Tag Archives: Wine Regions

Travel In France: What To See, Do & Eat In Bordeaux

10 reasons why Bordeaux is France's greatest city

The Times and The Sunday Times (September 18, 2023) – They used to call it La Belle Endormie: a sleeping beauty choked with traffic and blackened with soot. But now Bordeaux has woken up. Its long parades of 18th-century architecture have been sandblasted clean and its streets equipped with trams, cycle lanes and pedestrianized zones. Navigation is quick, the atmosphere unhurried and the food uncommonly good. And if you fancy following in the footsteps of King Charles, who will visit Bordeaux during this week’s short French state visit, you can even get there by train — take the Eurostar and a high-speed TGV; the total journey time from London is six hours.

What to do

The Chartrons quarter
The Chartrons quarter

● First, a little history. See that modest cathedral by the Hôtel de Ville? It’s where Eleanor of Aquitaine married King Louis VII of France. Later, in 1152, this feisty daughter of the southwest married again, in Poitiers, to the man who became King Henry II. In doing so she began a Bordelais involvement with England that didn’t end until 1453, when the French captured the city. Sure, a lot of water has flowed under the city’s bridges since then, but to be reminded of the connection is like discovering an unexpected cousin.

● Bordeaux profited handsomely from this attachment thanks to the English thirst for its wines. So continue this 650-year tradition with a riveting, self-guided audio tour of La Cité du Vin. The decanter-shaped landmark explores every aspect of global winemaking and wine culture, with one amusing omission: intoxication. The best bit is a display that wafts key wine flavours up your nose (£19; laciteduvin.com).

Coolest neighborhood

The northern district of Chartrons starts with palatial mansions and merchant warehouses, but shrinks to more modest proportions the further you wander from the city centre. Along the Rue Notre Dame it finds its mojo. Here, half a mile of browsable tiny shops sell must-have crockery, hand-made brushes and £2.50 fruit-crumble tartlets. Clambering vines deepen the sense that you’ve found the perfect French provincial street.

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Cover Preview: Decanter Magazine – June 2022 Issue

Inside the June 2022 issue of Decanter Magazine:

FEATURES

  • Finding value in Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits Charles Curtis MW
  • Spätburgunder Caro Maurer MW
  • NZ Pinot Noir: 20 premium wines Selected by Decanter’s Tina Gellie
  • Muscadet: the crus communaux Beverley Blanning MW
  • The language of tasting notes Chris Losh on the good – and bad

Travel & Culture: The Bordeaux Wine Region

The world’s finest wines, sweeping vineyards and fine food couple with a river valley dotted with castles. We sample the best Bordeaux then cruise the lovely Dordogne and Lot rivers with stops at chateaux, ancient watermills, and perched villages.

The wine regions of Bordeaux are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of  Bordeaux  and covering the whole area of the  Gironde  department  of  Aquitaine.

The Bordeaux region is naturally divided by the Gironde Estuary into a Left Bank area which includes the Médoc and Graves and a Right Bank area which includes the Libournais, Bourg and Blaye. The Médoc is itself divided into Haut-Médoc (the upstream or southern portion) and Bas-Médoc (the downstream or northern portion, often referred to simply as “Médoc”).

Views: 2022 Saint-Vincent Tournante Wine Festival In Burgundy, France

In the heart of France’s Burgundy vineyards, where #villages bear the names of grands crus such as Pommard, Nuit-Saint-Georges and Chablis, preparations are underway for the Saint-Vincent tournante #wine #festival; a tradition that goes back to the Middle Ages. Every year, in the last week of January, some 20,000 people are expected for the two-day festival. This time, the villages of Gilly-lès-Cîteaux and Vougeot are the lucky hosts. We catch up with Élisabeth, the head of the not-for-profit organisation, but also Bernard, a volunteer winegrower.

Walking Tours: Bordeaux – Southwest France (4K)

Bordeaux, hub of the famed wine-growing region, is a port city on the Garonne River in southwestern France. It’s known for its Gothic Cathédrale Saint-André, 18th- to 19th-century mansions and notable art museums such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux. Public gardens line the curving river quays. The grand Place de la Bourse, centered on the Three Graces fountain, overlooks the Miroir d’Eau reflecting pool. 

New Aerial Travel Videos: Bordeaux, France (2020)

Let yourself be captivated by its charm and elegance as you stroll along the quaysides on the left bank of the Garonne, which reflect the Bordeaux lifestyle, with their gardens, boutiques, leisure spaces, and pedestrian or bicycle promenades. From there, immerse yourself in the historic centre of Bordeaux, the picturesque Saint Pierre district. Go down one of the narrow streets, explore the shops and stop off at a cafe terrace to drink in the authentic feel of this neighborhood. Take time to visit the Grand Théâtre which, with its three centuries of history, is a must-visit. You’ll be amazed by the impressive buildings.

Bordeaux, hub of the famed wine-growing region, is a port city on the Garonne River in southwestern France. It’s known for its Gothic Cathédrale Saint-André, 18th- to 19th-century mansions and notable art museums such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux. Public gardens line the curving river quays. The grand Place de la Bourse, centered on the Three Graces fountain, overlooks the Miroir d’Eau reflecting pool. 

New Travel & Wine Videos: “Burgundy & Champagne” Vineyards In France (2020)

Filmed and Edited by: Matteo Bertoli

Burgundy is a historical region in east-central France. It’s famous for its Burgundy wines as well as pinot noirs and Chardonnay, Chablis and Beaujolais. The area is crisscrossed by a network of canals and studded with grand châteaux, some now luxury hotels. The capital, Dijon, of mustard fame, is home to the imposing Palace of the Dukes, where the distinguished Musée des Beaux-Arts was established in 1787.

