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 Bordeaux’s varied terroir offers a variety of soils and climatic conditions, providing more or less favorable conditions for different grape varieties.Grape Varieties Wine production in France is strictly regulated, and in Bordeaux only certain grape grape varieties are permitted. There are three main grape varieties for red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, plus ‘auxiliaries’, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Carmenère. The auxiliary, or complementary, grape varieties are sometimes used in smaller quantities to add certain characteristics or flavors, to provide balance in the ‘assemblage’ process, i.e. when the wine is being blended. For white wines, the main grape varieties are Sémillion, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle, with auxiliaries Colombard,

Bordeaux’s annual wine festival is back! From Thursday, June 22, to Sunday, June 25, Bordeaux Fête le Vin will be taking place in venues across the city. Taste the WinesThe main attraction for wine lovers is, of course, the quayside ‘wine village,’ where a re-creation of the Wine Route takes visitors on a tour through the appellations. Visit more than 80 wine producers and wine merchants who are hosting tastings in the pavilions. Entrance to the village is free, and wine tasting passes can be bought if you’d like to sample some of the many reds, rosés, clairets, whites and crémants on offer. The wine village is easily accessible

The land in the Bordeaux wine region is very varied, offering a large variety of soils and different climatic conditions favorable to different grape varieties. Generally speaking, the terroirs can be broken down into Left Bank, Right Bank, and also Entre-Deux-Mers.The River Garonne runs through the city of Bordeaux, and the Left Bank indicates the appellations to the left of the river, and the Right Bank those appellations on the right of the Dordogne river. Entre-Deux-Mers (‘between-two-seas’) is the area to the east of Bordeaux city, in between the tidal tributary Rivers Garonne and Dordogne, which forms an upside-down Y-shape, before the rivers converge and become the River

The best Bordeaux wines have a complexity to them, they’re multi-layered, influenced by the “terroir”, weather, time of harvesting, carefully blended grape varietals, vats and barrels used, the fermentation and maturation processes, and so on. Bordeaux’s wine classification systems are similarly complex, at first glance, not least because there isn’t one simple overriding system, there are several. So, to help you understand what they all mean, we’ve written an introduction for you.Bordeaux wine classifications 101The most well-known classification systems are the 1855 Classification and the classifications of: Saint-Émilion; Sauternes and Barsac; and Pessac-Léognan. Some classifications are revised relatively regularly, some rarely, so they’re more of a snapshot in

THE BEST OF BORDEAUX When you’re looking forward to visiting Bordeaux’s beautiful châteaux, hearing the fascinating details about the wine production process, and tasting all the delicious wines… what to wear is probably not at the forefront of your mind! Generally speaking, although there’s no official dress code for visiting the region’s wineries, think casual chic, the kind of attire you’d wear for dinner at a nice restaurant.Don’t worry, we’ve compiled some top tips for you, so you can get the most out of your wine tours experiences. Here’s our head-to-toe guide:Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen (and Sun Hats)Bear in mind that although you’ll be visiting some indoor facilities,

THE BEST OF BORDEAUX Reading a wine label may seem intimidating at first, but with a little knowledge, it can be easy to work out. We want to share with you our tips on how to read wine labels so that you can impress your friends and become a real expert! #1 - Look for the name of the wine, this information is usually the most prominent element on the label. It can be either :  An estate wine, in which case it is written “Château …” or sometimes (but less frequently) “Domaine …” or “Couvent …”, “Clos …”.   A branded wine (as “Mouton Cadet”) or a wine from a cooperative (the

The practice of purchasing wine ‘en primeur’ has its roots in Bordeaux, dating back to the early 18th century, and has been adopted by other regions such as Burgundy and the Rhone Valley as well as regions outside of France. ‘En Primeur’, also known as wine futures, is an annual event that starts in April, where wine merchants and critics across the world gather to taste and purchase wines from the latest vintage that are still aging in barrels in the cellars of the wineries.  Based on their assessment of the quality and potential of the wine, they place orders for the wine at a price that is usually