Wine trekking Top Gear's James May knew nothing about wine but that's all changed since wine expert Oz Clarke invited him on a month-long trip to France to learn all about it.

In this article

Episode one Episode two

Episode three Episode four

Episode five

James May arrived in Bordeaux with Oz Clarke for an introduction to the art of wine tasting at the magnificent, 150-year-old Château Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse-de-Lalande of Grand Dame Madame May-Elaine de Lencquesaing. After a brief break in the lessons at an unusual grape-related spa, Oz put James's new-found tasting skills to the test at the Château Pichon-Baron, in front of one of the wine industry’s biggest players, Englishman Christian Seely. Find out more about matching food with Bordeaux wines.

After mixed results the duo headed south to the coastal wine region of Languedoc-Roussillon. Here, South African Tom Lubbe and Kiwi Sam Harrop provided them with a crash course in winemaking at their Matassa vineyard. James’s new knowledge is then put to the test once more as Oz challenges him to produce his own wine to be tested on the unsuspecting locals. Find out more about matching food with Languedoc-Roussillon wines.

Provence provides an opportunity to learn to match wine with various foods. Jean-Claude Mas, a young winemaker who uses New World techniques to improve the wine, coupled the local speciality, oysters, with his Arrogant Frog Sauvignon Blanc; Béziers, a French town with a great Spanish influence, offers steak with various red wines. And finally, there's a dessert course at Ousteau de Baumanière, courtesy of France’s champion dessert chef. Find out more about matching food with 'road to Provence' wines.

The Rhône Valley provided ample opportunity to learn about lots of different grape varieties. However, the world-renowned winemaker Michel Chapoutier provides an obvious distraction for James with his classic car collection.

The father and son team of Domaine Viret, Alain and Philippe Viret, managed to extol the benefits of embracing ‘cosmoculture’, a mystical approach to grape growing involving the harnessing of the cosmic energy of the sky. And Former French rugby international and winemaker, Gérard Bertrand, challenged James to blend his very own wine using a variety of grape extracts. Find out more about matching food with Rhône Valley wines.

The duo headed to Alsace and Burgundy for a lesson on barrel making, and ‘terroir’ - a catch-all way of describing the many factors that can influence the quality of a vineyard. Oz then took a sceptical James to meet one of Burgundy’s most celebrated winemakers, Thierry Beaumont, to sample Burgundies from Thierry’s three separate terroirs. Find out more about matching food with Alsace and Burgundy wines.

On arriving in the north-eastern corner of France, in Champagne, James and Oz were shown how to blend wines in the headquarters of the House of Krug, by Rémi Krug himself. Next, they’re off to meet an independent champagne producer, the Compte Audoin de Dampierre. And of course James is more interested in looking at the Count’s vintage Aston Martin than tasting the vintage champagne! Find out more about matching food with champagne.