Bordeaux Fete le Vin - Largest Wine Festival!

A 2 Km Wine Route, Concerts, Events, and many Activities

Bonjour everyone....if you follow me on facebook or twitter you will have seen some references to this upcoming festival.  What exactly is Bordeaux Fete Le Vin?   Basically, it's the city of Bordeaux embracing it's heritage, love and diversity of it's number one product - Wine!!  It's a time for both locals and visitors to come together in one place to celebrate and experience what this city is all about.  This festival puts together 2 km of a wine route representing the different appellations (regions) of wine, pavilions to learn more and taste some of the finest masterpieces, activities, concerts and special museum exhibits.  There is a lot packed into this wonderful 4 day event!!  To read more about it and how to purchase the "Pass Degustation"- check out the website: Bordeaux Fete Le Vin

If you live here, it's a must to experience and it only happens every 2 years. If you love wine and want an opportunity to learn more about it, certainly come to Bordeaux if you are able.  If not, feel free to follow me on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram as I cover many aspects of this event next week.  My hope is that in 2 years - you will want to come and experience it for yourself!

In the meantime, I want to share a little photographic taste of what it looks like.  My first experience of this event was 2 years ago in 2012.  I was impressed and awed by it then, and now as I look back on the photos I realize how much I have learned about the region, its wines, and how much passion and hard work goes into its production.

Les Quais (riverfront) - all set up for the Wine Festival

The many different wine appellations (regions) of the Bordeaux area

It's amazing what almost 3 years of living in a new place can do.  As I type this post, I definitely feel more knowledgeable than I did back then.  But I marvel at all the things that struck me then and not realizing it at the time - are truly so integral to the wine production process.

A Tall Ship arrives for the festivities
This year will be the Santa Maria Mauela

In 2012 - There were beautiful artistically created bottles lining the riverfront. 

Each appellation sets up a separate pavilion serving wines from many different chateaux/vineyards in that area.  It's a great chance to directly compare wines from the same area and understand how different each one really is.  Each appellation has certain characteristics due to its terrior, but at the same time, each winemaker seems to makes their wine unique. The Bordeaux region has both geological and geographical diversity contributing to so many different designated wine areas (Medoc, Saint Emilion, Pessac-Leognan etc..).  The different micro-climates, proximity to the sea, rivers & forests, along with the various composition of its soils (sand, gravel, limestone, clay etc..) all impact on the varieties of grapes grown and wine blends produced.  I have come to learn that this complexity and mixture (terrior) is what is so important to the wines made in this area and why each appellation is so different in taste and structure from another. 

The pavilion for the Medoc & Graves Appellation

Always nice to smell, swirl and admire the color before tasting.

Two years ago, I was fascinated by all the wine barrels at this display.  I think I was so overwhelmed by everything that I didn't put it all together to understand that the word "Tonnellerie" meant barrel-maker. Nadalie is a famous barrel-maker located here in the Medoc region and just recently, I had a wonderful opportunity to tour the factory and understand not only how a barrel is made, but all how different types of Oak and the degree to which they are heated or toasted, are used to produce different tastes as each wine ages in the barrels.  

Over the past couple years, I know I have learned and absorbed so much about not only the city of Bordeaux, but also about it's wines.  I still feel naive and young when it comes to my wine knowledge and understanding but each new experience makes me eager to learn more. I look forward to attending and covering this event as Press to gain even more insights! The wines of this area are truly fascinating and very complex.

The Pomerol & Fronsac Pavilion

One of my favorite photos - Artistic bottle in front of Port Caillou

I invite you to follow along with me next week, as I cover various events of this wine festival and continue learning about the Great wines of the Bordeaux region!  It's a fun event - with lots of wonderful activities for one and all!

If you don't already follow me on the different social media platforms - you can do so here:

Instagram - American Mom in Bordeaux

Twitter - American Mom in Bordeaux

Facebook - American Mom in Bordeaux

Google + - American Mom in Bordeaux

Have a great weekend and I look forward to sharing Bordeaux Fete Le Vin!!