École du Vin

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  • Address
    3 cours du 30 Juillet, Bordeaux
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  • Phone
    05 56 00 22 66

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Serious students of the grape can enrol at the École du Vin, within the Maison du Vin de Bordeaux (Bordeaux House of Wine), across the street from the tourist office. Introductory two-hour courses are held in English on Monday and Thursday from to noon, and Wednesday and Friday from to between May and October.

More comprehensive are the all-day classes from to on selected Saturdays in July and August, with some tastings and lunch into the bargain. To really develop your nose (and your dinner party skills), sign up for one of three progressively more complex, intensive three- to four-day courses. The courses provide an entertaining overview of the techniques and vocabulary of tasting and wine making, and include chateaux visits to test your new skills.

Bordeaux has over 5000 chateaux (also known as domaines, crus or clos), referring not to palatial residences but rather to the properties where grapes are raised, picked, fermented and then matured as wine. The smaller chateaux sometimes accept walk-in visitors, but at many places, especially the better-known ones, you have to make advance reservations. Many chateaux are closed during the vendange (grape harvest) in October.