Bordeaux Region

The whole of Bordeaux is a beautiful area. It's too bad your travel partner does not want to stay in the city of Bordeaux as it is beautiful with so much to see/do. The Médoc and St. Émilion are about 1.5 hrs by car from each other (btw both areas are much easier to navigate by car than public transport.) If wine tasting is your primary reason for visiting the area--and you do not want to stay in the city of Bordeaux--you could spend 2 nights in the Médoc region and 2 nights in St. Émilion area. As a general rule, you will need reservations to taste at any winery. Some exceptions are Portes Ouvertes (open houses) or, sometimes, the Tourist Office(s) have a list of wineries that allow drop ins for a particular day. The town of St. Émilion is charming! I go often and never tire of it. You will have no shortage of wonderful wines (and wineries) in both of these areas, as well as amazing food. A great website to check out is Lost in Bordeaux (https://www.lostinbordeaux.com/). She is a fantastic resource for everything Bordeaux and it's environs.

I visit Bordeaux regularly. If you are only going for 4 days, pick one location to stay. If you choose to stay in the Medoc, visit wineries on the left bank. If you choose to stay in Saint-Emilion, visit wineries on the right bank. Lastly, you could stay in Pessac Leognan which would allow you to visit both banks, hotel options in this part are limited. If you are staying outside of the city, you will need to rent a car, unless staying right in Saint-Emilion and are willing to bike/walk to wineries.

If you are looking for winery recommendations this website is a good resource: www.sauvistication.com

Thank you. This is very helpful information.

We had excellent experiences with the wine tour specialist Ophorus. They (and their competitors) could be a good resource to allow you ready access to some interesting chateaux.