Destination: Bordeaux

South-West France is well known for its art de vivre, largely centred on its local gastronomy. Nouvelle-Aquitaine is a vast agricultural region that yields outstanding local produce. There are over a hundred regional specialities that are a perfect match for the wines of Bordeaux.

I couldn’t possibly describe them all, so I’ll just mention a brief, non-exhaustive list of what you can try during your stay in Bordeaux.

Cured ham

Let’s start with a classic favourite on our charcuterie boards: cured ham (jambon cru). It is dried and matured for many months in maturing cellars, before being thinly sliced. The most sought-after ham is from Noire de Bigorre pigs. A Pyrenean breed reared in open woodland. However, Bayonne ham, which is mainly produced in the Basque Country, is easier to find.

Where can you try it?

• The Bar à Vin of the Bordeaux Wine Council (CIVB), 3 Cours du 30 Juillet, Bordeaux (opposite the Tourism Office)
• Delicatessen – Gastronomie des Pyrénées, 12 Cours Portal, Bordeaux

Duck meat

If there’s one iconic product from the South-West, it’s duck. There is a host of free-range farms in neighbouring departments. They are generally fed whole corn kernels, giving them their delicious flavour. This also allows the famous foie gras to be produced! Be sure to buy a whole preserved block, which you can then cut into thin slices on bread or brioche toast. It can be garnished with chutney, onion compote or simply fleur de sel sea salt. It’s a real treat!

Where can you try it?

• La Brasserie Bordelaise, 50 Rue Saint-Rémi, 33000 Bordeaux

You can also try other parts of the duck, like grilled magret (breast) on the skin, cooked “rosé”, skewers of marinated duck heart or duck leg confit with fries cooked in duck fat. If this isn’t making your mouth water yet, you must be a vegetarian. In that case, let’s move on to the vegetables.

Asparagus from Blaye and the Landes region

This plant is particularly at home in our region’s sandy soils. Our local asparagus grows in the shade, under mounds of earth, which ensures that it keeps its beautiful pearly white colour. Once it reaches the surface, it turns green or purple. The first vegetable of spring, it can be found in abundance from March on the tables of Aquitaine.

Mushrooms

Thanks to its generally rainy, oceanic climate (let’s face it), the region is ideal for harvesting mushrooms. The best known is Cèpe de Bordeaux variety.

This delicious boletus can be cooked in a number of ways: carpaccio, pan-fried, risotto, etc, … It is a frequent ingredient in sauces and dishes from autumn onwards. More rarely, you may also find chanterelles. Another highly coveted variety is the Périgord black truffle. It grows in the neighbouring Dordogne department, but sometimes finds its way to Bordeaux’s top gourmet restaurants. Last but not least, I’ve been told that some people have resumed production of white mushrooms and shiitakes in the old quarries on the right bank.

Oysters from Cap-Ferret Bassin d’Arcachon and Marennes Oléron

These are the region’s superstars. The local Bordelais love to eat them on public holidays, Sunday mornings or the day after a night out (often all three at the same time). All excuses are good ones, especially as oysters are extremely refreshing and generally eaten raw, with a squeeze of lemon juice or a shallot vinaigrette, plus some bread and butter.

There’s nothing quite like it for a healthy boost. Oysters reproduce naturally in the Arcachon Basin (less than an hour from Bordeaux), where they are reared and harvested by oyster farmers. They can be a little milky in summer, but that doesn’t stop some people enjoying them that way. They pair nicely with a small glass of dry white Bordeaux or Entre-deux-Mers wine (in moderation).

Where can you try them?

• Restaurant Le Petit Commerce, 22 rue du Parlement Saint-Pierre, Bordeaux
• Marché des Capucins or Halles de Bacalan

Fish from the Gironde estuary

One of Bordeaux’s signature dishes is lamprey à la Bordelaise. An eel-like fish with a prehistoric appearance, but with a large mouth bearing several rows of teeth. This allows it to latch on to other animals and suck their blood! Put like that, it sounds a bit scary, I must admit. This fish is cooked like game, in a red wine sauce also made with the animal’s blood, sugar and sometimes chocolate to reduce its bitterness. It’s quite unusual, but it really is a unique taste experience to enjoy during your stay in Bordeaux. Lamprey is usually served with leeks (sometimes wild ones that grow in the rows of vineyards) or mashed potatoes, which go perfectly with the sauce.

Where can you try it?

• Restaurant La Tupina, 6 Rue Prte de la Monnaie, 33800 Bordeaux

A far more familiar fish among food lovers is the sturgeon. Although it still inhabits the estuary in the wild, it is critically endangered. That is why it is now farmed to provide the delicious Aquitaine caviar, but also for its excellent meat.

