Whether you are a beginner or an advanced wine lover, a map of Bordeaux's wine appellations is always useful. Below I offer the one from WSG. It is available in full resolution here. I comment briefly on the appellations below. I warn in advance that this is a completely subjective view. :) No matter which wise book you look at on Bordeaux wine, it says right at the beginning that everything is divided into left bank and right bank. On the left, the wines are dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon and on the right by Merlot. In principle, this is true, but for me the appellations, or sub-regions, are more important, which have all sorts of names and are defined mainly by soil conditions. But to ke...
Go to Bordeaux !
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Zajeďte si tam. Domluvte se s kamarády a vyrazte. Není to tak složité, jak by se mohlo zdát.
Cestu si dokážete zajistit sami, bez cestovky, opravdu to není nic složitého - kupte si letenku, domluvte si ubytování a půjčení auta.
To je vše, co potřebujete.
Samozřejmě, můžete jet s nějakou cestovkou. Ale to je podle mě úplně zbytečné a také omezující. Cestovka má své podmínky, většinou si nemůžete vybrat kam pojedete, protože program je daný, spíte někde, kde vám to nemusí vyhovovat … atd., atd.
Ale když si za vínem vyrazíte sami či s přáteli, nemusíte se na nic ohlížet. Určíte si sami termín cesty, vyberete si ubytování s komfortem a cenou, která vám vyhovuje. Na místě samém se sami rozhodnete, která chateaux navštívíte, a také kde a kdy se zastavíte na jídlo. Je to daleko větší volnost, zábava a do jisté míry i dobrodružství.
Nevím kolik stojí týdenní zájezd po vinařstvích v Bordeaux u cestovky, ale mě a mé přátele to vyjde na cca 15 tisíc Kč bez jídla. V ceně jsou letenky, ubytování s velmi slušným komfortem a pronájem auta. Tak jako jinde ve světě jsou ceny mimo letní sezónu nižší.
Levně se ve Francii najíst není žádný větší problém. Pro čerstvé croissanty si ráno skočíte do pekárny, oběd pořešíte ve food trucku (v každém druhém chateau, pokud mají akci “otevřené dveře”) nebo si zajdete do některé z místních restaurací či jídelen, kde vaří bezvadně a obědové menu mají kolem 15€ (doporučuji tyto). A na večeři si někam zajdete nebo něco ukuchtíte v ubytku. Suroviny koupíte v marketu za české ceny. Výběr je mnohem větší než u nás, o kvalitě nemluvě. Krásný večer s večeří si můžete užít i při grilování s dobrou lahví vína! Prakticky každé ubytování (kromě hotelu) má gril k dispozici.
Cesta do Bordeaux není nijak zvlášť drahá. Většinou létáme Ryanairem, který má s Bordeaux přímé spojení z Krakova nebo z Prahy. Pokud vám nevyhovují dny nebo časy, dá se letět s Air France s přestupem v Paříži na letišti CDG. Air France létá z Prahy a z Vídně každý den, letenky jsou však podstatně dražší. Třetí možnost je letět do Paříže letadlem, pak přesednout na TGV a za dvě hodiny jste v Bordeaux.
Říká se, že francouzi nemluví anglicky. Bejvávalo. V drtivé většině vinařství se anglicky bez problémů domluvíte. Výjimky se občas najdou - v menších rodinných vinařstvích, kde hospodaří starší generace majitelů. Ale i to se dá zvládnout. Vinaři jsou milí a vstřícní, takže kde je vůle tam se domluvíte a pokoštujete i bez znalosti jazyka. :)
Jak si to zorganizovat na místě samém
Pokud se na cestu po vinařstvích v okolí Bordeaux chystáte poprvé, je nejjednodušší vybrat si jednu z víkendových akcí, podobných těm, kterým na Moravě říkáme “otevřené sklepy”. Jejich seznam naleznete zde.
Prakticky každá apelace (vinařský region) v okolí Bordeaux pořádá jednou ročně akci zvanou “Portes Ouvertes” neboli otevřené dveře. Do této se přihlásí zpravidla desítky Chateaux v dané apelaci. Tyto pak v sobotu a (většina i) v neděli, zpravidla od 10 do 18 hodin, otevřou své dveře a kdokoli, kdo má zájem, se může zastavit a jejich víno ochutnat.
Součástí akce jsou komentované prohlídky vinařství (i v angličtině), v některých chateau vaří jídlo nebo mají food truck, také doprovodné programy od hudební produkce až po výstavu veteránů nejsou výjimkou.
Tyto víkendovky mají dvě podstatné výhody:
1, nemusíte si návštěvy domlouvat předem, nemusíte být nikde na čas. Prostě zajedete si tam kam se vám zrovna zachce
2, za košt se neplatí, všude je zdarma.
Samozřejmě je možné domluvit si návštěvu vašich oblíbených Chateaux i mimo dny otevřených dveří. Nemálo z nich nabízí na svých webových stránkách dokonce několik možností, jak prohlídku a ochutnávku pojmout. Počítejte ale s tím, že všechny tyto návštěvy jsou placené.
