If you want an introduction to sniffing, swilling and sipping, and to the 57 appellations and 7,000 chateaux that make up the Bordeaux wine region, go on a course. The École de Vin de Bordeaux (bordeaux.com), run by the CIVB (Conseil Interprofessionel du Vin de Bordeaux), offers two-day courses, a three-day grands crus course, which includes visits to Graves, Sauternes, Médoc and St-Emilion, and two-hour summer courses.
The CIVB also runs the stylish Bar à Vin (+33 556 004347), which occupies a great corner spot overlooking the Allées de Tourny and the Grand Théâtre. Unusually, the 30 or so wines are served only by the glass, by knowledgeable staff, along with plates of cheese or charcuterie.
There are 2.5 million bottles – mainly grands crus – stacked up in the colossal cellars of Millésima (+33 557 808808, millesima.fr), located near the station amid the nightclubs and former livestock market on still ungentrified Quai de Paludate. This négociant mainly dispatches wine by the case to customers all over the world, but it also runs courses and visits (ring ahead or reserve at the tourist office). The tours here give an insight into the role of the négociants, powerful wine merchants who have been one of the particularities of the Bordeaux wine trade since the days of Eleanor of Aquitaine.
All over town you will find restaurants and brasseries with superb wine lists. A current hotspot is the buzzy Brasserie Bordelaise, at 50 Rue Saint Rémi (brasserie-bordelaise. fr), known for its steaks and wines from small producers and star consultants. Also worth a try is Le Bar-Cave (latupina.com), on Rue Porte de La Monnaie, where a different winemaker presents their wine each Thursday evening.