Where can you try it?

• Caviar Galerie, 5 rue Martignac, Bordeaux

Piballe (or elver) can also be found when in season. An extremely scarce, costly and highly sought-after delicacy. These juvenile eels measure less than 5 centimetres long and swim up the river following the tide, after a long migration from the Sargasso Sea. Piballe is simply fried in olive oil with a little garlic, salt and pepper.

Cheeses from Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Before moving on to dessert, you can’t skip the cheese. To do so would be a sacrilege in France. The region boasts some outstanding goat’s cheeses, including Rocamadour, Cabécou and Chabichou du Poitou. For those who love blue-veined cheeses, try the delicious Bleu d’Auvergne. However, the most common cheese platters served in our wine bars are Pyrenean ewe’s milk cheeses, like Ossau Iraty.

Bordeaux’s Cannelé pastries

It would be impossible not to round off this article with Bordeaux’s greatest speciality, its emblematic dessert, the cannelé. It has strong links not only with the city’s history, but also with the history of wine. In the past, egg whites were used to clarify Bordeaux wines. What do you think they did with the egg yolks? They made cannelés, of course, flavoured with cane sugar, rum and vanilla. Products unloaded at Bordeaux harbour from the West Indies. Some prefer them big and fluffy, others small and crispy. Each to their own taste, but the region’s chefs sometimes create savoury versions with chorizo or foie gras as an appetiser.

Where can you try them?

• La Toque Cuivrée

Other more recently introduced pastries include the famous Dunes Blanches and the Bouchon Bordelais, a small almond pastry flavoured with fine de Bordeaux (a local eau-de-vie aged in oak casks).

I hope this article has whetted your appetite, or, as we say in France “mettre l’eau à la bouche”. There are dozens of other delectable treats to try in Bordeaux, and you can find the full list of products from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on this website entirely dedicated to them.

As for me, I can meet you whenever you like for a tour of the vineyards or a meal at the restaurant, because I’ll never be weary of discovering and tasting all these great local products. 

The city of Bordeaux is known as the wine capital of the world. Simply put, it is the largest vineyard certified by protected designations of origin (AOC).

There are some sixty, from Saint-Emilion to Pauillac, passing through Sauternes. It is easy to lose yourself, because all in all, the department alone registers more than 5,000 wine properties. Here they are commonly known as “châteaux” even if at times they do not appear to be. But then, by what means does one proceed in this Bordeaux Region and how do you decide how to divide your time?

I’m from Bordeaux and have spent ten years visiting the vineyards both as a blogger and an independent wine tourism guide. In this article, I give you the benefit of my experience, so that you too can discover the vineyards of Bordeaux, be it is your first time, or a seasoned visitor like me.

Book a day trip with an agency or through the tourist office.

• Getting to Bordeaux’s vineyards by public transport.

• Original ways to discover the Bordeaux vineyards.

• Visit the vineyards of Saint-Émilion by electric bike

• Discover the wines of Bordeaux while staying in the city. • Attend an event scheduled for that weekend.

Reserve a day tour with an agency or through the Tourism Office

My first piece of advice would be to hire a guide. Start by obtaining information from the tourism office – Office de Tourism de Bordeaux – that has discovered the vineyards, one of its main activities. I’d also recommend checking out a dedicated internet site Bordeaux Wine Trip.

Reserving a guide for a day tour is always best, to accompany you. They will provide you with key information to understand the vineyards and wine production in the region. This will also enable you to ask any questions you may have as you discover that it is a complex and infinitely exciting world. The idea one imagines regarding Bordeaux wine is often very distant from reality, and hardly representative of their diversity.

with whom I work on a regular basis and who propose a day tour to discover the prestigious appellations of Margaux and Saint-Emilion, which will allow you to quickly understand the difference between the wines from the left and right banks. Even if you have your own vehicle, remember that between drinking and driving you must choose. Which explains why a chauffeur is advisable. You will find all types of tours of this kind with different agencies on this page of the tourism office.

Visiting the Bordeaux vineyard by public transport

If you prefer to visit by your own means, it is possible, but get organised. As much as to advise you instantly, the vineyard is the country. The public transport is not the best adapted to visit the vineyards. To be honest, it is not easy to juggle the timetables of public transport with the visiting hours of the châteaux, although possible. There are three solutions: the transportation network of the metropolis of Bordeaux TBM (tramway, bus and bicycle rent), trains express régionaux TER and the department buses TransGironde.

