This item originally appeared in Postmedia newspapers and websites in Canada.
BORDEAUX, FRANCE – Jordan Eudine is leading a group of AmaWaterways river cruisers on a bike tour through the rolling hills near Blaye. We pass small villages made of dark stone and gaze out on endless acres of brilliant green vines growing in the most famous wine region of the world.
He stops to pick up some small Merlot grapes for us to try.
“These will make good wine but not quite as good as places like Chateau Margaux or Lafite Rothschild,” Eudine says, citing a pair of legendary wineries that occasionally produce bottles valued at $2,500 before they’re even produced. “Sometimes when I ride past Rothschild I like to stop and eat one the grapes. That probably costs them 100 Euros.”
Eudine laughs and hands out the grapes, which we gulp down between sips of water on a warm August day.
A bike ride through the vineyards near Bordeaux is a great way to learn about wine and get a bit of exercise. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Lucky for us, we also get to taste a great deal of the finished product, as our cruise on the Ama Dolce features almost daily trips to the area’s grandest chateaus and wineries for tastings and local food, as well as on-board wine-tasting and wine talks.
The cruise I take features Ray and Loretta Falkner of Falkner Vineyards, a small, family-owned spot in the up-and-coming Temecula Valley north of San Diego. Falkner gets us to try a French chardonnay from Languedoc, which tastes of earth and stone. His California Chardonnay is typical new world; more fruity and ripe with a peachy-pineapple aroma I quite like.
Falkner, who grew up in the Buffalo suburb of Tonawanda, explains on the first cruising day that the French sell a certain style of wine, while North American wineries focus on grape varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. He also points out that French wines are usually meant to be aged for years.
“In California when we like a wine we say, ‘Great. Can we get it on the shelves by the weekend?’”
Ba-da-boom.
Chateau Margaux is a world-renowned winery in the Bordeaux area. – JIM BYERS PHOTO
Over the next few days we sip lush Bordeaux blends served up in glorious chateaus with spires and so-called murder gates where enemies would’ve been hammered with weapons or splattered with liquids of a decidedly less enjoyable nature than Cabernet-Merlot blends. At Chateau Leoville Poyferre, we try the more affordable Moulin Riche line of wines as well as tasting from bottles that cost a few hundred dollars, a red Bordeaux blend with ripe berry tastes and warm, earthy notes.
Our tour guides are outstanding. In Libourne, British-born guide Christine Couper tells us that some towns in France are laid out all “higgledy-piggledy” but that Libourne was designed as a bastide town with relatively straight streets. We tour the bustling central market area and try local charcuterie and cheeses, as well as sweets in a shop that sells red high heel shoes fashioned out of chocolate.
My favourite guide on the trip Astrid Weissenborn, who’s lively and bubbly and has a decidedly off-kilter approach.
“You know,” she tells us early on, “a chateau doesn’t mean it’s a big house. You could build a tiny winery and call it ‘Chateau Chihuahua.’”
St. Emilion is a stunning village near Bordeaux. – JIM BYERS PHOTO
There’s a lot to like even for folks who don’t love wine, as the Bordeaux area is home to fabulous villages with narrow, winding streets and lovely shops. We explore the underground “monolithic” church in the stunning village of St. Emilion and the old streets of Bourg-sur-Gironde, where homes are carved out of the rock. A member of the family that owns the lovely Chateau Roquetaillade castle takes us on a tour and shows us buildings that date back 700 years, as well as a kitchen with a secret door and a brass pot called a “chicken’s ass” that’s used to beat eggs.
Our final day is in the glistening city of Bordeaux, which has been given a huge makeover. It’s also now connected to Paris by a fast train that takes a mere 125 minutes. I wander a marvellous, curving, rambling street called Rue Notre Dame and admire fine apartments with pretty balconies and antique shops mixed with cafes and even a world rum bar.
That night I sample a wonderful six-course meal during the Chef’s Table event as our ship glides past the white stone buildings that line the waterfront, the light bouncing off the river on a perfect August evening.
JUST THE FACTS
AmaWaterways is one of the top-rated river cruise lines in the world. The food on my cruise was excellent and the service wonderful. A few folks said they would’ve liked slightly better and more local wines at dinner, but the beer and wine are free during your meals, including sparkling wine at breakfast. Everyone I spoke with thought the ship was great and loved the tours.
DEAL OF THE WEEK
Sandals Resorts is having what they call their biggest ever Labour Day sale, with savings on some of their top properties. http://www.sandals.com/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=consumer&utm_campaign=labordaysale2gifts_v2&utm_content=logo_sandals_none&utm_term=sep17_r1&WT.mc_id=email_consumer_labordaysale2gifts_v2_logo_sandals_none_sep17_r1&sp_contact=26610420&spMailingID=18004214&spUserID=MzU1MDIxNjc2MTM5S0&spJobID=1100067129&spReportId=MTEwMDA2NzEyOQS2
END NOTE: Got a comment or complaint? Email me: jim@jimbyerstravel.com. TWITTER: @jimbyerstravel. INSTAGRAM: @jimbyerstravel1
Comments on this entry are closed.
Your article made me relive the memories of the trip! Thank you for that! Enjoyed spending time with you there as well!❤️ Happy thanksgiving to you and your family!