The Spring Festival (Fete de Printemps) takes place in the medieval town of St Emilion (33 Gironde, Aquitaine), one of the best appellations for Bordeaux red wines. There is always a colourful parade with a band through the town, with plenty of opportunities to taste some of the wines at any of the wine shops scattered through the town.
For more info see www.frenchduck.com

The Proclamation of the Harvest takes place in the medieval town of St Emilion (33 Gironde, Aquitaine), one of the best appellations for Bordeaux red wines. There is always a colourful parade with a band through the town, with plenty of opportunities to taste some of the wines at any of the wine shops scattered through the town.
For more info see www.frenchduck.com

Arthur Rackham’s in Guildford, Surrey have a regular BIG tasting and the next will be held on Saturday 27 October 2007 with the theme “wines and spirits of France.”

An impressive selection is offered for tasting including some Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy plus Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cahors, Alsace, Languedoc, Loire, Rhone and Armagnac:-

Lallier Brut Rose Premier Cru NV
Chateau La Rame Bordeaux Blanc 2006
Domaine du Bouchot Pouilly Fume 2005 (Loire)
Aegerter Bourgogne Chardonnay 2006 abd Beaune Premier Cru Les Reversees Blanc 2005
Domaine d. l. Presidente Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2006
Domaine Belles Pierres Clauzes de Jo Blanc 2005 (Languedoc)
Zusslin Riesling Clos du Liebenberg 2002 (Alsace)
Aegerter Bourgogne Rouge 2005 and Gevrey Chambertin 2005
Chateau La Rame, Bordeaux 2005
Chateau Bujan, Cote du Bourg 2005
Chateau Caroline, Moulis-en-Medoc 2000
Chateau Mongravey, Mongravey 2005 (Margaux)
Domaine Belles Pierre Clauzes de Jo Rouge 2005 (Languedoc)
Chateau Haute-Serres, Cahors 2003 (Southwest France)
Domaine de la Presidente Cairenne Cote du Rhone 2005

Chateau La Rame Traditionnel St-Croix-du-Mont 2004

Comte du Lauvia VSOP Armagnac

There is a charge of £5.00 but that seems well worthwhile for the opportunity to taste your way through some of these wines,
SeeArthur Rackham.

Between St Emilion (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) and Bergerac (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine) there is a special garden centred on an old 18^th century farmhouse – combining both English and Italian themes –  the  Jardins du Sardy at Velines (24 Dordogne, Aquitaine).  JF reports: “We saw it advertised in the tourist office in St Emilion, and we found it well worth a visit. It’s close to the Dordogne with vineyards stretching down to the river.”

Velines is on the main Bergerac – St Emilion road (D936) a few kilometres west of Saint-Foy-la-Grande.

There is no website. but details can be found at the Bergerac Tourist Office. Gardens open daily from Easter to All Saints Day (November 1^st) from 10h to 18h

Langon (33 Gironde, Aquitaine) midway between Bordeaux and Saint Emilion holds a well-balanced festival of wine,cheese and bread (La foire aux vins, fromages et pains) on the first weekend of September. Given the proximity of some of the finest vineyards in the world - Graves, Sauternes, Pomerol, Saint Emilion - the wine element alone should be pretty good!
See www.langon33.fr

The Ban des Vendanges de la Jurade de St Emilion is a festival to formally announce the beginning of the harvest of the wines of St Emilion (33 Gironde, Aquitaine), one of the great wines of Bordeaux.
The “Jurade” is one of those French inventions to recreate a usually fictitious ancient brotherhood of men (and sometimes women) who guard the reputation of the wine - and gives them the opportunity to dress up in funny clothes, hold induction ceremonies, parade through the town, announce the beginning of the harvest from the top of an ancient tower - and imbibe serious quantities of fine wine.
The village is in festive mood for the day - and in all of Bordeaux, St Emilion is the most attractive and interesting village.

Sauveterre (33, Gironde. Aquitaine) between Bordeaux and Marmande holds a 3–day festival of wine, food and other diversions featuring the wines of the Entre-Deux-Mers (between the 2 rivers) and Bordeaux.

For more info see http://www.sauveterre-de-guyenne.com/

Markets in the Gironde (33, Aquitaine)

Arcachon for oysters and seafood, Bazas for beef.and almost everything in Bordeaux.

The following list is provided as an indicator of what markets take place whenin good faith, but bear in mind that some markets will only take place in the summer, others may be 2-weekly or monthly - always check with the local tourist office.

