If you love wine, a visit to Bordeaux, France should be on your bucket list.
One of the highlights of our European journey so far was a two-day stop in Bordeaux, France.
If you’re a wine lover, the opportunity to tour the chateaus in Bordeaux and taste its world-class wines is a chance of a lifetime.
The port city on the river of Garonne is a famed wine-growing region located in Southwestern France and it’s absolutely breathtaking.
Our first day was spent in the Medoc region where we enjoyed tastings at three different chateaus, and although we had an amazing time, we ended the day without falling in love with its famed Bordeaux.
What we learned about the process of making Bordeaux is that winemakers can use six varieties of grapes to come up with their particular blend.
Each Bordeaux has its own unique flavor based on the types of grapes the winemaker uses and the soil they are grown on.
Our wine tasting experience the following day in Saint Emilion was very different.
We enjoyed a private tour by Nicolle Croft, a local tour guide and author of the book, Bordeaux Sip by Sip.
Her knowledge of the area, its wine, chateaus and relationships with local winemakers gave us a unique experience we will never forget.
Our first stop in Saint Emilion was at Chateau Tour Saint Christopher, a beautiful estate where its grapes are grown and harvested and its wine is bottled.
All of its Bordeaux is made using 80% Merlot grapes and 20% Cabernet Franc, giving the wine (in our opinion) a smoother finish than the wines we tasted in the Medoc region.
But the highlight of the day was a trip to the Chateau Guadet, where we met with Vincent, who owns and manages the property with his father.
Vincent gave us a French welcome unlike any we had received any place else.
He escorted us to a gorgeous outdoor terrace to talk about his wine-making philosophy, and when he found out we were from Texas, he hung the American and Texas flags on the fence. It was an incredible gesture.
He also gave us a tour of his underground private collection (no pics allowed) that was nothing short of exquisite.
We left Bordeaux with an incredible amount of knowledge, amazing memories and a few fantastic bottles of wine we can’t wait to enjoy.
For more pictures of our time in Bordeaux, check out the photo post I’ll be making on Facebook.
Now, we’re off to Spain!
