When we left Beauvoir, France, we were a little overwhelmed by the magic of Mont Saint-Michel. But not so overwhelmed that we couldn’t enjoy some fine French wine.
We set out for Libourne in the heart of France’s Bordeaux region, which has been producing wine since the Romans introduced grapevines there in the 8th century.
I tend to think of Bordeaux wine as red wine, and indeed the majority of the wine produced there is red. But the 8,500 châteaux in the region also produce some dry white wines, some very sweet white wines (mostly Sauternes), and even a few rosés and sparkling wines, which are known as Crémant de Bordeaux.
Many of the wine-producing châteaux offer tours to the public, and Rue des Vignerons is a fantastic website for narrowing down the many, many available options. Interested in organic wines? Want a food pairing with your wine tasting? Searching for sparkling? This site will help you pinpoint your perfect place.
After touring the vineyards, we found a sweet little cafe in Sauternes, La Petite Guinguette, that served a world-class cheese and charcuterie board. We enjoyed it with more local wine, and Ben and Mike capped off the meal with a couple games of ping pong in the courtyard.
Bordeaux wasn’t all wine and cheese, though. We found an amazing Asian restaurant that we visited for dinner two nights in a row. At Soleil d’Asie, we feasted on samosas, crab and asparagus soup, caramel beef, chili chicken, and an almond-coated ice cream and meringue dessert that Ben raved about. Not to mention the sake! The owners were fun and funny, and by the time we left, we felt like friends.
Next stop: Lourdes, France
[…] part of four different legs to the this journey around the world, we drove in Spain, Monaco, France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, Andorra, on the […]