Pokud jde o řízení vozu a střízlivost, pak vězte, že člověk, který se obětuje sednout k volantu, nemusí úplně abstinovat. Jednak je ve Francii při řízení povoleno mít v krvi 0,5 ‰ alkoholu a druhak se při koštech v jednotlivých Chateaux moc neopijete. Do skleniček se nalévá totiž jen trochu, maximálně čtvrt deci od každého vína. Počet vín ke koštování je různý, může to být jen jedno, ale zažil jsem i více než dvanáct vzorků vín. :-)
Také chvíli trvá, než absolvujete prohlídku, projdete si krásně upravenou zahradu nebo něco dobrého sníte. Takže pokud se řidič alespoň trochu hlídá, je poměrně sřízlivý. :-)
Z vlastní zkušenosti musím říct, že jsem absolvoval desítky dnů, kdy jsme jezdili od chateau k chateau a policejní kontrolu jsme nepotkali. Čímž nechci v žádném případě nikoho navádět k tomu, aby nerespektoval oněch 0,5 ‰ v krvi. A taky doufám, že jsem si to teď nezakřiknul. :)
Shrnuto a podtrženo, doporučuji tento postup:
1, podívejte se, odkud a kdy létá do Bordeaux letecký spoj
2, vyberte si víkendovou akci, případně si dopředu domluvte návštěvu jednotlivých vinařství
3, domluvte si ubytování
4, zarezervujte si na letišti auto k pronájmu
5, můžete se začít těšit :)
English version
Go there. Make arrangements with your friends and go. It's not as complicated as it might seem.
You can make your own travel arrangements, without a travel agent. It's really not that complicated - buy a ticket, arrange accommodation and a rental car.
That's all you need.
Of course, you can go with a travel agency. But I think that's completely unnecessary and also limiting. The travel company has its conditions, you usually can't choose where you go because the program is set, you sleep somewhere you may not be comfortable ... etc, etc.
But when you go for wine on your own or with friends, you don't have to look back on anything. You set your own travel dates, choose the accommodation with the comfort and price that suits you. On the spot, you decide which chateaux to visit, as well as where and when to stop for a meal. It's much more freedom, fun and to some extent adventure.
I don't know how much a week's tour of the Bordeaux wineries costs with a tour operator, but it works out to about € 600 for me and my friends, not including meals. The price includes airfare, accommodation with very decent amenities and car rental. As elsewhere in the world, prices are lower outside the summer season.
Eating cheaply in France is not a major problem. For fresh croissants you can pop into a bakery in the morning, get lunch at a food truck (in every other chateau if they have an "open door" event) or go to one of the local restaurants or cafeterias where the cooking is impeccable and the lunch menu is around 15€ (I recommend these). And for dinner you can go somewhere or cook something in your accommodation. You can buy ingredients in the supermarket, the choice is more than enough. You can also enjoy a nice evening with dinner while barbecuing with a good bottle of wine! Practically every accommodation (except the hotel) has a grill available.
They say the French don't speak English. That was once upon a time. In the vast majority of wineries, English is easily spoken. There are occasional exceptions - in smaller family-run wineries, with older generations of owners. But even that can be managed. The winemakers are nice and friendly, so where there is a will, you can speak and taste the wine even without knowing the language. :)
How to organise it on the spot
If it's your first time touring the wineries around Bordeaux, it's easiest to choose one of the weekend events, which are usually called Portes Ouvertes, or 'open doors'. You can find a list of them here.
Practically every appellation (wine region) around Bordeaux organises this event once a year (some even twice). Usually dozens of Chateaux in the appellation sign up for this one. They then open their doors on Saturdays and (most of them) Sundays as well, usually from 10am to 6pm, and anyone who wants to stop by and taste their wine.
The event includes guided tours of the wineries (also in English), some Chateaux cook food or have a food truck, and the accompanying programs, from music to a vintage car show, are no exception.
These weekend events have two significant advantages:
1, you don't have to arrange visits in advance, you don't have to be anywhere on time. You just go wherever you want
2, there's no charge for the action, it's free everywhere.
Of course, it is also possible to arrange a visit to your favourite Chateaux outside the open days. Many of them even offer several options on their websites for tours and tastings. But be aware that all of these visits are paid.
When it comes to driving and sobriety, know that a person who sacrifices to get behind the wheel doesn't have to be completely abstinent. For one thing, it's legal to have 0.5‰ of alcohol in your blood while driving in France, and for another, you don't get very drunk at the tastings in each Chateaux. In fact, only a little is poured into the glasses, no more than a quarter of a deci of each wine. The number of wines to be tasted varies, it can be just one, but I have experienced more than twelve samples of wines. :-)
It also takes a while to take a tour, walk through the beautifully landscaped garden or have a nice meal. So as long as the driver is at least a little bit watch yourself, he's pretty sober. :-)
From my own experience, I must say that I have passed dozens of days when we drove from chateau to chateau and never met a police check. By which I do not in any way want to encourage anyone to disrespect the 0,5‰ in the blood. And I hope I haven't jinxed myself now. :)
In summary, I recommend this procedure:
1, check where and when the flights to Bordeaux depart from.
2, choose a weekend event or arrange to visit individual wineries in advance
3, arrange your accommodation
4, book a rental car at the airport
5, you can start look forward :)
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