Our last long stay on the Great American Road Trip through Europe was in Bordeaux. By this point in the trip we have been traveling for two weeks, stayed in 6 different B&B's and driven ~2200 miles. Needless to say we need a nice comfortable place to un-wine-d for a few days and relax (preferrably by a pool).
Amanda found a quaint little spot in the city that had a quiet and secluded garden with a pool, a nice kitchen and comfortable rooms that had easy access into the city center or a short drive back to the motorway to take in the local vineyard scene. And while it was a touch on the warm side during our stay (no AC to be found!) and it was yet another French stay without a shower curtain in the bathroom (this really is a thing guys, it's weird!) I think I would have been content staying for a month. And I know the girls would have too, just to play and lounge by the pool.
The hosts also left us these amazing Canele's! These are vanilla and rum flavored bundt cakes and while I generally don't care for rum these little treats are delicious, and much better than the random American treat we found at the local grocery store.
There was no Trader Joe's in France that we could find, but these were at the local market
Because this part of the trip was always going to be devoted to resting while taking in some amazing cuisine and potentially even better wine, we limited the touring activities to one museum and a handful of local vineyards.
Poking out from the low skyline of Bordeaux, Cite du Vin reaches for the sky much like vines in the surrounding area. It's exterior designed specifically to mimic the gnarled trunks of vines that have been planted in this area for thousands of years. On the inside is a thoroughly modern museum devoted to the craft of making wine. The girls loved the interactive displays and getting to control their audio guide at each station.
grape varieties
the wine growing zones of the world
But they particularly enjoyed "stomping" grapes and discovering their personality through wine.
5 points to anyone who can guess which of the four of us this describes!
There was even a tasting at the end where the girls got pre-wine!
Whenever you decide to visit Bordeaux, I highly recommend devoting part of a day to Cite du Vin. We were there for 5 1/2 hours and enjoyed every minute!
Our remaining time in Bordeaux was spent exploring several of more well known Appellations of the region: Pauillac, St Emilion & Pomerol and Graves. Despite the fact that these appellations are relatively close together (100 miles seperates Pauillac from St Emilion and 25 miles between St Emilion and Graves) the landscape is quite a bit different which lends to a completely different feel when walking the vineyards in each area.
Pauillac is perhaps the most famous appellation of the region with three of the five First Growth producers residing here: Latour, Mouton Rothschilde and Lafite Rothschilde. This appellation boarders the Gironde on the famous Left Bank of the river and is generally flat with few trees and even fewer walk-up tours available. We located one cooperative producer that was open and enjoyed a tasting and tour of their facility but the best find of the day was the "Wine Tasting with Winegrowers" experience at the local tourist office.
Getting our grape on
part two
in front of Chateau Pedesclaux
wine stacking at La Rose Pauillac
wine tasting (and buying) at the tourist office
St Emilion & Pomerol are technically two distinct appellations but when driving the area as an outsider they are virtually indistinguishable geographically. St Emilion is perched on the limestone hills on the "right bank" of the Dordogne river while Pomerol lays directly north and is only marginally less hilly. Regardless, you can find more expansive views of the surrounding countryside from both and wines that are generally understood to be softer with a rich feel and fruity aromas when compared to those of Pauillac.
Chateau Chauvin
Chateau Chauvin
Always a sucker for a barrel shot!
Chateau du Tailhas
More barrels
Our last and most favorite wines from the trip were found in Graves. Graves is thought to be the first location Romans planted grapes in Bordeaux but curiously was not officially classified until 1953. Nearly 100 years after the official classification of First Growth producers was established by Napoleon III in 1855. What's perhaps even more surprising is that Haut-Brion is one of the 5 First Growth producers and is geographically located in the Pessac Leognan appellation which was separated from Graves in 1987.
And if that is confusing to read don't worry, because it's confusing to research as well! From what I have understood, the general area of Graves was not historically known to produce decent wines outside of a single estate (Haut-Brion), so when the official classification was established in 1855 Graves was excluded as an appellation even though one of the finest producers belonged in it's geographic footprint. Then in 1955 Graves was official recognized as worthy of appellation status thus incorporating the remaining wine producing Chateau into an official classification. Then in 1987 a small section of Graves was reclassified as Pessac Leognan thus removing Haut Brion from the Graves appellation.
That mind bending bit of history aside, we found Graves to be both lovely and to have excellent quality wines.
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