Pierre Galmes is the man to answer questions like this, in English, American or French.

On his website (fill in the contact form) followed by in-depth emails, he’ll put a tour together that delivers what you’d expect within your budget.

It’s called (as it’s widely practised the other side of the Atlantic) a self-drive or step-by-step vacation. And his clients (often couples) are mostly from North-America; but it also includes many Japanese, Belgians and Swiss who’ve been won over by this system.

This suggests a detailed knowledge of all the wine regions, stemming from his experience at Avalon Wine Tours.

Detailed and up-to-date knowledge... When the cross at Romanée-Conti is being fixed, it’s not about creating a diversion around this, temporarily missing landmark. And Pierre Galmes has given up on the trees giving directions; they’re too easy to chop down without them knowing about it!

He’ll put together a detailed itinerary. He takes care of hotel and restaurant reservations and appointments with winemakers (up to five visits per day). He sends you the right Michelin maps with notes and other info. He provides back-up on the phone (at his expense) throughout the tour. He sends the tour plan to all participating companies so they can, if necessary offer his customers any help or useful tips.

It reminds me of how weather forecasters, from a distance, help out mountaineers.

Pierre Galmes doesn’t charge commission for his services. He’ll invoice his customers, on average $100 a day.

The most sought after wine regions? It’s the usual trio, in the American mindset: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône Valley.

The average satisfaction rate: 100% (And why not?)

At home, I don’t know if they talk about anything other than wine. His wife (Galia Daleva Galmes) edits www.wine-women.com, the website devoted to women in the wine world.

France Wine Routes Itinerary planning services for the independent traveller to the wine regions of France.