Learning With EWGA Wines - Bordeaux

The Bordeaux wine region is located in the southwest of France centred around the city of Bordeaux and stretching on the banks of the Gironde estuary and those of Garonne and Dordogne rivers. Each year, the region produces close to 900 million bottles of wine representing around 15% of all wine produced in France every year. Red wine amounts for nearly 90% of all wine production. Merlot grapes are the most widely grown, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Of the white varietals, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc are the favoured grapes.

The history of wine in Bordeaux begins almost 2000 years ago with the Romans. Vins De Bordeaux created a fantastic article documenting that history in a visual and accessible way. Check it out here.

There are around 50 different appellations in Bordeaux spread over 120,000 hectares of land! Given the different soils and terroirs, the life of a Bordeaux winemaker must be very interesting indeed. If you are interested in what 'A year in the life of a winemaker' looks like, click here to see that illustrated by Vins De Bordeaux.

While we have a vast selection of wines from several Bordeaux appellations in our portfolio, which you can see here. The winemakers that we would like to present are Chateau Astrelus, a Lancashire family who runs a boutique vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vines located near a small village of Cazaugitat, in the eastern part of the Bordeaux between the rivers of Dordogne and Garonne. They put emphasis on the quality of wines, not quantity. Limiting their yields by removing some of the buds, and monitoring the grapes closely before each harvest to ensure the highest standards. You can view their wonderful wines here.

You can also check out this video for a quick overview of Bordeaux's sub-regions and appellations.

Get in touch if you are looking to add Bordeaux wines to your wine list or onto your shop shelves.