level. As a reminder, the “Vignobles & Découvertes” label, launched in 2009, is awarded by Atout France. It highlights the players in tourism and wine who work together to promote wine tourism.
Unique experiences around wines and gastronomy that come to life through cultural, sporting, musical, artistic and unusual activities. For a weekend, the 3rd in the month of October, the actors of the region are mobilized to create moments of meetings, to share their know-how and to promote all the diversity and the authenticity of their vineyards.
The 12 territories labeled “ Vignobles et Découvertes »From the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region participate each year in this event:
- Bugey,
- Destination Beaujolais,
- Forez Roannais, at the roots of the Loire,
- Côtes d'Auvergne destination Volcanoes,
- Condrieu - Côte Rôtie,
- D'Hermitage en St Joseph,
- From Cornas en Saint-Péray,
- South Ardèche vineyard,
- Clairette Drôme Valley,
- Drôme Provencale,
- Heart of Savoy,
- Vineyard of Savoie Aix-les-Bains Riviera of the Alps.
In 2021, the Fascinant Week-end leaves the borders of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Indeed it extends over more than 40 destinations in France (Occitanie, Alsace, Champagne, Provence, Gironde).
3 questions to Isabelle Faure, wine tourism manager at Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Tourisme
Tell us about the origin of the Fascinant Week-end ...
It all started in 2013 on the territory labeled Vignobles & Découvertes “De Cornas en Saint-Péray”; the OT of Rhône Crussol, which supports and runs the label, organized an open weekend at the end of October to raise awareness about the label with activities organized among winegrowers, events and festivities throughout the weekend... In 2014, during a meeting, the OT proposed to the other territories (there were 6 at the time) to take up this idea of an open weekend on the 3rde October weekend to highlight the Vignobles et Découverte labels. This is linked and coordinated (because it is also partly financed) by the Comité Vins Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. And that's how the Fascinating Weekend was born...
In 2021, the event is evolving and expanding at the national level, what are your ambitions (your projects) for the years to come?
The idea is to continue to organize and communicate on the Fascinant weekend every 3e October weekend. The desire of the territories, in conjunction with the AURA Wine Committee and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Tourisme, is also to communicate more widely on all activities and members of the label, all year round. A reflection will be carried out during a wine tourism day... and we will discuss the fact of highlighting the label even more and not only through the Fascinating weekend.
Other project : in 2021 we began to link the Fascinating weekend to marketplaces allowing the marketing of the offers/activities of this event. The online marketing/sale of wine tourism activities is also one of the subjects that will be discussed during this “wine tourism” day.
On the occasion of the 1st edition of the Fascinant Week-end, you visited the vineyards of the Côte Roannaise, what are your impressions, your feedback?
Great opportunity for me to (re)discover the territory, meet certain winegrowers and estates that I did not yet know. Interesting to note once again that the vineyard/culture and heritage/gastronomy axes are the strong elements on which the territory relies for its promotion and communication. And that’s very good!
There were few winegrowers who ultimately opened their cellars on the occasion of the Fascinating weekend, so we still have room for improvement so that wine tourism is an activity in its own right in Roannais. However, we can clearly see the dynamics and the will of the actors involved, so it can only be positive for the future.
Fascinating and gourmet activities
At the heart of our landscapes, sports enthusiasts, gourmets and music lovers will be able to immerse themselves in the fascinating world of vineyards. They will find an activity that will suit their desires... Guided tours, winegrower meetings, discovery workshops, concerts with eclectic repertoires, exhibitions, sporting and unusual activities...
In 2021, the vineyards of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region offered brunches with winegrowers, Jazz aperitifs, concerts in the vineyards, food and wine pairings, hikes in the vineyards, wine cruises, etc.
Bloggers' words
“I tasted the Fourme de Montbrison fondue for the first time but also the goat's milk raclette and it was delicious. It must be said that the cheeses came from the famous Mons cheese dairy.
The meal was of course accompanied by wines, including a special cuvée Yann Palace & Mons.
And the highlight of the show, we witnessed the induction of new members into the Brotherhood of the Order of the Vieux Pressoir d'Ambierle. "
The opinion of Marion
In 2021, I had the pleasure of participating in the first edition of the Fascinant Week-end en Roannais as part of a welcome from bloggers. The atmosphere and the activities offered during these few days of festivity were unanimous. The objective of this weekend has been largely achieved! Namely, the authenticity of the Côte Roannaise vineyard through meetings between winegrowers and restaurateurs as well as the discovery of different wines. All the members of the group left with good memories and a few bottles to uncork with family or friends!
