My wife and I will be picking up a car in Bordeaux and would like to spend the day visiting vinyards in the area before driving north towards Carnac in Brittany. We thought about driving to St. Emilion but don't know if that would be better than staying in the Bordeaux area. Any suggestions about how to spend the day? Thanks.

I can almost guarantee that your hotel will have a rack containing little business of hundreds of "vignobles" in the area for you to browse through. And as to St. Emilion, I'd say yes.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

to the top<BR>

Bob,<BR><BR>I would definitely recommend St. Emilion. It is a beautiful and enchanting village perched high on a hill overlooking the surronding coutryside. It is a fairly short drive to Bordeaux and the vineyards to the north. <BR><BR>You might want to check out the "Hostellerie de Plaisance". It is right in the center of town built next to the "eglise" and over the Monolithic Eglise (which was carved out of the rock before the end of the first millenium). They also have a very nice restaurant and parking, which is a plus.<BR><BR>There are also many vinyards surronding St. Emilion.<BR><BR>Have a great trip.<BR><BR>RJS<BR>

I've been studying up on various sub-regions of Bordeaux, but I'm a little unclear if there are noticeable differences with regard to visiting St. Julien (or the area where these labels are produced), St. Estephe, Pauillac, Graves etc.<BR>

Bob: If you want to splurge a little, do consider staying at Chateau Grand Barrail, a vineyard chateau converted into luxury hotel just outside St-Emilion among the vineyards. Get the round room in the old section. St-Emilion is 5 minutes drive away. You will enjoy the area greatly.

Anyone?<BR>

LJ,<BR><BR>My wife and I have driven through the area twice. It is a fairly small area north of Bordeaux. We went clear up to St. Estephe which is the northern most area, we also passed through Pauillac, and stopped at Chateau Petrus, and Cheval Blanc. We actually did not visit any vinyards per se in the Medoc, but visited several around St. Emilion where we were staying. <BR><BR>I would say there is no great difference from area to area, I again thought St. Emilion was far more charming than the Medoc area. <BR><BR>Ciao,<BR><BR>RJS

There is no question that the Hostellerie de Plaisance is the best hotel in St Emillion, but we prefer the Grand Barrail.

topping for Bob

We loved St. Emilion. Dinner at the Hostellerie de Plaisance was a highlight of our trip. We also enjoyed our splurge at the Chateau de Grand Barrail just outside of town. The people at the Chateau and at the restaurant couldn't have been nicer. We were in the area for two nights, a day and a half, and it was just about right for us. Enjoy