Oh Bordeaux! An edifying two night visit to the city of wine and we have come away not only more knowledgeable about this nectar but so very impressed with this spacious, resplendent city. Grand boulevards, huge open spaces and modern tram lines all cushioned by enormous neoclassical buildings and its no wonder we enjoyed it.
Although originally planned as a one night stay – train cancellations resulted in us spending two nights here. This was fortunate in that it meant that we were able to squeeze a half day wine tour into our stay – something we had really wanted to do.
Apparently a lot has changed in Bordeaux in the past twenty years and all of it appears positive. The city is very easy to navigate on foot and there is a light carefree feeling about the place. Probably due to the spaciousness of the city and its location on the river Garonne. Food is plentiful, wine is abundant, there are transportation options aplenty and the weather is great.
Our wine tour was the highlight of our sojourn. One of the first things we realised was that unlike Australia where the aim of a wine tour is to consume as much wine as possible as quickly as possible – here in France you actually learn about the vines, production, storage and history of it. In fact we only got to sip on four (very very good) bottles of wine in total! We have learnt that of all the wine produced here in France – one-third of it comes from this (Bordeaux) region. We have learnt that due to climate change and rising temperatures the average alcohol percentage of wine here has increased by 1% over the past ten years. Whereas 10 years ago the average wine alcohol percentage may have been 12.5% now its 13.5%. Producers here are buying up land in cooler climates like England! We have learnt that rocky soil produces a good Cab Sav while limestone a good Merlot and all wine prefers poor soil. We have also learnt that here the wine is bought because of the region – not the grape type like Australia. During our wine tour of the Hunter Valley last year – all I learnt was that I could drink 7 glasses of wine before 10 am and still look forward to another 7 at the next vineyard!
One scenario that made us realise that we are far from home occurred on our trip out to the wine chateaus. Passing numerous enormous ugly concrete structures I asked our driver what they were. “Oh – submarine bases built during the second world war – by the Nazis”! Yes, we are not in Kansas anymore Toto…
So onward to Arles – inspiration for some of Van Goghs most famous works.
For further information and photos visit – https://darmatravels.com/
