Medieval St-Émilion is the oldest wine town in France. It is about 22 miles northeast of Bordeaux and sits high on a limestone rock overlooking the seemingly endless vineyards, châteaux and Romanesque churches of the Dordogne valley. St-Émilion is a cluster of stone houses, churches and wine shops surrounded by ramparts. The most famous sight…
When I heard about Marathon du Médoc, I could not wait to sign up. A 26.2-mile scenic course that winds through Bordeaux’s vineyards and past world-famous chateaux sounded spectacular. The wine and extravagant food (cheese, oysters, ice cream) along the course sounded…well, not like things I usually consume while running, but an interesting twist to…
Bordeaux’s signature pastry was borne of necessity, as wineries had an abundance of egg yolks and no use for them. The wineries were not making egg-white omelets, but rather going about their usual wine-making business. An important step in the wine-making process uses egg whites. Toward the end of the wine’s barrel aging process, vintners…
One thing I’ve learned after visiting a few wine regions in France is that popes really liked wine. Château Pape Clément was Clement V’s love. The vineyard was given to him as a gift when he was appointed Archbishop of Bordeaux. It was an ideal grant since the pope (well, back then he was known…
This was the least-interesting wine visit of the week, but the wine was exceptional. There was nothing wrong with the tour; there just wasn’t anything about the operations or history that stood out. I guess that’s probably a good thing when it comes to turning out a dependable product year after year! Though the winery…
Since Pauillac is famous for its dense concentration of outstanding châteaux, we visited a second area winery, Château Lynch-Bages. Here, we toured the facilities, learned about the process and toured the cellars. A unique part, however, was the second-floor museum, situated over the steel vats, where old equipment including transport rails, presses and sorting table…
I’d never tried a Gruaud, but during research this château came up a few times as producing solid, well-regarded wines. That sounded good, then I discovered that it is an organic winery, which set it apart in this region where production is steeped in tradition. Our tour group had eight people, and we received a…
We were looking forward to visiting at least one Premier Cru in the infamous Médoc region, which is about an hour northwest of the city of Bordeaux. Since two of the three first-growth châteaux were closed (Lafite was closed until October and Latour was closed for renovations), Mouton-Rothschild it was. Visiting a top château in…
The main purpose for visiting Bordeaux was to run the Marathon du Médoc, but visiting wineries, or châteaux, was a priority. The area is overwhelmingly vast, with châteaux and vineyards stretching in every direction. We knew we wouldn’t be see many regions, so we aimed to get a general overview of the area and dig…