Bandol & Cassis Wine Tours
Between Toulon and Marseille the coast makes two serious wines: Bandol, the age-worthy Mourvèdre reds and rosés grown on terraces above the sea, and Cassis, the white that the city’s bouillabaisse was made to drink, under the cliffs of the Calanques. Compare the top-rated wine tours below, then read our notes.
Bandol wine tours and tastings
Cassis wine and the Calanques
Formats: Bandol winery visits and tastings with pickup from Toulon; family-estate tours around Le Castellet and La Cadière; vineyard hikes with a tasting; Cassis AOC tastings by electric buggy; full-day Bandol and Cassis rosé tours from Marseille.
What you taste: Bandol’s Mourvèdre reds and structured rosé, Cassis’s mineral whites, and the Provence rosé of the coast, with local cheese, tapenade and the sea in view.
Price: 17 to 23 dollars for a Bandol estate tasting; 99 for a half day from Toulon; 139 to 191 for Cassis buggy tours and full-day rosé days from Marseille.
Bandol
Bandol is the south coast’s great red-wine appellation, grown on the restanques, the dry-stone terraces that climb the amphitheatre of hills behind the port around Le Castellet and La Cadière-d’Azur. Its wines are built on Mourvèdre, a late, tannic grape that needs the coastal sun and years in oak; the reds age for decades and the rosé is among the most serious in France, structured enough for food. The most famous estate, Domaine Tempier, receives visitors by direct appointment only, but bookable tours visit domains like Frégate and Château Canadel, with tastings and vineyard walks, and pick up from Toulon.
Cassis
Twenty minutes east of Bandol, tucked under the white cliffs of the Calanques, Cassis makes something different: a dry, mineral white from Marsanne, Clairette and Ugni Blanc that is the classic partner to Marseille’s bouillabaisse and to a plate of sea urchins. Do not confuse it with crème de cassis, the blackcurrant liqueur, which is unrelated and from Burgundy. The AOC is tiny and most of its wine is drunk locally; a buggy tour of the cliffside vineyards is the way to taste it, and the calanques themselves are the reason to linger.
How to visit
Bandol and Cassis sit between Toulon and Marseille, half an hour or so from each; Toulon is the gateway for Bandol, Marseille for Cassis, and full-day tours combine the two for their rosé. See our Marseille food tours for the bouillabaisse the Cassis white was made for, and our Saint-Tropez wine tours for the rosé further east.
Frequently asked questions
What makes Bandol wine special?
Mourvèdre: a grape that ripens only in this coastal heat, giving reds that age for decades and a rosé serious enough to drink with a meal.
Is Cassis wine red or white?
Mostly white, dry and mineral, the classic match for bouillabaisse. It is unrelated to crème de cassis, the blackcurrant liqueur.
Can I visit Domaine Tempier?
Only by direct appointment, not through a booking site; the tours listed here visit other fine Bandol estates such as Frégate and Château Canadel.
Read next: Five must-visit wineries around Saint-Tropez
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.