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The first National Wine Tourism Awards from France

February 1, 2010

Last week the French minister of tourism presented the first ‘Prix National de l’Oenotourisme’ – wine tourism awards in four different categories and I’m delighted to say that all of them are already included in Wine Travel Guides! There were 260 entrants in all and I would love to get hold of that list. In the meantime, the winners are as follows:

In the category for the best presented tasting room or winery, the winner was Domaine Cazes in Rivesaltes in the Roussillon region.
For the best restaurant in a vineyard area, the winner was Olivier Leflaife in Puligny Montrachet in Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune.
The winner in the category for creating a network of wine tourism resources linked with a regional wine centre was the Route des Vins du Jura (the Jura Wine Route).
The creation of the ‘Pique-nique chez les vignerons’ event in Alsace won the prize for the promotion of a wine tourism event or feature.

The winners receive a plaque and also – apparently – public relations help with promoting the award. (Needless to say no-one has yet officially contacted Wine Travel Guides about these awards).

Source des Caudalies

As these were the first ever awards, the wine tourism council decided to mention four family wine producers they consider to be pioneers in wine tourism. These producers will also help on the council, which was only formed last year.

The Duboeuf family for the Hameau du Vin in Beaujolais
The Cazes family for the Village of Bages near Pauillac, Bordeaux
The Cathiard family for the Sources de Caudalie spa hotel in Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux
The Maire family for the restaurant Taverne de la Finette in Arbois, Jura

These last four recognitions demonstrate to me quite simply the public relations power of certain wine families in France. I will say no more except that there are other pioneers that could have been selected – let’s hope they will enter next year’s competition and receive just recompense.

The only other similar awards that I know of in Europe are the Great Wine Capitals Awards and these of course only cover one city/wine region per country so, in France that’s Bordeaux.

I do hope these awards encourage more French wine producers to fully embrace the potential of wine tourism. The next task of France’s wine tourism council is to create a new seal of approval awarded to those who fulfil certain designated standards of wine tourism. Applications are being called for now.

1 Comment | Wine Tourism General | Tagged: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Jura, Alsace, wine tourism, Great Wine Capitals, French wine regions, wine tourism awards | Permalink
Posted by Wink Lorch

The great wine capital of Bordeaux

November 25, 2009

Garonne River in Bordeaux

By Wink Lorch

The name Bordeaux conjures up different things to the wine lover: a red or perhaps a white wine; a large and world famous wine region; and to those in the know, a great wine city. After years in the world of wine, I can’t help but know something about the wines, though I’m far from a Bordeaux expert; I have experienced several short trips to Bordeaux’ wine regions, but until early this November I knew virtually nothing of the historic city of Bordeaux.

Bordeaux seems to be enjoying a new lease of life as current mayor Alain Juppé (ex-Prime Minister of France) encourages the administration to continue its programme of investments in renovating and revitalising many old quarters of this very classical French city. On the list of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites since 2007 the main sights range from fine buildings to churches, museums and the spacious Jardin Public including the botanic gardens. It’s worth staying in the heart of the city – offerings vary from the very smart and pricey Regent Grand Hotel opposite the Grand Théatre down to some very reasonable options. If you have a car it’s definitely best to leave it safely parked up somewhere, for it’s a lovely city to walk around, and if you get tired you can just jump on the ever-expanding tram system.

Le Grand Théatre on Place de la Comédie

It’s not only the old town and the rather grand public buildings that have had makeovers, but also the fascinating Chartrons quarter by the Garonne river. The Quai des Chartrons is lined with old warehouses which used to form the offices and warehouses of the traditional Bordeaux wine merchant families or négociant firms – their nickname was l’aristrocracie des bouchons (the cork aristocracy). Today the Chartrons district buzzes with cafés, craft workshops and is a prized residential area. It is also home to Bordeaux’ wine museum, notable for the fascinating section devoted to how the trading of the négoces (as the word is abbreviated) worked, something that to some extent still effects the way top Bordeaux is sold today.

Few négociants remain in the Chartrons area now, but you can visit their modern equivalent, Millésima at the other end of the city near the station (the other strategic area for merchants to be based from a transport point of view). A fine wine mail-order/internet specialist that sells a full range of Bordeaux wines from the most expensive châteaux downwards, you can tour the huge cellars of Millésima to gaze on row upon row of wooden boxes (they hold around two million bottles of very expensive stock). You can also pre-book an educational tasting of whatever wines you wish to taste …. providing you pay the cost, of course. For anyone in Bordeaux for a spell of time, Millésima also has a wine school offering a programme of tasting events, including sessions matching food with top Bordeaux châteaux wines.

As you might expect, the city boasts a growing number of wine shops and not all are focussed on Bordeaux. In the old town, Cousin & Co has wines from all over France and a few from other countries with friendly staff and friendly prices. A tiny shop Vins et Plus in the up-market Triangle d’Or shopping area offers a rotating stock of 60 wines focussing on organic and small producers. And, among the several shops specializing in top Bordeaux, I looked in on newcomer Max Bordeaux, who’s originality is their offer of a large range of First and Second Growth Châteaux to taste from enomatic machines – a chance for a sip of the greats at a reasonable price.

Wine Bar at the Maison des Vins

Apart from wine shops, the city offers an array of food, fashion, antique and household shops; weekly markets; cafés and restaurants of all shades and prices; and naturellement, there are also plenty of bars to stop at for a glass of wine. The Bordeaux Wine Information Centre has its own wine bar on the very grand ground floor of its offices, close to the city’s main tourist office. Whilst perusing the plentiful information about the wines of the region, you can relax with a monthly changing range of wines by the glass and a snack at any time of day.

Staying there at the invitation of Great Wine Capitals who were holding their AGM in Bordeaux and presenting their prestigious Best Of International Wine Tourism Awards, even in the November rain I just loved this city of wine – the very first ‘Great Wine Capital’. I would urge anyone planning a visit to discover the wines of the Bordeaux region, to allocate some quality time right in the heart of the city.

For more details of some of the places I visited and further recommendations, do take a look at our travel guide to Bordeaux City and its Négociants, written by Jane Anson who also writes the fascinating New Bordeaux blog.