When it comes to wine, the name Bordeaux is always synonymous with quality and often greatness to wine lovers.

The oldest and largest fine wine producing region in the world has 57 appellations and some 115,000 hectares of vineyards. The wine industry employs one out of six people working at 12,000 estates, 400 négociants and 130 brokers. The Bordeaux region has an annual production of 5.58 million hectolitres of wine worth some 3 billion euros.
 

The variety and quality of Bordeaux wines is due to terroir, human expertise, and the art of blending.
The world's greatest grape varieties Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Canernet Franc come from Bordeaux, and it is only here that they are blended to make subtle, well-balanced wines that the whole world appreciates.

Located just outside the city, the Bordeaux vineyards have numerous attractions:

MEDOC

The Médoc, one of the most famous vineyard regions in the world, invites you to drive along the Route des Grands Crus where you will see one famous estate after another (Giscours, Palmer, Margaux, Brane-Cantenac, Mouton-Rothschild, etc.) and numerous châteaux bearing witness to the prosperity and prestige of winegrowing in Bordeaux. Many estates will be glad to welcome you, show you around their sumptuous cellars, and pour wines of infinite subtlety for you to taste.

SAINT EMILION

The medieval village of Saint Émilion was built on a unique natural amphitheatre, atop a limestone hill. It has marvellous sun exposure and once one goes outside the town there are vines as far as the eye can see. Saint Émilion has preserved its ramparts and gateways as well as an impressive number of  monuments. This was the first vineyard area in the world to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, thanks to its "cultural landscape".

SAUTERNES 

The Sauternes region produces a rare wine thanks to a special microclimate. The grapes are picked one by one in several goes for optimum ripeness. Only one or two glasses of wine are produced per vine. Sauternes is golden-coloured, elegant, powerful, and heady, and has a strong bouquet.  Although Sauternes is most famous for its wine, it is also a beautiful region with many wine estates and historic châteaux well worth visiting.

GRAVES 

Cradle of winegrowing in Bordeaux, the Graves appellation stretches along the left bank of the Garonne. Its name comes from the gravelly soil that provides good drainage and also reflects the sun's rays, enhancing ripeness. A subdivision of the Graves, the Pessac Léognan appellation was created in 1987. It includes some sixty châteaux, some of them veritable urban vineyards located in the suburbs of Bordeaux. Graves wines were praised by Montesquieu, who produced them himself.

ENTRE DEUX MERS 

The Entre Deux Mers region is located between the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, which accounts for its name. The countryside here is varied and attractive, and there are also plenty of fascinating monuments: Romanesque churches, medieval ruins, and wine châteaux set in a green, rolling landscape. This region produces a well-known dry white wine as well as red wines entitled to the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur appellations, and sweet white wines.

THE CÔTES DE BOURG AND CÔTES DE BLAYE 

Dating from the first century B.C., the Bourg vineyards are among the oldest in Bordeaux. The region's vine-covered slopes overlook the Dordogne River and Gironde Estuary. They produce wine that is powerful, but smooth, and maintains its finesse and fruitiness as it ages. The corniche, or road along the estuary, goes past attractive stone houses with flowers as far as the fortress in Blaye, built according to plans by the military architect Vauban. The Citadelle de Blaye has a beautiful view over the estuary that has inspired numerous authors, scriptwriters and poets. It was part of a three-point defence system including the Fort Médoc in Cussac-Médoc and  Fort Paté (built on an island of the same name in the middle of the  Gironde) to protect the city of Bordeaux from invasion. The Citadelle de Blaye has also been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.