Standing with the rest of the group in a semi-circle, clutching a trifle sponge in one hand and a glass of sweet white wine in the other, I wasn't quite sure what to do next. This was the start of yet another gastronomical experience in the French region of Aquitaine, where our party stayed on a three-day break.

Aquitaine is in the south west corner of France and its coastline boasts Atlantic resorts such as Biarritz. For 400 years, it came under the rule of the English following the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II and the weather when we were there was similar to England's with its fair share of warm and wet days.

Our trip was an exploration of the verdant wine-making areas inland, around the cities of Bordeaux and Bergerac, and along the Dordogne and Garonne rivers.

It turned out that the trifle sponges were for dunking in your wine - obviously -and two or three glasses later we were boarding a boat for a cruise down the Dordogne.

The boat trip, which includes a stop for a four-course meal served on board, and sets off from Mauzac, can be highly recommended. We seemed to be the only vessel on the still, wide river with views of the steep-sided banks and buzzards flying above.

It also involved more alternative ways of drinking wine. After the first course of garlic soup, our bowls were filled with red wine and we were instructed to grasp them in both hands and slurp down the lot from the rim.

Aside from boat trips, the best way to explore this region is by car and hire-cars can be picked up at Bordeaux Airport.

The landscape is full of vineyards and dotted with chateaux. Interesting towns we visited included Saint Emilion, which proudly boasts of being the first wine-growing region to be designated as a Unesco world heritage area. It has a stunning monolithic church which was carved out of limestone rock.

Penne D'Agenais and Pujols le Haut are pretty hilltop villages where you could while away the day shopping and sitting at caf tables and handsome Bergerac has a Museum of Wine to visit.

There are more than enough chateaux to visit too. The Chateau Biron, in the Dordogne region, is a striking building from the outside but is quite eerie inside because most of its rooms were left unfinished at different times as different regimes seized power.

The Chateau de Roquetaillade, at Mazeres near Langon, however, is completely different again.

From the outside, it looks like a castle that would not look out of place in England, Wales or Scotland. And in a modern-day Anglo-French relationship, the castle today is the home of the Baritault du Carpia family.

We were shown round by the diminutive countess, who is English and met her husband in the 1960s when they were students in London.

They moved to Paris, had two children, then her husband's aunt died, leaving him the chateau.

The countess was very enthusiastic about her adopted home and the highlight of her guided tour was showing us round the rooms decorated by French architect Viollet le Duc.

He was given a free hand to decorate several rooms in the 19th century and the brightly-coloured patterns on the walls have been compared to the work of William Morris.

She also showed us a secret entrance to a drawbridge over the castle moat.

The strangest tourist attraction was the Prune Museum, at Granges sur Lot, where prunes were seen as a culinary delicacy.

And even there we were treated to a new drinking experience - prune cocktail, prepared using prune eau de vie, sparkling wine and a single prune sitting and fizzing away at the bottom of the glass.