In Bordeaux, on a sunny morning, at 9 a.m, have a walk on the banks, from Pont de Pierre to Place des Quinconces. Not to admire the river Garonne, which is not very interesting, but to have a look at the 18th century buildings, which are beautiful. They show how great the city was during the 18th century, when it sold wine to the British. Indeed, the development of Bordeaux wine is due in good part to the British, who owned Aquitaine during the Middle Ages after Eleanore d'Aquitaine married the future King of England.

Both a city and a region in Southern France. The city straddles the banks of the Garonne River, making it an inland port city (in fact, Fort Medoc defends access from its island location downstream on the Gironde). A relatively small city, Bordeaux is quite pleasant even for the non-Francophones (if you speak English), as a multi-century vacation spot for the British. In addition to having an airport just outside the city, access to the city via the TGV is convenient from Paris - a 3 hour express train, or a 4 hour local train.

While in town, take a stroll down Rue St. Catherine, a (mostly) pedestrian street stretching from town center to the Place des Quinconces. The shops, patisseries, and people make it quite enjoyable. If you're an American, you'll probably want to make sure your hotel has at least three stars (there is a nice Holiday Inn a 5 minute walk from the train station). If you want a guided tour of some wineries, the Office de Tourisme runs tour buses out twice a week. The bus will take you out into one of the, where you'll visit two chateaux, get to taste some wine, and even buy some wine to take home - which you should do.

The Wine Region

In addition to being a city, Bordeaux may be best known as one of the premier wine regions in France. Within Bordeaux, their are 6 major wine-producing regions, which are further broken down into appellations, as follows:

Médoc
The best known wines come from the Médoc region; there are five first growth, or Premier Grand Cru, vineyards (4 from the 1855 classification (Lafite-Rothschild, Margaux, Haut-Brion, and Latour) and one reclassified in the 1970's (Mouton-Rothschild)).
Médoc
Saint-Estephe
Pauillac
Saint-Julien
Haut-Médoc
Listrac-Médoc
Moulis
Margaux
Graves et Pessac-Léognan
Pessac-Léognan
Graves et Graves Supérieures
vins blancs doux
Cérons et Graves
Barsac
Loupiac
Sainte-Croix-du-Mont
Sauternes
Entre-Deux-Mers
The catchall region of Brodeaux, Entre-Deux-Mers covers not only the delta between the Garonne and the Dordogne, but also sprawls north and south to the borders of Bordeaux.
Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux
Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux et Cadillac
Bordeaux et Bordeaux Supérieur
Cotes de Bordeaux-Saint-Macaire
Bordeaux Haut-Benauge et Entre-Deux-Mers-Haut-Benauge
Entre-Deux-Mers Bordeaux et Bordeaux Supérieur
Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux Bordeaux et Bordeaux Supérieur (No, that isn't a typo. Really)
Graves-de-Vayres
Bordeaux-Cotes de Francs
St-Emilion, Pomerol, Fronsac
Saint-Emilion
Cotes de Castillon
Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion
Saint-Georges-Saint-Emilion
Montagne-Saint-Emilion
Lussac-Saint-Emilion
Pomerol
Lalande-de-Pomerol
Fronsac
Canon-Fronsac
Blayais-Bourgeais
Cotes de Bourg
Cotes et Premieres Cotes de Blaye

Bor*deaux" (?), a.

Pertaining to Bordeaux in the south of France.

--

n.

A claret wine from Bordeaux.

 

© Webster 1913.

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