Bordeaux Book Sip by Sip by Nicolle Croft

a personal story over 30 years, wine guide to visiting what is important in the region and finding good value in this exceptional wine terroir.

Its been 30 years since I arrived on the quayside in Bordeaux city, weary from my travels in this funny tin can of a car (a 2CV) leaving behind all familiar in my native England and confronting a foreign city and its foreign language. I was to be a wine stagiaire (intern) in a famous wine merchant house of Sichel known for its Margaux wines Château Palmer and Angludet and its dynamic director, Peter Sichel.

Merlot vine leaves (Gail Barnett photography)

Well here is my story, 30 years on, in a guide book on Bordeaux. I am not the same girl, and nor is Bordeaux (We’ve had our ups and downs along the way) – but we’ve never been better! Bordeaux is famous for its Grand Cru Classé wines which have become out of our range. I would say that the stars to be found today in Bordeaux are around 25€ bracket. Most of these are produced by the stalwarts of Bordeaux, the SIPS – Small Independent Producers.

As a private wine guide, I take great pleasure in showing visitors to the region the off-the-beaten track places to see, wines just on the wrong side of the border that are as good as their famous neighbours (but not the same price).

I have tried to include the answers to all the questions I have been asked over the years in a light fun hopefully informative way. My idea was that the book could be read, or flicked through absorbing information in an easy way by plenty of graphic photos (Gail Barnett copyright), captions, tips, anecdotes, glossaries…

Some Key areas include; what makes Bordeaux special, its history, vintage variation, its Classification system, key regions, lesser known regions, how best to buy Bordeaux wines, finding value in Bordeaux, grape varieties, key terms in the vinegrowing, winemaking, barrel ageing. There is a chapter on Wine Touring with lots of tips on how best to go about it and off the beaten track. The last chapter is about getting the best out of the wine you buy re storing, how to build a cellar, what happens when a wine ages, serving, ordering wine in a restaurant, how to match with foods to bring out the best in both, Bordeaux food specialities.