Frequently Asked Questions

Every scheduled day tour leaves from Mainz Hauptbahnhof — the main train station — and returns to the same place at the end of the day.

If you would rather be collected somewhere else in Mainz, write it in the message field when you book. It is not a standing option and we cannot promise it, but it is often workable and we will tell you either way before you pay.

On a private tour, yes — pickup and drop-off at your accommodation in Mainz or Wiesbaden is part of the price. The Frankfurt area is available for a €95 surcharge.

On the scheduled day tours and the Mainz tasting, we start at Mainz Hauptbahnhof. Ask in the booking message if you need something different.

As a private tour, yes: we collect you in the Frankfurt area for a €95 surcharge on top of the tour price.

For a scheduled day tour, please join us at Mainz Hauptbahnhof. Trains run from Frankfurt several times an hour and take a little over half an hour, which is why we keep one departure point rather than splitting the group.

Usually, yes — but only as a private tour, because it has to be built around your ship’s mooring and sailing times rather than our schedule. Send us the itinerary and we will tell you what fits.

The Rheingau and Rheinhessen day tours run 10:00 to 16:00 — around six hours door to door. The Mainz tasting is an evening, 17:30 to 20:30. Private tours are built around roughly six hours, and we shape the rest to suit you.

A day tour visits two to three VDP estates, with a flight of five to eight wines at each. The Mainz tasting pours five wines from top-classified sites in a single sitting.

Only wines from VDP estates — that is the whole premise. In the Rheingau the focus is Riesling and Pinot Noir; Rheinhessen ranges much wider, into Silvaner, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot family.

Most of what we pour is dry, with a rough balance of seventy per cent white to thirty per cent red, and off-dry or sweet wines appear where an estate is known for them. Tell us what you like when you book and we will steer the flights.

Rheingau and Rheinhessen, both within about forty-five minutes of Mainz. We work these two properly rather than covering thirteen regions thinly.

English, Spanish or German — you choose when you book, and Ricardo guides in all three.

The day tours run from May through November, and harvest time does not get in the way of them. Private tours can be arranged at any time of the year.

Day tours are capped at six guests. The Mainz tasting runs with six to ten. A private tour is yours alone and is designed for up to six — if you are a larger party, ask us and we will put a proposal together.

On a private tour, yes — tell us their ages and we will pick estates that suit. The scheduled day tours and the Mainz tasting are adult groups, so we cannot take children on those. No alcohol is served to anyone under sixteen.

They ask for a reasonable amount of walking: vineyard tracks, uneven ground, and cellar stairs that are older than most countries. The scheduled day tours are the most demanding.

Tell us before you book. A private tour can usually be arranged around the difficulty, and we would rather plan for it than have you discover it on a slope.

Not on the scheduled day tours or the Mainz tasting. On a private tour it is usually fine — let us know and we will choose estates with tasting rooms that welcome dogs.

You can buy at every estate we visit, and you are under no obligation to.

Within the EU, most estates ship by courier and will arrange it at the counter. For the United States there is no simple courier route, and in practice the easiest way home is a case in your checked luggage — we will help you work out what you can carry and declare.

Yes. A non-drinking guest can join a day tour, and the price is the same because they take one place on the tour. We will do our best to offer them non-alcoholic alternatives.

Yes, this can be arranged, depending on what the lunch venue offers. Tell us when you book and we will do our best to accommodate special meals.

In extremely unfavourable weather, the tour can be adapted to indoor-only activities or moved to another day.

Shoes you can walk a vineyard in, and a jacket. The slopes are open and the cellars are cold whatever the forecast says.

Day tours start at €160 per person, private tours at €890 for the group, and the Mainz tasting is €90 per person.

That covers transport, every tasting and access fee, water and snacks on board, and your guide for the day. Lunch is not included in the purchase price, and neither are wine purchases or gratuities.

Nothing is charged online. Reserving holds your places immediately, and we email you the bank details together with a reference number for the transfer. Your booking becomes binding once your payment arrives.

Please send the transfer within 48 hours so we can confirm the estate appointments. Ricardo then contacts you personally to go through the details.

Day tours can be booked up to five days before the date, or up to two days before if other guests are already booked on it — the VDP estates are working wineries and their appointments have to be arranged properly. The Mainz tasting needs three days. Private tours are arranged with Ricardo directly, so ask as early as you can.

Later than that, ask anyway — sometimes it can be done.

Before you have paid, cancelling costs nothing: use the link in your reservation email or write to info@vino-ventura.de. Once you have paid, the following share of the price is retained, and a partial cancellation is charged pro rata:

• 10 days or more before the tour: 10% is retained.
• From 9 days to 2 working days before: 50% is retained.
• Less than 2 working days before, or not turning up: 100% is retained.

The full terms are on our Terms and Conditions page.

No. Tours and tastings are booked for a fixed date, and German law gives no 14-day right of withdrawal for leisure services on a fixed date (§ 312g(2) no. 9 BGB). Before you have paid, you can cancel free of charge; after that, our cancellation terms apply.

You are refunded in full, to the account you paid from.

If a scheduled tour does not reach its minimum number of guests, the booking is treated as never having been made and you get everything back.