Wine in Bordeaux

We only had one day in Bordeaux so we had to make the most of it. We booked a tour of a winery in the afternoon so we explored the city in the morning. 

That afternoon we took a train to St. Emillion to visit Clos Madeline Vineyard.

First we took a tour of the vineyard and our guide explained the process of growing the grapes and how the different types of soil affect the quality of the grapes. The most interesting fact that we learned was that the best grapes are grown on a slope due to the minerals in the soil, which is why you see so many vineyards growing on hills.

Next she took us to where they make the wine. We saw the wooden vats where the first steps of wine making occur. They do everything by hand at this vineyard and use heat instead of pressing the grapes to make the wine.

We went into the fermentation room where they store the wine in wooden barrels. This is the longest part of the winemaking process. Most of their wines are not mature enough to drink for almost ten years.

After the tour there was a wine tasting where our guide taught us how to properly prepare wine before drinking. We tried the different qualities of wine from the vineyard including 5 red and 2 white wines. 

After the tour we took a mini train ride around all the vineyards in St. Emillion.

 It was a great way to see the beautiful landscape of the city and its vineyards.