Visiting the Vineyards in Bordeaux

Touring a region with more than 1,555 square km (600 square miles) of wine-growing country, 5,000 châteaux, and 100,000 vineyards producing around 70 million gallons of wine annually, you'll find it hard to resist sampling Bordeaux's liquid bounty—but where to start?

The best bet is to head north for the Route de Médoc (also called the Route des Châteaux or the Route des Grands-Crus), armed with maps and pointers from Bordeaux’s helpful Office of Tourism (the tourisme de viticole desk is the place for this)—it's at 12 cours du XXX-Juillet in the city center of Bordeaux. Or check out the "Wine Tours" section of the official Bordeaux tourism website (www.bordeaux-tourisme.com) before you travel. A map is essential, as signage is poor and many "châteaux" are small manors hidden in the hills. Three main wine regions surround the city: Médoc to the northwest, St-Émilion to the east, and Graves-Sauternes to the south. Each boasts big-name vineyards, but remember that Baron Philippe de Rothschild, owner of Mouton Rothschild, drank vin ordinaire at most meals.

By Appointment Only

If you're planning on visiting any of the famous growers (or some of the lesser known ones for that matter), make sure to contact them ahead of time to arrange a dégustation (wine tasting)—many of the labels are "by appointment only" because they're too small to have full-time guides. Even the famous Château Mouton Rothschild—visited by thousands—requires reservations, at least a week in advance for a regular tour and several weeks for a tour that includes the cellars. Conveniently, you can create your agenda online by booking your visits through the tourism office’s website—it also supplies you with a printable map for your personalized itinerary.

Vineyard Tours

The staff at Bordeaux's tourism office is very helpful, and because many vineyards are inaccessible without a car or bike, the easiest way to reach those of the Route de Médoc and Gironde is to join one of the themed bus tours it sponsors.

Here's the scoop: these tours depart from (and return to) the Office de Tourisme at 12 cours XXX-Juillet. In the off-season, same-day reservations can be had; in high season, make them in advance. There are daylong trips and also half-day versions (the latter usually run from 1:30 to 6:30 in the afternoon).

In high season there's a tour every day; otherwise a few run per week. Most tours stop at two châteaux only—for instance, in the Médoc, you can visit the Château Palmer (Troisième Cru Classé) and the Château Lanessan (Cru Bourgeois)—but there are so many diverse tours that you could go on a different one each day for a week and not see the same domains. Tours are offered in several languages, including English, and usually a bus holds 50 participants.

You can view information regarding each tour (including availability) at www.bordeaux-tourisme.com; then book your choice online.

Staying the Night

Want to play vigneron (vintner) for a night? Some great vineyards welcome guests. The 14th-century estate of Château Smith Haut Lafitte (05–57–83–11–22 www.smith-haut-lafitte.com) houses the very successful Les Sources de Caudalie hotel as well as a spa offering wine-based treatments (05–57–83–83–83 www.sources-caudalie.com).

Wine king Bernard Magrez has two rooms available at his 17th-century Château Fombrauge; book through his big Luxury Wine Tourism company (05–57–26–38–34 www.luxurywinetourism.fr).