It’s a river of wine in the South of France! Europe’s rivers have carved out some of the best terrain for vineyards on the continent, so it’s no wonder most European river cruises are all about the wine.

In this episode of World’ Greatest Cruises, Lynn Elmhirst sails on an AmaWaterways Rhone river cruise through Cotes du Rhone and Beaujolais wine regions.

We meet winemakers and tap into their passion for the grapes and the wines of these historic regions.And on board our ship, we embrace the wine lifestyle with tastings, education, and wine-paired dinners.

We meet a Maker whose ancient pottery technique may have helped even Romans in the south of France serve their wine.

Plus we take a post-cruise extension of our trip to nearby Champagne to add its eponymous wine to our winery agenda.

We learn who perfected trapping bubbles in wine that would become known as ‘champagne,’ and we get a private tour of the only remaining family-owned champagne house in Reims.

It’s not all about ancient tradition, though. We toast our trip in a very modern champagne tasting room: an eco-friendly, high-design tree house at the end of a tree walk in the National Forest of the region, overlooking champagne vineyards.