I took a full day tour in November 2018, and was SO completely thrilled with the value and with…read moreMario himself.
First of all, I was travelling by myself and requested a tour last-minute. Mario, the owner, agreed to accommodate me, even though he was leaving on vacation himself the day after our tour! Not only that, but he gave me a great deal for a private tour, and also offered to pick me up and drop me off at the train station in Tours (as I was travelling from Paris -- 1 hr by TGV and 2 hr by normal train).
We visited two wineries. I really enjoyed the first one, in Vouvray, where I joined a small group of three other people touring the caves with the winemaker (who gave the tour in English) and his beautiful dog, a male Belgian Tervuren. Then we had a nice tasting of four white wines in the tasting room. There was zero pressure to buy (as is generally the case in France -- not like the US!), and the wines were reasonably priced with shipping abroad available.
The second winery was in Bourgueil, and the wines (red) were more up my alley. The tasting room was beautiful. But the best part was that afterward, Mario took me to explore the caves of the winery, where I saw bottles from the 1800s, and then brought me into the vineyards to enjoy a lovely picnic inside a giant wine barrel overlooking the hills! The lunch spread was amazing -- beautiful fresh cheeses, bread, couscous, the most delicious smoked trout from the Loire, smoked magret, etc . . . and of course several choices of wine!
Because I had a couple of hours to kill before my train, Mario gave me notes and a map of Tours so that I could explore the city. He was also sympathetic to the fact that I had all sorts of phone issues (my carrier didn't work in France, although it was supposed to and I had paid for an international plan), and -- this part is amazing -- he was kind enough to actually lend me his SIM card for the next few days!
This shows you how truly Mario went above and beyond great customer service. Not only did I really enjoy my Loire Valley tour, I feel as though I made a friend! Cannot recommend enough.