Join us as we travel across Europe at a leisurely pace.
12/11/22 Bordeaux wines
Greetings from beautiful, and cold, Bordeaux France
Bordeaux is one of the premier wine producing areas of the world. So, after being here a few days, I thought I’d write about the wines here in Bordeaux.
I’m no wine expert, but do enjoy a delicious glass of wine, especially big Reds which is what Bordeaux is famous for. Let’s go🍷There are over 21 wine growing designations in Bordeaux. They are divided into two growing regions, Right Bank and Left Bank.
The Right Bank is around St. Emilion, where we are staying. It’s wines, (almost all blends), are dominated by Merlot grapes. This area is very welcoming to visitors at the château’s.
This explains each grapes roll in red wine making .From 1875 to 1892 almost all Bordeaux vineyards were ruined by phylloxera infestations.[5] The region’s wine industry was rescued by grafting native vines on to pest-resistant American rootstock.[5]The Roman’s started growing grapes here around the time of the birth of Christ. There are hundreds of château’s that grow grapes and make wine. They are very welcoming to wine tours and tastings. Delicious wines😎The soil here is full of limestone and calcium and not very rocky. The grapes do not receive irrigation. As the wine makers say, “the grapes must suffer to be delicious”. ✔️The Left Bank is a very low lying area. The Dutch drained it in the 1600’s to make it suitable for grapes.Ditches and canals were dug across the Left Bank area. This canal lock is being fixed.The soil is very rocky and clay is a major component of the soil. Again, no irrigation “ the grapes must suffer to be delicious “Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant grape here. The estates and château’s are unbelievably huge and staggeringly beautiful. Wow, just wow!Honey, I’m home from the club.
The Left Bank is a little harder to visit as the estates keep close watch on the wines and visitors.
Ok, your a Bordeaux wine aficionado, well kind of. Again, I’m no expert but the wine and the countryside here is special.Wine tasting at the St Emilion wine cooperative.
Trafton’s European Tour 2022/2023 
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