Vineyards throw open doors on limited weekends

If you have ever fancied rolling up your sleeves and finding out what it takes to make their special bottle of wine, then this one is for you.

On certain weekends throughout the year, the châteaux of different Bordeaux appellations open their doors and welcome visitors wanting to tour their properties and taste their wines.

Here are the dates for the 2010 Portes Ouvertes (translated literally as 'open doors')Read more

Head to Bordeaux to escape the winter blues

Fed up with the weather and dreaming of your next holiday? Then Bordeaux may have the answer.

Bordeaux offers its visitors tradition, prestige, the art of living well and conviviality. History and heritage is important to the region famed for its wine and food but new developments in Bordeaux show the destination as a tourism trend setter and a place that has something to satisfy all interests...

Here are just a few tantalising places to visit:Read more

Taste Bordeaux's most famous wines for a fraction of the price at the Wine Gallery

Visitors to Bordeaux can now sample 'first growths' and the prestigious Right Bank’s top wines including Cheval Blanc and Ausone - thanks to a new tasting bar.

The Wine Gallery opened its doors on Thursday (October 22 2009). It offers visitors the chance to sample many of the region's most famous wines, that would normally cost hundreds of pounds a bottle.

Wines on offer include Margaux, Lafite, Latour, Haut Brion, Mouton, Ausone, Cheval Blanc and Leoville Les Cas.

The wine Gallery was financed by Bordeaux negociant’s Bordeaux Winebank and Max Bordeaux.Read more

Annual ‘Foire aux vins’ begins in France

French wine lovers are rushing to big supermarkets this week to replenish their cellars during the annual wine sales.

France comes alive as a wine powerhouse during the next four weeks as legions of consumers manoeuvre their shopping carts through crates of Bordeaux and Bourgognes in search of the best vintage at a good price.

While wine consumption has dropped here over the past four decades, the annual "foire aux vins" (wine fair) remains hugely popular as the appointed time to stock up.Read more

Champagne sales plummet 45%

New research shows that French wine and spirits exports fell by almost a quarter in the first half of 2009.

Champagne sales plummeted by 45% in value, with Bordeaux declining 24%, according to the Fédération des Exportateurs de Vins and Spiritueux (FEVS).Read more