Bordeaux - Wine Capital of the World

Bordeaux is located on the South-West coast of France, in the region of Aquitaine and the Gironde department. This famous city is traversed by the River Garonne, and it\'s here that you\'ll encounter people known as the Bordelais.

For those interested in history, you might be interested to learn that from the 12th century and the following three hundred years, the city of Bordeaux actually belonged to the English, following a royal marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine, formerly wife of the King of France. From then on, due to trade across the channel, Bordeaux was to become ever more prosperous. Another peak in prosperity came in the seventeenth century with the expansion of the port and the opening up of international trade routes.

Because of its climate, Bordeaux is often considered to be a bit of a turning point, being both in the north and the south at one and the same time. And from her former English domination, the town has cultivated a certain composure, or class, and an air of cool professionalism with its regular trading with Hanse and Holland. From the period of Louis XIV the town has maintained a certain upright, aligned, classical style of architecture, which you encounter in the innumerable castles made of white stone.

But that\'s not all there is to Bordeaux... beneath the sophisticated surface of professionalism lies a heart which beats to a rhythm altogether different... a Latin tempo. Doubtless this is due to its close proximity to Spain. And in this lies the other side of Bordeaux one given over to festivals and all manner of frivolity. You\'ve been warned!

Returning to the weather, the climate of Bordeaux is Oceanic, such that there isn\'t too much difference between summer and winter temperatures. This is due to the proximity to the sea. In general summers tend to be hot, but not overtly so, and the winters are normally quite mild without being too cold. The region does however succumb to its fair share of rainfall spread throughout the year, although droughts have been known to arise from time to time. However in Bordeaux, only one thing is a constant, and that\'s the enduring popularity of its fine wines!

The left bank of the river Garonne, where the majority of the town is located, comprises wide, often marshy, plains; and although there are a few hills, the typical altitude is low. However these hills are ideal for viticulture. And in this, Bordeaux is a meeting place between the Medoc and Grave wines.

The other side of the Garonne, the right bank, is entirely different, and it is made up almost entirely of chalk. And it\'s here that most of the world famous vineyards are located vineyards such as Pomerol, Fronsac and Saint Emilion famous around the world, not least for their expense.

Without a shadow of doubt, Bordeaux is the world wine capital. In this region, a single wine grower, or viticulteur, will produce several different wines, with several of these being amongst the most renowned in the world. These are identified specifically as \"Vins de Bordeaux\". Indeed around the Bordeaux region itself there are no fewer than 14000 local wine producers, some quite small. But collectively, these vineyards account for about 700 million bottles annually. Bordeaux wines are both white and red, with the famous red giving its name to the color known as Bordeaux, after the distinctive color of the wine.

As for the gastronomy of Bordeaux, as throughout the whole of Gironde, it is a veritable art, Gascon cuisine being one of the most famous in France. The city will delight visitors with its evocative names such as \"palombe\" (wood pigeon), \"cepes de Bordeaux\" (mushrooms), \"sauces aux echalotes\" (shallot sauce)... all obviously accompanied by the inevitable Bordeaux wine.

And then of course there\'s the famous \"canele\" cake, a Bordeaux speciality made of tender pastry, with a lacing of vanilla and rum, finally covered with a thick caramelised crust. In fact this Bordeaux delicacy was the recipe of some sixteenth century nuns who used to make them to give to the poor of the town. But don\'t let that put you off... they are far from poor and most exotic... perfect when accompanied by a fine white wine, such as a Saint Emilion! But be careful, they are known to soften quickly after baking... don\'t worry simply put back in the oven and in a few minutes time they\'ll recover their famous crustyness!

But that\'s not all... as for savouries, how about sampling the unusual lamproie fish. This fish in fact possesses neither backbone, jaws or scales in fact its more akin to a big eel... but delicious nevertheless. After that there\'s always of course the famous snail sauce (sauce d\'escargots), often going by its facetious local name of \"truffe de Bordeaux\", or Bordeaux truffle. This sauce incorporates not only chocolate, but also grapes and a lacing of alcohol. Following on, you might also encounter the Aquitaine Tome cheese (made from goats milk and Sauterne wine). Then last, but of course not least, there is the ubiquitous \"foie gras\", famous throughout South-West France.

So I hope you spend a wonderful and delicious time in and around Bordeaux, meeting the many colourful Bordelais characters!

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