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Experience France’s legendary wine capital

Experience France’s legendary wine capital — and sample the wine! Sherri Lavigne, travel advisor and owner of Have Sherri, Will Travel will help you experience all France has to offer!
Experience France’s legendary wine capital — and sample the wine! Sherri Lavigne, travel advisor and owner of Have Sherri, Will Travel will help you experience all France has to offer!

Can you imagine doing a river cruise that focuses on wine?! I know, right? HEAVEN!!

One of my favourite wines is Bordeaux. And I am not the only one — every second, 20 bottles of Bordeaux are sold around the world! And not all of them are travel advisors! LOL!

So let me share some information about what you would experience during a Bordeaux Wine Cruise!

Experience France’s legendary wine capital — and sample the wine! Sherri Lavigne, travel advisor and owner of Have Sherri, Will Travel will help you experience all France has to offer!

For those of you who are wine lovers, experiencing a Bordeaux river cruise needs to be on your Bucket List. It is a great way to explore France, and most of the river cruise itineraries are usually a week in duration — but I do recommend adding a pre- or post-land excursion so you can add some more “must-see” sites to your itinerary.

On most itineraries, the distance between ports is not far, so you won’t really be doing a lot of “cruising” during the day. Most of the time the ship will be docked overnight so you get a more in-depth land experience, and with a river cruise, there are daily excursions included, but spending more time at one port, it allows you to add a variety of activities to explore and fill your day with discovery and wonder!

A Bordeaux river cruise will include visits to multiple vineyards throughout the week, which include lessons on the past (and present) production methods, as well as sample local wines. It’s not all exploring vineyards and drinking wine! These types of river cruises include UNESCO sites, points of interest and landmarks, and let’s not forget about tasting local cuisine tours!

It should be noted that you should be an “active” traveller, as there is plenty of walking, and river cruises that give you access to their onboard bikes, which is a great way to explore the elegant and timeless beauty of Bordeaux.

For those of you who are wine lovers, experiencing a Bordeaux river cruise needs to be on your Bucket List. It is a great way to explore France, and most of the river cruise itineraries are usually a week in duration — but I do recommend adding a pre- or post-land excursion so you can add some more “must-see” sites to your itinerary.

Close to the heart of the city

River cruises dock close to the heart of the city, so you have easy access to a variety of experiences. The goal of most river cruises is to immerse you into the life at each port, and they do this with small group excursions, which creates a more intimate encounter with the locals.

Here are a couple of experiences you can have on your Bordeaux river cruise:

You must do the Saint-Émilion bike tour and wine tasting. Two birds with one stone — exercise and tasting wine! You hop onto one of the ship’s onboard bikes and follow your guide through the vineyard-rich countryside to the enchanting World Heritage town of Saint-Émilion. This medieval village is in the heart of the famous Bordeaux wine area. It is on a crag (steep rock face) and it was coined for thousands of years for its limestone.

Saint-Émilion bike tour and wine tasting

Two birds with one stone — exercise and tasting wine! You hop onto one of the ship’s onboard bikes and follow your guide through the vineyard-rich countryside to the enchanting World Heritage town of Saint-Émilion. This medieval village is in the heart of the famous Bordeaux wine area. It is on a crag (steep rock face) and it was coined for thousands of years for its limestone.

Tour Blake’s 17th-century Citadel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this citadel visit will have you learning more about this walled city and understanding the history of the place. The Blaye citadel was built between 1685 and 1689 to protect the city of Bordeaux.

Tour Blake’s 17th-century Citadel

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this citadel visit will have you learning more about this walled city and understanding the history of the place. The Blaye citadel was built between 1685 and 1689 to protect the city of Bordeaux. It consists of a fortified gate, barracks and a prison. It clearly shows how this was used as a defensive system. Bourg was highly praised for a leading role in the Second World War, due to its strategic location.

The BEST stop on a wine river cruise — Home to Sherri’s FAVOURITE wine! Pauillac — home to some of the world’s most famous and expensive red wines, predominantly made from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety — Sherri’s FAVOURITE (if you’re taking notes, wink wink). I suggest the Grand Cru Classe wine tasting and scenic vineyard tour! The tour of Château Gruaud Larose lasts about an hour, and you’ll enjoy the unobstructed views of the Medoc scenery from the top of their tower. You’ll then explore the vineyard followed by the cellars and vats house. You’ll also get to go underground and taste their two wines — Chateau Gruaud Larose and Target de Gruaud Larose.

And The BEST stop — Home to Sherri’s FAVOURITE wine!

Pauillac — home to some of the world’s most famous and expensive red wines, predominantly made from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety — Sherri’s FAVOURITE (if you’re taking notes, wink wink). I suggest the Grand Cru Classe wine tasting and scenic vineyard tour! The tour of Château Gruaud Larose lasts about an hour, and you’ll enjoy the unobstructed views of the Medoc scenery from the top of their tower. You’ll then explore the vineyard followed by the cellars and vats house. You’ll also get to go underground and taste their two wines — Chateau Gruaud Larose and Target de Gruaud Larose.

Mini Sherri Have Sherri, Will travel

Mini Sherri

Correspondent and Avid traveller

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