My husband and I are going to Bordeaux/Dordogne/Basque France end of September/early October.
Can anyone recommend wineries in Bordeaux and possibly Basque France that are friendly/family owned or otherwise not "snooty" and moderately priced? I'm told "they do exist".
We are flying from Minneapolis and it is prohibitively expensive to fly into Bordeaux ($1600 per tix!!). So we will use CDG or Orly and take a train, hopefully TGV to Bordeaux where we will rent a car. (We will fly home from Madrid or Paris, I'm not that far yet in planning). Am I correct that TGV is not convenient for ORLY? Next, it is much cheaper to book train tickets a few months ahead, but I'm assuming that if our plane is late, we are out of luck in terms of the ticket? In the past, we've purposely stayed a night in Paris to avoid a tight connection with a train, but this time we'd prefer to just get to our destination. When I was planning for another trip, I noticed that tickets to Chartres didn't seem to vary much in terms of when they are purchased, so we purchased tickets when we arrived and spent an evening in Chartres and then continued on the next day. Can anyone recommend a similar stop close to Paris where it might be interesting to spend an evening and then catch TGV the next day to Bordeaux? We have already covered a fair amount of the Loire so that is not of great interest. Are there other itinerary suggestions?
Lastly, please feel free to mention memorable experiences that you have had in this area.
Posted by
Kelowna, Canada
118 posts
Not sure if it fits in your plans but just north of Bordeaux is the Medoc wine region with lots of small wineries (and large ones like Laffite-Rothschild) We drove through this area in October 2016 on our way to La Rochelle and stopped at a small family run winery. The owner was preparing lunch for her workers when we arrived but she was very gracious and gave us a tasing of some of her wine, which was very nice.
Check out chateaubalac.com
Posted by
OP
Twin Cities of MN
5579 posts
Perfect, Michael, Thank you! The winery you suggest reminds me a little of a place we stopped in Vouvray. When we arrived we noticed children's outdoor toys in the small parking lot and the entire family eating in the home right next to the area they use for tasting. They were so friendly and knowledgeable.
I should clarify. We are not so much interested in the actual city of Bordeaux. We will probably stay there one day, if that. We are interested in the Bordeaux wine region and Dordogne and then some time in the Basque area..
Posted by
Kelowna, Canada
118 posts
Forgot to mention another delightful place for wine is St Emilion which is just east of Bordeaux.
Have fun
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
If you want to visit family owned and non-snooty wineries, the Pays Basques region is perfect. When I was there 5 years ago there were only 9 Irouleguy producers, and I think now there are just a few more. I visited 4 of them, and they ranged from very small to moderately small. I think Domaine Brana is probably the largest, but it's still pretty modest, and I believe still family owned. I downloaded a brochure back then that list all the wineries, but I'm not able to attach it here, nor can I figure out where I got it. But this site does list all the Irouleguy producers. https://www.guide-du-paysbasque.com/fr/tourisme/deguster/les-vins-basques/les-producteurs.html
Posted by
OP
Twin Cities of MN
5579 posts
Sounds great, Thanks Robert!
Posted by
Castle Rock, CO
35 posts
I'd go to Bordeaux the same day you arrive to keep from burning a whole day and a 1-night stay. From CDG, check out the Air France bus shuttle to Montparnasse, the station that the TGV to Bordeaux departs from. If going into Orly, you should be even closer to Montparnasse. As I recall, those trains are every 2-3 hours, so if you're miss yours, I think you can get on the next one, assuming your class of service, I.e. First Class is open.