Certain estates are circled by the city and therefore easily accessed, such as Château Les Carmes Haut Brion, Château Pape Clément, Château Haut-Brion, or Château Luchey-Halde denomination Pessac-Léognan. Taking the tramway to the terminal of “Pyrenees”, you can also rent a bike to discover other châteaux of the same appellation. Finally, under appellation Haut-Médoc in Blanquefort, there is also Château Saint-Ahon and\ Château Dillon.

By train, you can visit Margaux, Moulis, Listrac and Pauillac in the Medoc, as well as the famous village Saint-Émilion on the right bank. Attention, this leaves you at the foot of the hill and you must walk some twenty minutes to the location known by its acclamation as a Unesco world site. The places are not regular by regional transport, and you can buy your ticket online, the counter or automatic dispensers at the station.

Original ways to discover the Bordeaux vineyards`

More companies are proposing unusual visits of the vineyards to Saint-Emilion. In the middle of vineyards, one sees golf buggies, segway, VTT and electric bike boards. You can also take a tour of the village and surroundings on tuk-tuk or small tourist train with trip commented. Some collection vehicles, as well as old English taxis, 2CV or convertible Cadillac’s also tour the vineyard. One can also see side cars. Finally, why not take an airlift and rent a hot air balloon in the early morning?

Visit the vineyards of Saint-Émilion by electric bike

To truly soak up the scenery and admire the châteaux, I recommend a cycling trip around Saint-Émilion. The hills surrounding this World Heritage village are among the most picturesque in the Gironde. An electric bike is ideal, as this is one of the most hilly parts of the region. However, there are technically no actual cycle paths in this area, so you’ll have to take the country roads. It’s best to go with an experienced guide who can take you along the back roads and show you the most spectacular views. The most reputable agency for wine tours is Rustic Vines. Departures are organised from Bordeaux and Saint-Émilion on your own bikes, including visits to two estates and a picnic lunch. I also do lots of tours for them, as I find it’s the best way to discover the vineyards, understand the winemaking cycle and appreciate the landscape.

For something more original, you can also venture out on the Roger-Lapépie trail. This former railway line has been adapted as a cycle path and runs through the Entre-Deux-Mers, an important wine-growing region that produces mainly dry white wines and red wines under the Bordeaux name. The railway stations along the way have been transformed into tourist stops, and you can even visit the magnificent Abbey of Sauve-Majeure.

Discover the wines of Bordeaux staying in the metropolitan area

You do not wish to dirty your shoes, but rather discover the wines of Bordeaux without having to leave the city? It is quite possible. To do so, there is the essential Cité du Vin. Having said that, it does not specifically target the wines of Bordeaux but relates to distinct cultural aspects of the beverage. The Musée du vin et du négoce is itself focused on the wine history of the city.

But personally, the spot I prefer to increase my knowledge is the Conseil Interprofessional des Vins de Bordeaux, the CIVB. A management organisation responsible for promoting wines from Bordeaux. To do so they have created two things, a wine school where one can reserve learning sessions more or less long, adapted to the level as well as an extraordinary wine bar where the menu changes all the time and presents the true diversity of appellations, all at a very reasonable price!

You cannot miss it; it is a magnificent building right in front of the tourism office.

Make the most of an event taking place IN BORDEAUX

Throughout the season the calendar of events is loaded in the vineyards of Bordeaux. There are open house week ends every month. In general, this allows visiting properties easier, and those which are not usually open. The opportunity also to meet some independent wine growers who will themselves present their production. There are also delicious wine tasing events in the centre of Bordeaux organised by the store Terre de Vins. Finally, the great mass takes place every year no longer the last weekend of June on the keys of Bordeaux, it is the Fête du Vin ! During several days, the city is effervescent with fireworks, tasting stands, open air concerts, visits of great sailboats, and numerous other events. Advance sales take place as from the month of December.

Another highlight is the Fascinant Week-end (Fascinating Weekend) in mid-October! Over the course of four days, hosts of wine estates holding the Vignobles et Découvertes label open their doors all over France and, of course, in Bordeaux. To celebrate the occasion, the vineyards organise a whole range of unique events and activities to enjoy.

Finally, the vineyard of Bordeaux is no less inaccessible than one could imagine. There are hundreds of chateaux open to wine tourism, from the small family property of Entre-deux-Mers aux Grands Crus Classés du Médoc. One can even dine and sleep in certain properties of which the best is highlighted in Best of Wine Tourism.

Well, do not wait any longer, the vineyards of Bordeaux are only a flight away from you. As for myself, I am already looking forward to seeing you in the vineyards.