Tour through Bordeaux and take in the sights of wine country.
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• The Bordeaux Wine Bar
Designed by local architect Françoise Bousquet, the wine bar is contained within the Hotel Gatineau, a.k.a the Bordeaux Wine House. Enjoy the beautiful surroundings – the building was designed to convey the feeling of a ship's stern, in homage to the port, and stained glass and tapestries add colour – and enjoy some local wine, along with a plate of charcuterie, including cheese, cold cuts and bread.
• La Winery de Philippe Raoux
Just outside Bordeaux, this Medoc winery combines Old World with new, with its traditional Medoc chateau and ultra modern glass-and-steel compound. Worth a half day at least, this winery combines wine, gastronomy and contemporary art. Tour the grounds and take in Philippe Raoux's art collection which includes both canvases and striking large-scale sculpture. Take a tutored wine tasting and learn more about what kind of wine you like (who hasn't said at some time, "I don't know how to describe it, but I know what wine I like when I taste it?" Now's the time to find out how to describe it like a wine geek par excellance). Enjoy a gourmet meal at Le Wy, the winery's gasto-bistro. Finally, hit the store for the perfect bottle: they've got over 40,000 options, from 8 euros per bottle to several thousand euros per bottle!
Before all else, wine
Scattered across the Bordeaux region's 117,000 hectares of vineyards, are some 9,000 chateaux (wineries), and 13,000 grape growing operations making their home in sub-regional wine districts. You may recognize some areas like Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and Médoc from wine labels.
Whether or not you're an aficionado, wine-related activities should be at the top of your list when it comes to visiting this region. Whether you take a full-fledged wine tour or just hit one or two chateaux (wineries) for an overnight visit, it's worth the investment in time and coin. Even if you're not an expert, you'll love the opportunity to see the vines (it all starts here, baby!), tour the barrel rooms and, if you stay for lunch or dinner at a winery's restaurant, enjoy fine regional cuisine along with premier wines from the chateaux.
Vinothérapie
Finally, this being France, don't forget to make time for beauty. In a country renowned for its mastery and innovation in the world of spas, the Bordeaux region stands out with its wine-derived Vinothérapie treatments.
The Caudalie Vinothérapie Spa is located on the grounds of the Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte vineyards just outside the city itself in Martillac.Visit the day spa, or stay a few days at the inn. Its enviable location allows the spa to draw naturally warm spring waters from a pristine 540 metres underground. Rich in oligo-elements and minerals, the thermal water is used in a number of treatments. Additionally, the spa uses vine and grape extracts from the winery in its vinothérapie skincare treatments and pampering. These polyphenol-rich compounds help fight aging, and improve circulation, meaning a younger, more glowing you. What more could you ask for from your next vacation?
Visit Bordeaux.com for travel information.
