Wine tasting/learning

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Jul 25th, 2001, 06:33 AM

Susan

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Wine tasting/learning

My husband and I are planning a trip to Paris in November and we want to take a side trip to visit wineries and learn/taste. I see a lot of information about the Burgundy area, but much less about Bordeaux. Does anyone have any information, tips, suggestions about the Bordeaux region, such as good tours, welcoming wineries, etc. Or should we go to Burgundy?

Jul 25th, 2001, 07:07 AM

elvira

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This is a great site for Bordeaux; scroll to the bottom about tours and tastings: http://www.bordeaux-tourisme.com/gb/products.htm

Jul 25th, 2001, 08:49 AM

StCirq

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The well-run tourist office will supply you with all kinds of information on wineries and wine tours if you call or write to them. Tel. no. direct from the USA is 011-33-5-56-44-28-41. Address is 12, cours du 30 juillet.Almost next door to the tourist office is the Maison du Vin, which also organizes tours and makes recommendations for wine tastings, etc. The most famous wine châteaux include Lafite-Rothschild, Mouton-Rothschild, Latour, Cheval Blanc, Palmer, Margaux, Gruaud-Larose, Figeac, Ausone, and Vieux Château Certan. It's almost certain that you need a reservation at these places, but there are plenty of less important wine châteaux where you can just stop in for a visit and a dégustation. Many people enjoy visiting St-Emilion, a half-hour's drive away from Bordeaux. The entire area is saturated with wine-making enterprises, so if you don't want to do a structured tour you could simply drive around in the Médoc/Pauillac areas and taste. Bordeaux itself is also a very nice city. I have a file on it if you're interested, including restaurant recommendations. I don't know Burgundy all that well, so can't make a comparison.

Jul 25th, 2001, 09:18 AM

colleen

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If you are relatively new to French wines, you might want to pick up "Wine for Dummies." Despite the somewhat obnoxious title, it is actually a great book for neophytes to wine tasting.

Jul 25th, 2001, 09:21 AM

colleen

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I should add that it might be helpful to get a map of Bordeaux or Burgandy as the wine is really dictated by the geography of the region. For example, wines from the Left Bank of the Gironde river (Medoc, Graves) tend to be different than wines from the Right Bank (Pomerol, St. Emilion.)