Wine Tasting Beginners Class

Our mornings were filled by a 3 hour wine tasting class for complete beginners. Class began 10.30 in the morning, and were held at BordoVino's city apartment. The whole experience was very laid back and bespoke. The staff were really friendly, the location was just like your friend's apartment, so the relaxed atmosphere made it very easy to take in all the information. Our handsome tutor Ceprian was very friendly and charming, which might have been the reason why my concentration was so good during those early mornings. He taught us in English and we were put at ease right away as he made sure he started slow and answered our every question. After class we were served lunch in their resident kitchen. The simple yet delicious food was prepared by a local cafe that was run by elderly women...so sweet! 

What we learnt:

- Wines from the four main regions of France...differentiating their different characteristics

- Wine and a brief history (used to be made by monks)

- Wine production from vines to bottle shapes

- Weather and it's effects... was it a good year? Bordeaux had been running behind with the rain and cold weather, but finally the heatwave has done wonders        for their wines! 

- How to smell, look, taste wine...

- Speciality wines.... little about port, dessert wines,champagnes etc

- Bordeaux wines... different regions on the Left Bank and Right Bank etc

- Wine pairings with food... we were highly recommended to try their local Arcachon oysters

• Wine blends and mixing...we got a chance to mix our own wines... mine was around 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon
• And probably most important... what the locals do, nightlife and general cool hangouts recommended by the lovely Ceprian... 

St Emillion

After my tour around Clos Fourtet our guide took us just across the road to the world Heritage Site St Emillion. This small commune is full of history, every building on the long, narrow streets has it's own story. We only managed to have short tour around so this is definitely a place i will come back to visit again. The air was fresher, the skies were bluer and my ears have never felt so peaceful....I would love to spend a couple of days here relaxing and carefree. This is like Laputa, Castle in the Sky for me...

Chateaux of Dreams...

After class in the morning (wine appreciation for absolute Beginners), we were whisked away by our lovely wine tour guide Cyprian to a couple of wineries in the St. Emilion region on the Right Bank. Only a short 30 minute car ride, we were taken to the gardens of Eden! Although they were no Premier Cru Chateaux, it was still the best experience and we were blessed to have been taken around by such lovely people who were passionate about their wines. In the first wine tasting session, we had a challenge for our sense of smell. We were given unmarked bottles of different flavours and we had to detect each smell by memory. It was certainly a very difficult task, with flavours like smoke and Euclayptus being the hardest and most horrid to smell! We were taken through the journey of hand picking the grapes to finally boxing and then distributing to wine brokers and merchants. The whole experience was just so wonderful. 

Hello Bordeaux

This was a last minute girly holiday, booked only the week before we set off. Whilst many people my age would enjoy a wild weekend away in Ibiza with sun, sea and probably A&E.... I feel like my old bones simply couldn't take such 'wild' entertainment anymore. I knew Bordeaux would be the perfect place for me and my two girl friends to relax and enjoy some quality wine. One thing i underestimated was the heat wave that took over Bordeaux! 37 degrees when we landed!!! I never felt so hot in my life! And with Bordeaux being a pretty Green city, not many places had air con either... Ice bags, cold showers and swimming pools were much appreciated!

Since we arrived after their busy festival Les Epicuriales, the town was totally quiet, with only locals and students around the small city. This was the perfect opportunity for me to make friends with the locals and brush up my French... which has been neglected since High school days. The locals were all really friendly and we managed to spark up a few interesting conversations with some wonderfully quirky characters. Being probably the only few asians in town made us easily recognisable in such a small place. One the first day of our trip, we spent the afternoon lazily wondering the whimsical streets of Bordeaux. The locals are definitely very relaxed and nonchalant... not many shops were opened and cafes were filled with families, enjoying wine and people watching. After a long wonder around, we enjoyed an early bird dinner at the acclaimed Le Gabriel Bistro. The price wasn't too bad for the good quality of food. Expect to pay around 25Euros plus a head for a main course and a bottle of wine shared between friends. 

I probably enjoyed myself a little too much and forgot to take photos and document my trip... so i am trying my best to show and share with you my personal experience with very few photos....Forgive me please...but a girl has to play right? 

Sweetest little macaron boutique on the side streets in town. The packaging was so ADORABLE!

A lovely little character awaits you in Le Gabriel