Medoc Wine Region

 Our boat was supposed to be on the move today, but the French government took the docking rights for our ship at our next stop for something they needed.  Hmmm...on a beautiful day in June, on an SUNDAY - I'm thinking someones party.  But, we actually didn't mind, as we found our favorite spot on the boat - 2 great rocking chairs at the very front of the boat...that are oddly always available for us.  So, we stayed in beautiful Bordeaux today right beside the VERY active river walk.  We could have sat there all day and watched the locals...but, we boarded our tour bus and headed to the Medoc wine region.

 The Medoc wine region is an 80 mile long peninsula that is bordered on one side by the Atlantic Ocean and on the other side by the Gironde estuary - where our boat should have been traveling today :-)  It is a flat, rolling land that is dotted by chateaus.  "Chateau" in this part of the country is another word for winery, not the American idea of a chateau meaning a "castle".  There are 1,200 chateaus in Medoc region.

However, I would argue with them, that some of their "wineries" do look a great deal like a "castle".

Actually, 90% of their chateaus are hard-working vineyards/farms that are one bad season away from losing their property.  Only about 10% of the chateaus are the "big boys" and have massive grounds and property.

We arrived in France at a beautiful time of the year for wine lovers - purely by accident - as the grapes are all flowering.  If you look closely at the picture to the right, what looks like tiny little grapes are actually blooms/flowers.

The soil in the Medoc region is rocky, VERY rocky...which makes these grape roots work extra hard (great for the vines).  The grapes they grow in this region like dryer conditions, so some of the farmers actually plant grass in between the rows of vines to soak up extra water. The farmers here use roses, like many farmers who grow grapes, at the end of the rows much like the miners used birds in the mines.  A rose bush will be able to tell the farmer if something is wrong, much sooner than they would notice on their vines.

Our tour group was sent up the "Route of Chateaus" to the small village of Saint-Estephe to tour Chateau Prieure-Lichine, and taste some of their wines.  It was founded in the 15th century by Benedictine monks.  The vines planted here are mainly Cabernet SAuvignon and Merlot.  They have brand new cement vats, from Italy, where the grapes spend their first 30 days off the vine.  The interesting thing about these vats is they are smaller at the top. For those wine lovers, you know that the skin and seeds float to the top forming a "cap" during these first 30 days.  Having a smaller top, means that the cap is thicker - so when they filter the grape juice through the vat 3 times a day, it has to go through a thicker cap - therefore getting a better color and flavor.  Leave it to those Italians!!

Then, the wine spends 18-24 months in, of course, FRENCH oak barrels.  I will say, this was one of the most beautiful barrel rooms I have ever seen...and the smell...oh, so wonderful.

After some other chateau/village visits - all four tour groups ended up at Chateau Kirwan for a private dinner.  Our last wine with dinner was a 1981 Chateau Kirwan- spectacular old-aged wine to end an amazing day.