Gourmet trip in Bordeaux from Paris with wine-tasting

In the early morning, we will catch the first high-speed train of the day to Bordeaux. In two hours you’ll step off in Bordeaux City and grab a private minibus to Saint-Émilion. You’ll visit this historic town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where Ancient Romans first planted vines in the 2nd century. Your visit will include a look into the seven stories of caves that guard a treasure trove of aging wine.

Your first stop is a small winery in the center of Saint Emilion. After an introduction to the different types of wines produced in the region, you’ll head down into their ancient cellars to taste some of the wines you have just learned about and enjoy a scrumptious bordeaux macaron.

You’ll hop back into the minibus and enjoy a twenty-minute ride through the lovely, rolling countryside to reach a nearby chateau. You’ll take a full tour of the vineyard and also learn how the climate and geology of the region come together to create famously robust red wines. You’ll also pop into the chateau’s scent garden to test your palate on edible plants and get a little teaser of some of the tastes hidden in the wines. Finally, head to the chateau’s old tower to taste two of their wines.

Before you leave, you’ll sit down for lunch on a terrace overlooking the vineyards. The menu changes seasonally, but think local meat and produce; fresh, natural ingredients; and of course, another glass of wine, on the house.

After lunch, you’ll head to a much smaller, family operated vineyard, which also has some of the oldest grape vines in Bordeaux. The owner will show you around and tell you the story of the blight that almost destroyed the European wine industry before salvation came from a very surprising source. You’ll enjoy a dégustation à la barrique , in which the owner will tap some of his barrels and fill your glasses straight from them. You’ll taste a wine that’s still aging and two different white wines, one made from some of the oldest wines in France. You’ll get to try a claret which is a very old style of Bordeaux wine, which almost died out but is now being revived around the region.

You'll hop back on the bus to Bordeaux city, where you’ll catch the train back to Paris.