Champagne was a province in the northeast of the Kingdom of France, now best known as the Champagne wine region for the sparkling white wine that bears its name in modern-day France. The County of Champagne, descended from the early medieval kingdom of Austrasia, passed to the French crown in 1314.

New Wine Books: “The 100 Burgundy” – Building A “Dream Cellar” (Assouline)

The 100 Burgundy Jeannie Cho Lee AssoulineAn exceptional Burgundy is not only well crafted and well balanced, it also must have essential qualities reflecting its own terroir as well as those unique to the particular vintage, distilling the very essence of the vine itself and the earth from which it springs.

Essential reading for all fine wine aficionados, whether curating a dream cellar or selecting the best Burgundy wines to experience with friends and family, The 100 Burgundy: offers a fresh perspective by a dedicated professional who visits the region regularly and recognizes the best it has to offer.

For wine enthusiasts discovering Burgundy—and those already smitten with the region’s seductive wines—The 100 Burgundy: is the first guide of its kind to the region’s best wines and makers, detailing the domaines and highlighting each chosen wine with tasting notes. Considering factors such as a wine’s quality, its ability to evolve and improve over time, and its ability to evoke emotion, Master of Wine Jeannie Cho Lee invites readers to explore 100 memorable Burgundy wines of the Côte d’Or, from benchmark domaines to rising stars.

The 100 Burgundy Exceptional Wines to Build a Dream Cellar Jeannie Cho Lee Assouline 2020

With a foreword by Lalou Bize-Leroy, owner of Domaine Leroy and co-owner of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, this enlightening volume is a journey through the countryside of Burgundy, capturing the context, people, and history that inspire the creation of these masterful wines.

Jeannie Cho Lee is the first Asian Master of Wine (MW), an award-winning author, wine critic, judge, and educator. Currently a professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where she helped launch the Master of Science program in International Wine Management, she is also a consultant for Singapore Airlines since 2009.

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New Books: “A Journey Through Wine And Food”

A Journey Through Wine and Food - A Collection of Wine and Food Pairings Jerilyn Zaveral and Carla Anderson January 2020A Journey Through Wine and Food is a total sensory experience with its lifelike photography, stunning presentation of each dish, glimpses into the wineries and their winemakers, histories of the Central Valley wine region, and most of all amazing recipes that will transform everyday meals into priceless celebrations for any occasion! Inspirational quotes can also be found throughout as a reminder that not only do we need food to nourish our bodies, but we need the company of those on our journey to nourish out souls.

From Shrimp Tacos and Rose, to Beef Bourguignon with Burgundy, to Chocolate Cake paired with Port, A Journey Through Wine and Food gives everyone an opportunity to enhance their experience in the kitchen, regardless of skill level, and takes the guess work out of which wines to pair with dinner. It will also take you on a journey through The Central Valley wine regions of California giving you a sneak peek at some of the best wineries in the world, which until now could be considered “hidden gems.”

Jerilyn Zaveral was born and raised in Central California where she continues to live with her husband Joe and their dog, Hogan. Other than a short stay in New York when she wrote her first cookbook and opened her first cafe, her heart and home have always been in the San Joaquin Valley where she enjoys cooking for family and friends and tasting fine wines. She has won several awards in cooking competitions and cook-offs. Most notably her cafe “Z Spice of Life” was recognized as a destination spot in the Hudson Valley Explorer’s Guide. Jerilyn’s love of creating recipes and meals began when she was a very young child in her grandmother’s kitchen. More specifically, it was one afternoon while baking a chocolate cake when her grandmother asked her to get out the mayonnaise…the realization instantly took hold that cooking isn’t always about the end product, but about the journey of discovering unique tastes, textures and combinations of flavors that others might not expect.

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Food & Wine Review: Colorado Wine Regions Expand Amidst Challenges For Vineyards At Highest Elevations In The World

Colorado Wine CountryVineyards in Colorado are mostly nestled in the temperate, high elevation river valleys and mesas of Mesa and Delta counties, with some acreage in Montezuma county. Colorado’s grape growing regions range in elevation from 4,000 to 7,000 feet and are thus among the highest vineyards in the world, resulting in hot days accompanied by cool nights.

Grand Valley AVA wines in Colorado

The ‘continental climate’ in these regions create day to night temperature variations topically ranging from 25 to 30 degrees during the grape maturation months of August and September. The long warm daylight hours of intense high-altitude sunlight mature the fruit completely and build the natural sugars. The cool evenings cause the grapes to retain the acids so vital to premium winemaking. However, the high altitude can also present a challenge to grape growers, in that the average frost free growing season ranges from 150 to 182 days.

Website: https://coloradowine.com/the-tradition/

AMERICA THE BOUNTIFUL Regions once considered wine deserts are producing in-demand bottles as a new wave of winemakers boldly redraw the map of American wine regions. ILLUSTRATION BETH HOECKEL
AMERICA THE BOUNTIFUL Regions once considered wine deserts are producing in-demand bottles as a new wave of winemakers boldly redraw the map of American wine regions. ILLUSTRATION: BETH HOECKEL

Read Wall Street Jouranl article on young winemakers: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-wines-to-buy-this-thanksgiving-a-guide-to-americas-up-and-coming-regions-11573836307