au revoir bordeaux

On my last day in Bordeaux we visited two last wine houses.

Chateau Latour:

Where everyone was outside harvesting.

I felt like I should’ve been picking grapes too.

We actually had the opportunity to see them truck in the hand-picked grapes to be cleaned.

It was interesting to feel the excitement of the workers.

First the large pieces of non-grapes were picked out.

Then the grapes moved up a machine where they were de-vined.

Lastly, these ladies were in charge of picking out anything the machine and first batch of people missed.

Check out their intense concentration!

Then the grapes were crushed and moved into these stainless steel vats.

And eventually into french oak barrels.

Tasting time!
[the tasting room almost looks like a science lab, no?]

and lastly,

Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte: 

They were also harvesting their grapes during our visit.

The neat thing about this chateau was what was under their tasting room.

A hidden cellar!

Where they kept all their vintage wines.

Something else that was special about this house was all their art pieces outside.

This particular one is a crumpled piece of paper.

and
I had to take a picture of this one since it’s currently the year of the rabbit!

- – - – - – -  -

After our visit at Smith Haut Lafitte, we spent some time shopping in the city and then headed to our last dinner in Bordeaux.

The restaurant was right by the river and gave us an amazing view of the city.

Appetizer:
grilled cuttlefish with smashed potatoes

Main:
Sea Bass with savory soufflé 

I was shocked at how large the portion was!  I liked the citrus over the fish, but the real star of this plate was that soufflé pictured in the back left. I’m still not sure what exactly it was, but it was basically some sort of warm savory soufflé filled with gooey cheese in the middle.
It was SO so good.

And lastly this is another reason why I love this city.

It lights up at night. Literally.

Au revoir Bordeaux!



Toto – I don’t think We’re in [Bordeaux] Anymore…

Continuing on with my journey through Bordeaux

I felt just like Dorothy when we entered Bordeaux City.

How had we been in Bordeaux for 3 days already and I didn’t even have the slightest idea there was more to it than wine?

I mean, look at this place!

Love at first site.

Okay, maybe not that extreme.
But there was something about it that I just loved.

It could be these awesome trains zooming cruising around town.

I mean how sweet is that?!
Instead of buses and trolleys they have electric rails on the streets!

Or it could’ve been love at first bite?

That, my friends, is a Canelé.

Supposedly they were created due to the large quantities of egg yolks left over from the wineries in Bordeaux. Since egg whites are used in the process of making wine, many egg yolks are left over so it’s perfect for baking up Canelés which are composed mainly of egg yolks and flour.

This shop specialized in Canelés. It kinda had that retro soda shop look going on.

But the inside was full of pretty goodies.

After trying these sweet Bordeaux specialties, we went to try their more savory specialities.

Bordeaux is located near the ocean so they have a ton of fresh seafood.

We ended up at a cute restaurant across the river named Merci where there was an all you can eat seafood buffet.

Everything was super fresh and I’m pretty sure my momma was in seafood heaven.

After lunch it was winery visit time again…

This was one of the prettiest Chateau’s we visited, in my opinion.

And they had the neatest cellar.
Doesn’t this slightly remind you of the Teletubbies home?

It was also harvesting time here as well.

Then it was back indoors for a tasting.

Another neat thing about this particular Chateau was their decorations.

Everything matched and had that orange-y theme going on. Even their toilet paper was orange!

Next up:
my last day in Bordeaux AND another reason why I love this city!

3 More Wineries!

Tuesday – Day 3 -

The winery visits continue!

But not before a full breakfast of course.

Müesli + coco flakes [mixed with the plain yogurt] along side toast with honey and marmalade

mushroom + tomato egg white omelette

After breakfast we visited Chateau Margaux in Pauillac.

It was a beautiful day out and perfect weather to walk around outdoors.

This is the house where the owners of Chateau Margaux live.

Could you imagine living here?…

Across from their house is where they make their wine.

It’s always interesting to see the characteristics of each winery.

Every cellar functions the same way, but is so different looking from one another.

After Margaux we visited Chateau Troplong Mondot where we also enjoyed a nice home cooked-type lunch paired with their wines.

The bright flowers are planted at the beginning of each row in order of to keep bugs off the grapes. They hope the bugs will be attracted to the flowers first.

After lunch we toured their facilities.
Don’t you think the chandeliers add quite a nice touch to their cellar?

2009 bottles waiting to be labeled and shipped out.

There were some villas in the back of the chateau that had some gorgeous views.

They even overlooked the historic town, Saint-Émilion.

Last stop of the day was Chateau Angelus

There was a beautiful courtyard

that opened up and led to

their massive vineyard.

Grapes were ready to be harvested!

See how different this cellar is versus the other two?

After visiting these three vineyards we headed to our new hotel in Bordeaux city.

Where I was in complete shock.

Since all we had seen the past couple days were acres and acres of greenery and vineyards…

I thought that was the extent of Bordeaux.

But apparently there is more to it. Much more.

Which I will continue in my next post :)