Autumn Food & Wine Retreat with Private chef in Bordeaux’s countryside

The ideal retreat for all lovers of fine food and wine this autumn in the beautiful countryside of Duras (not far from St Emilion). Have you ever dreamed of relaxing in your own château, lost in the rolling vineyard-clad hills of Bordeaux? And with your own private chef to cater to your every culinary whim? …

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. Gail Barnett Copyright 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) …

My First ever Podcast: Standing up for Bordeaux’s Small Producers

Ever since arriving here in Bordeaux the SIPs (Small Independent Producers) of Bordeaux have been my life and my love. But time is not on their side. My goal is to promote these passionate people with their authentic wines that are such good value and taste fresh and thatI believe makeup the fabric of Bordeaux …

If I could choose anywhere I could make wine….

"From generation to generation for over 200 years, in what is the very centre of St Emilion, my family has cultivated these soils and tended our vines. Today it is my turn and I try to make a wine that comes from my heart. Having now my own young son, who represents the 10th generation, …

Bordeaux 2019 -Yves Raymond, Château Saransot Dupré, Listrac, Haut Médoc

What was your biggest challenge in the vineyard?         The challenge is each year the same : we must harvest late enough to pick perfectly ripe fruits (the decision can be difficult in years with a lot of rain before the harvest. We fear that it will rot the fruit and so we might …

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. Gail Barnett Copyright 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) …

Where best to buy wine when touring Bordeaux?

Bordeaux is not California or anywhere else in the wine world where cheapest prices are found at source. In Bordeaux the châteaux do not sell their wine around the world, they sell it on exclusively to a specialised wine merchants based in the city of Bordeaux (négociants) who do all of their commercial work for …

Whetting your taste buds in Bordeaux before a Wine Tour

Ex-cellar master and wine writer François Martin invites you into his private tasting area where you can learn about the intricacies of the wines of Bordeaux before you head out into the vineyards. Over two hours he explains how to decipher the Bordeaux wine label and gives you lots of tips on what to look …

Biodynamics in the shade of a big Elm Tree in Castillon

It's a very wet spring and early summer for the 2018 vintage and the mildew that everyone is suffering from is even heavier in properties that are biodynamic with their only defence copper and sulphate (allowed as they are 'natural' but in tiny doses) and infusions of nettle and Horsetail. Cellar master/vineyard manager Nicolas Cosse …

Haut Medoc: look-alike Margaux, St Julien at a fraction of the price

  The appellation boundaries were laid down in the 1930s encircling a village or villages to make up an 'appellation'. A wine producer recently told me that more often then not a circle was drawn around the village church! It is true that often you find very similar looking 'terroir' just over the border of …