Beautiful, Beautiful Bordeaux – October 2024 Update

Bonjour from Bordeaux! – Wine, Food, Shopping, Chateaus

A warm welcome to all new Foodie Subscribers.

I wanted to share the highlights of an unforgettable five night stay in Bordeaux. It’s a city that truly has it all; rich history, stunning architecture, amazing food (very important) and of course, world-class wine. With Autumn harvest in full swing, it was the perfect time to explore both the city and its renowned wine regions.

Our first wine adventure took us to the picturesque village of Saint-Émilion on the right bank of the Gironde. It’s a village, similar in size to East Grinstead but has 47 wine shops – all trying to out do each other with their beautiful wine coolers, cut glass decanters and glasses with tempting tasters of cheeses and biscuits to entice customers in. The cultural landscape, including its most famous church, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999. When Henry Plantagenet (soon to become Henry II of England) married Eleanor of Aquitaine, he traded stones from the UK in return for wine!! The cobbled streets, some very steep, are not for the feint hearted!  The beautiful village is filled with surprises including art & sculptures and amazing places to eat.

The vineyards on this side of the river are smaller domains that belong to their wine growers – family owned. We watched the workers hand pick the small grapes which grow low on the vine, back breaking work! We tasted some straight off the vine, beautifully sweet, with thick skins and pips.

Bordeaux itself is a dream city! The shops are beautifully specialized. There were shops that specialised in just honey, or olives and olive oil, of course there were cheese shops (pretty potent smells) and so many bakeries and patisseries and chemists too (one around every corner). We even came across a pest control shop that had dead rats hanging in the window – something you wouldn’t find in the UK! There was even a restaurant that served nothing but duck!! Its boasts the longest high street in Europe – longer than Oxford Street (and much, much more attractive). Every moment in Bordeaux was inspiring , especially the food! We indulged in some delicious dishes and here are a few …..

Next trip was to the left bank. It’s amazing that two regions could be so different. Here the vineyards are larger and often owned by big Corporates. The soil is different, producing more robust wines with higher tannin levels. The grapes are harvested by huge machines which shake the vines. The highlight of the left bank for me was not the wine but the breath-taking Chateaus that dot the landscape – straight out of a fairy tale book, stunning in every respect!

I cannot recommend this region enough for a short trip, you can fly from Gatwick in just over an hour and a half! If we had stayed a little longer I would have loved to have jumped on a fast train to Paris which is a two hour, 7 minute trip. We bought home 6 delicious bottles of red wine which we will be sharing with friends and neighbours at our next food tasting on 23rd November.

Already thinking about next year’s trip – Reims, Champagne region in September 2025

Celebration Festive 5-course Afternoon Tea
Nov/Dec 2024

 Complimentary glass of Prosecco on arrival for parties of 6 or more

Warm Mini Cheese Scones with Mustard Butter and
Mildly Spiced Sausage Rolls, plus
Crab dough balls with semi dried piccolo tomato & dill

followed by

Teas & coffees of your choice with some freshly made sandwiches:-

Curried Chicken sandwich with picked red onion
Cucumber sandwich with yuzu & chive butter
Smoked Salmon sandwich with whipped cream cheese
served with grapes & kettle crisps

Buttermilk & Vanilla Panna Cotta with strawberry compote
& orange Crumble

Treacle Tart with Ginger Cake & Orange

Spiced Brown Sugar Apple Cake

£38.00 per person
including a festive pass the parcel 😊

We are completely flexible, the above menu is an example, something a little different from what you might usually choose  ……  if you would prefer a more traditional afternoon tea there are endless choices and possibilities so please let us know?