Wine tasting and Château visiting in Bordeaux, France

No visit to the Bordeaux region would be complete without tasting some of the wines or visiting one of the thousands of vineyards. Due to our lack of a car, contacts at the vineyards or in depth knowledge of the area, we opted to take a tour.

We chose the full day tour with A la Française, not only did they have the best prices, but the tour staff was the nicest we encountered.

Wine Tasting Class

The wine tasting class began with a history lesson on wine making in the Bordeaux region and lots of interesting information about wine in general. The most interesting thing we learned was how to tell the type of wine by its color and how to taste the many subtle flavors in each glass. Who knew that a wine could feature hints of caramel? We tried eight different glasses and ended with a light lunch.

Vineyard Tour

The first vineyard we visited was Chateau Siaurac, a small locally owned property. We took a tour of the vineyard, their beautiful gardens and along the complete wine making process.

The most interesting part of the tour was when we went through the owner’s home. Each room was decorated with a distinctive style and color, reminding us of the White House. Our favorite room was their bright red living room!

Chateau Tour

The second vineyard we visited was Château de Pressac, bigger but not locally owned. The Chateau is perched atop a hill and with the look of a castle, which made the experience, in my opinion better. The photos of the building where much better at this stop, while the previous one had better photos of the vineyard itself.

We only toured the rooms where they process the wine and then finished the visit with a wine tasting. This tour was much quicker and less personal than the previous tour. It felt more like visiting a business rather than touring someone’s home.

St. Emilion Tour

We then visited the quaint little town of St. Emilion, an hour away from Bordeaux. We strolled through the medieval city, which is a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site. There are many stores to get a nice bottle of Bordeaux wine from every vineyard as well as everything wine related, from fancy magnets to decorative decanters. As the sun began to set, our feet were tired, stomachs full of wine and the tour brought us back into Bordeaux to enjoy the evening.

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