Andernos Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Arcachon daily
Ares Tuesday
Audenge Tuesday
Bazas Saturday
Blaye Wednesday, Saturday
Bordeaux - Aubiers Friday
Bordeaux - Bacalan Friday
Bordeaux - Belcier Tuesday
Bordeaux - Capucins Monday-Saturday
Bordeaux - Chartrons Tuesday-Saturday
Bordeaux - Grand Parc Saturday
Bordeaux - Grands Hommes daily exc Sunday
Bordeaux - La Bastide Thursday
Bordeaux - Lerme Wednesday, Saturday
Bordeaux - Pins-Francs Wednesday
Bordeaux - pl St-Amand Saturday
Bordeaux - pl St-Pierre Thursday
Bordeaux - Quais Sunday
Bordeaux - Royal Saturday
Bordeaux - St-Martial Wednesday
Bordeaux - St-Michel daily
Bordeaux - St-Suerin Friday
Bordeaux - St-Victor-Dupeux Tuesday
Bordeaux - Victor Hugo daily
Bourg-sur-Gironde Sunday
Cap-Ferret Wednesday
Captieux Monday
Castillon-la-Bataille Monday
Coutras Wednesday, Saturday
Creon Wednesday
Gujan-Mestras Wednesday
Hourtin Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
La Teste Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
Lacanau Tuesday
Lacanau-Ocean Wednesday
Lege Saturday
Lesparre-Medoc Tuesday, Saturday
Libourne Tuesday, Friday, Sunday
Monsegur Tuesday, Friday
Pauillac Saturday
Sauveterre-de-Guyenne Tuesday
Soulac-sur-Mer daily
St-Andre-de-Cubzac Thursday, Saturday
Ste-Foy-la-Grande daily
Villandraut Thursday

Salons des Vins (Wine Fairs) - Vignerons Independants (Independent Wine Makers) 2007.
Open to the public, a small charge gives you access to hundreds of wines and winemakers from all over France. Here you can taste and buy wines, often at cellar door prices - as long as you can carry them. Meet the winemaker, discover new wines - enjoy!

Rennes (35 Ile-et-Villaine, Bretagne) 13-15 April 2007
Lyon (69 Rhône, Rhône-Alpes) 25-29 October 2007
Reims (51 Marne, Champagne-Ardenne) 9-12 November 2007
Lille (59 Nord, Nord Pas-de- Calais)16-19 November 2007
Paris (Porte de Versailles) 22-26 November 2007

As its name suggest Private Cellar tends to major on en-Primeur and vintage Bordeaux and fine Burgundy, Champagne and Cigars. It is therefore quite something that the only French wines they stock outside the traditional “fine” wine regions are those from Guy Cuisset’s Chateau Grinou in Bergerac, South West France. Well-crafted wines with great intensity of fruit flavour, they were a consistent feature of the Allez Vins! wine list, and one of my regrets at no longer importing wine is that I no longer have easy access to these great value wines, nor the opportunity to talk with Guy about his latest innovations.

Their selection of wines from other parts of the world looks to be equally well selected.

Private Cellar was launched in April 2005 by a team of wine trade professionals determined to provide a unique wine buying experience for wine lovers

Private Cellar
51 High Street, Wicken, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 5XR
T: 01353 721 999 F: 01353 724 074 e: orders@privatecellar.co.uk
Website: www.privatecellar.co.uk

Celebrating Bordeaux’s impressive maritime heritage - Bordeaux Fete le Fleuve - literally Bordeaux celebrates the river!

See www.bordeaux-fete-le-fleuve.com/

Top Professional Cycle Race through the middle of the City of Bordeaux - now a UNESCO World Heritage Site - more info

For more on the cycle race see www.bordeaux.fr

France Vacation Rentals Near Bordeaux’s Famous Vineyards (Ezine Ready)

Author: Andrew Heaps

Bordeaux, the largest city in south west France, is the wine region of
the Aquitaine area. Bordeaux wine is readily exported to countries
throughout the world and there are many vineyards that help make this
exportation financially rewarding for the region by producing popular
tasty wines to suit all tastes.

Vineyards in Bordeaux cover hundreds of thousands of acres of
land. Large quantities of wine producers in this area are
independent wineries. Chateau Beychevelle is a Bordeaux winery that
welcomes wine tasters from all over the world to sample its home grown
produce. Visitors come and go daily, tasting and purchasing the
fine product of the hard working vineyard’s laborers.

Another area in Bordeaux that wine enthusiasts should visit is the
Saint-Emilion village. In Saint-Emilion village one will find a
number of friendly vineyard owners who are always happy to show off
their wines. The difficulty many say is choosing the vineyards to
visit. With so much choice you may need several days to get a
full taste of the area.

A popular way to cover many vineyards in this region is by going on a
wine tasting tour. There are usually many tours being offered and
they are individually unique in their own right. Some tours will
be by bus or bike via an independent tour agency and others will be
provided by a specific Châteaux. In order to consider all the
available options, your concierge or local tourist information office
is a good starting point to making an informed decision.

When looking to visit the Bordeaux vineyards, one should consider
booking a France vacation rental for a week or two in order to have
enough time to leisurely visit the many wineries in the area.
France vacation rentals can be easily booked through your travel agent
or by using the internet to find vacation packages that cater to France
vacation rentals. Whatever vineyard an individual chooses to tour
or France vacation rental one chooses to book, that person is sure to
be happy with his/her final decision regarding this wonderful touring
opportunity.

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