Debunking de wine

Villa St Simon display

1. Tour the famous chateaux of the Left bank.
2. Meet the winemakers of Cotes de Bourg and Cotes de Blaye – discover delicious Bordeaux wines that are also affordable.

It is advisable to book your tour as soon as possible. Simply email your name, number of persons in your group who will tour, your tour of choice and the date you wish to tour to info@bordeauxwinevilla.com

Better still, sleep over!

Go to http://www.bordeauxwinevilla.com/ and make your reservation, bearing in mind that each tour is a complete day.

The power and prestige of French wine is based in Bordeaux. Here the terms Right Bank and Left Bank refer to the banks of the river Gironde. The town of Blaye, home of Villa St Simon, is situated on the Right bank of the Gironde. On the Left bank are the Medoc, Haut-Medoc and Graves regions with a river ferry service connecting the two banks – making Blaye an ideal base for wine tours.

1. The Left bank tour

This tour typically starts with the ferry crossing from Blaye to La Marque – usually at 10:00am.

Depending on the time of year and guest preferences the morning tour will include one of chateaux Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, Latour or Margeaux.

We have lunch at one of the restaurants patronized mainly by local winemakers and then do the second tour in the afternoon. In the process we drive much of the Great Chateau Road where we have the opportunity to admire and photograph some of the magnificent castles.

The afternoon tour will be one of the chateaux Pichon Longueville Baron, Pichon Longueville de la Lande, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Beychevelle, Cos d’Estournel, again depending on guest preference and time of year.

This tour is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The price is €93 per person, which includes the ferry fare, lunch and chateau admissions.

1. The Cotes de Blaye/Bourg tour

With attention fixated on the famous chateaux of the left-bank, here just across the river the jewels of Cotes de Blaye and Cotes de Bourg are still a best-kept secret, much to the pleasure of our palates and the advantage of our pockets.

A typical tour here would be a visit and tasting at a chateau in the morning, followed by lunch either at the chateau, or at a rustic local restaurant in the heart of the wine lands. After lunch, a second visit and tasting. We meet the winemakers, see how they live and make their wines, taste and buy – it is great value and affordable.

Chateaux that we visit include Cantinot, Rouselle, La Rose Bellevue, Le Cone, Bellevue Gazin and Grollet.

This tour is available on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The tour fee of €48 per person does not include lunch.

Whether you are a wine buff or simply enjoy wine, we have something for you.

Most evenings guests have the opportunity to join Les in the wine cellar where he presents Debunking de wine, a light-hearted ramble through Bordeaux wines and wine tasting.

For the serious wine buffs – Les offers the Blaye Wine Academy course. Please see details below

Debunking de wine

This hour and a half coached tasting and wine presentation is aimed at people who simply enjoy wine and are interested in enriching this pleasure.

We debunk all things pretentious and get down to basics. You will learn -

• How to read Bordeaux wine labels
• How to store, present and serve wine
• How to see the age and alcohol intensity of wine
• How to liberate and capture the bouquet of wine
• The anatomy and the techniques of tasting
• About pairing food with wine

The wines we focus on are the classic red Bordeaux blends, but much of what we cover is equally applicable to other wines. We meet in the cellar at 6:30pm most evenings, except Saturdays. The presentation includes tasting at least three Bordeaux wines, whereafter we often stroll to a nearby restaurant for dinner. The cost is €25.00 per person.

Wines of Bordeaux – A Blaye Wine Academy course

This two day course is aimed at wine aficionados who wish to advance their knowledge in depth, specifically as regards the wines of Bordeaux. We cover the following aspects-

• History of French wine
• How to read French labels
• Wine laws and AOC
• Terroir and Viniculture
• Vinification – techniques and trends
• Grapes varieties and the art of blending
• Chateaux that shaped Bordeaux
• Food paring with Bordeaux blends

The program starts at 10:00am on each of two consecutive days.

Course content reading precedes and interposes lectures/discussions.

The course fee is €245 per person which excludes accommodation and includes course material as well as the Bordeaux wines tasted.

Participants will receive a Blaye Wine Academy course completion certificate.

The course is presented by Les Kellen by arrangement.

Courses are scheduled on demand.

Please inquire when the next courses are scheduled.

Participants arrive on Friday evenings and course duration is from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.

Course dates can be scheduled to your convenience for groups of at least four participants.

Please email your preferences to Les Kellen who will call you to discuss arrangements.

Guestbook 2009

A summers evening on the Gironde eastuary near Blaye