More Bordeaux, France on GIVE ME MORE WINE....

The rain stopped from the previous day and blog and the streets were packed with people!!!  Bordeaux the sixth largest city in France has about 300,000 city inhabitants and 600,000 in the surrounding area.

Total Wine Immersion are the terms that could apply to wine education but in this case it means me jumping to a vat of grape juice before it is wine.

 I feel the need to make that jump after all the many layers of details, information, marketing, and knowledge involved in wine. Sometimes I need to find that big VAT and hope it is fermented grape juice to relieve the ringing in my head.  I like the history of wine development more than the current information on the wine. My palette too brutish for the wine tasting process. Plus, I don't even know what a black currant really tastes like.  Still in Bordeaux, I went for the 2 tours with wine tastings and one oenology course on Bordeaux terroir.  All were quite interesting. The first tour and pictures are at appellation and village of St. Emillion in the Bordeaux area. The Chateau is Haut-Veyrac 5th generation vineyard and one of only 5 (I think) Grand Cru Chateau in St. Emilion village. It grows Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc (I think) Château Haut Veyrac 1 Haut Veyrac, 33330 Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse, France. We had two tastings from 2001 and 2002  vintages which were very different indeed. So it was nice learning experience. 

Grapes are changing color and will harvest in the September 

That's me with the city of St.Emilion in the background.  It is ALL about wine here.

St. Emilion, France with vineyards in the far background.

Now apply that to buying a good valued wine form the 800 or so different labels Or different Chateaux OR was it different wine merchants. Give me a whisky or better yet which is more my norm, give me this find dessert below, which is based on caneles which is a caramel filled and crusted cake and put that with coffee ice cream and whipped cream too.

BUT

we are NOT done with the wine yet.   Tour number 2 goes to MEDOC region. 

Here is tour number 2 which was to one chateau and one cooperative that made wine under 2 chateau names.  The first chateau was a huge operation  and was a second classe chateau which is one of only 14 or so in Medoc and the village of St. Julien (I think). Details Details Details.I will only show you the Chateau Gruaurd Larose 

I think this is Merlot, just look at the terroir

I think this is Cabernet Sauvignon.  Observe the terroir.

Wooden vats for fermenting

The best wine is here. Looks old but cellar is newer.