A few thoughts about Bordeaux, before I get home and write about how much fun this has been:
1. It's a pleasure to be in a country where people hold a wine glass by the stem.
2. Cheval Blanc is very, very good.
3. Bordeaux is quite pretty. Richard Carleton Hacker, who is on this press trip, said it looks like the kind of wine country that defines the term, the kind of ambiance that the rest of the world aspires to.
4. A three-hour, seven-course, 13-wine lunch is as overwhelming as it sounds.
5. The Bordelaise are interested and knowledgeable about wine production elsewhere in the world, and understand the challenges facing the French wine industry much better than they are given credit for in the U.S.
6. St. Emilion is one of the most beautiful towns I have ever been in.
7. Only red wine for four consective days, no matter how good it is, does get a bit draining.
8. All that stuff about French food? It's true.
9. The weak dollar has pushed up the price of inexpensive Bordeaux wines by 30 and 40 percent, much to everyone's dismay. I had a nifty 10 euro bottle from from Fronsac, a less well known region, that was a great value. It an even better vale when the euro was worth 80 cents.
10. I don't know what it is, but drinking wine that is made in a 600-year-old castle, while you're in the castle, is impressive.
Hi Jeff,
Glad to see that you enjoyed the trip. Those four days were also for us amazing.
thank you for your enthousiasm, your kindness, and your good mood.
Waiting for your next comments, and your next visit. yours sincerely
Emmanuelle
Posted by: EMMANUELLE FROM SAINT-EMILION | September 25, 2008 at 07:34 AM