Provence in October

2nd halt of October daylight get shorter and shorter and after 5.30pm it will be dark. Places like Arles, St. Remy are at the western end of the Provence. A better point of departure or like a base could be Brignoles as you will be in the middle of all your destinations on your list. To discover the Grand Canyon one day would enough (2 nights) as you are in the lowest season without much traffic and really less tourist on the streets.
Nearly each little town and village has an open market but not each day in the week. To find it out you can use Google and the local sites from each place. I can say nothing about tours for wineries and probably they did not exist. Rent a car and do it by yourself as all will be open for the public and most of the time you have indication along the roads.

Here are some of my favorite places in and around the area of Aix:

Les grottes de cales (7th century bc grottoes), Fontaine de Vaucluse (spring of unknown origin), Roussillon (gorgeous village with an ochre quarry - bring clothes and shoes you don't mind ruining), Vieux Vernegues (ruins), les calanques, Fondation Vasarely (Op Art museum in Aix), les Baux de Provence (cliff town), old port of Marseilles.

There is indeed a great "sightseeing line" between Avignon and the Verdon. I've stayed in Bonnieux for half a year and the Lubéron is really somewhere you should go - same for the Verdon area. Roussillon and Gordes are to be seen, in October you have good chances for still good weather and especially no crowds of tourists. Also, don't forget Bonnieux, Lourmarin, Buoux and Saignon. I usually avoided Apt but that's just personal. As said earlier, you also have Fontaine de Vaucluse that is worth to be visited, and in Rustrel I would visit the ochre quarries called Provencal Colorado.

More to the east, around the the Verdon Grand Canyon, there are some nice famous or hidden places around the lake of Sainte-Croix. I especially like the belvedere of Sainte-Croix du Verdon and the Basses Gorges (south-west of the lake). Moustiers is gonna be perfect for you at this moment of the year!

Enjoy this very nice area!

Grégoire.

You've had really excellent advice about places to see, and I'll confine my reply to your question about wineries.
If you're used to Napa Valley, be prepared for a different experience. In general, tastings ("degustations") in France are done by the farmers, who may not speak any English. You'll be expected to buy some wine, too.
Within each region of France, typically only a single variety of wine is produced, and you won't be able to try, for example, Chardonnay and then Cabernet Sauvignon, etc. The wines are often named by the village where they're grown, eg, Bandol, and in that region, contain the Mourvèdre grape.
My suggestion is for you to go to a good wine merchant near your home, and buy a bottle or two of wine from Provence to try, and see if you like it. If you're near Berkeley, CA., then go to Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants ( he imports Domaine Tempier from Bandol), but I've also found this wine at my local Whole Foods.
Another difficulty that you may encounter is what to do with your wines. They get heavy when you have to carry them with you ( and protect them from breakage). If you bring them home, be sure to check the amount you're allowed duty-free!

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