One great thing about my accommodation was the plentiful buffet breakfast included in the price. As you can see I took advantage of this, and also went back for more victuals not in the picture.
You see some of the comestibles on offer here.
My lodgings were on the right (east) bank of the Garonne River which runs south-north through
Bordeaux, and reaches the Atlantic tens of km north of Bordeaux. I was early at the rendezvous point for the winery tour so I took a walk around the Quai Deschamps around the
Pont de Pierre. Here's the usual curved panorama looking downriver.
About 40 minutes driving east found us in the historic village of
Saint-Émilion, centre of a world-famous wine region. We took a walk around the village, taking in the
eponymous church.
A nearby bar brasserie waking up to expect customers.
And of course a pedestrian street with the expected shops.
A view from a vantage point.
The Maison du Vin which is a wine store. We didn't enter.
We entered the church just steps away from the Maison du Vin.
It dates from the 11th century.
Looking back at the village from where our van was parked.
A short drive and we were in the vineyard of Château Le Châtelet where we would have a degustation of wine.
Barrels of wine on display.
One of the wines we sampled. Naturally you can buy wines to take with you or they can arrange shipping. Not viable options for me, on a weeks-long trip rather than a weekend jaunt, and not living in France or even Europe.
An hour's drive to the east found us in the second vineyard of the tour, Château Bernateau. One of the family is explaining the vineyard.
And the aging and bottling process. As you can see there is quite a bit of modern technology used. I'm sure they didn't have pumps and stainless steel tanks back in the day.
We also had a degustation accompanied by smallgoods typical of the region. I failed to take pictures of the table. Maybe I was enjoying it too much.
And that was the end of the wineries tour. After this we were taken back to our starting point in Bordeaux. The afternoon's exploration of Bordeaux is in the next post.
