Every two years the city becomes wine Mecca as wine professionals from around the globe make the trip to Vinexpo, one of the most important wine exhibitions in the trade calendar. Thousands of visitors from every corner of the world pace up and down the kilometer long exhibition hall sniffing and swirling in an attempt to unearth that special nectar to charm their customers. For me working in the wine trade, Vinexpo was the only thing I had seen of Bordeaux - that was, up until this weekend when I was given the chance to explore another side of the city.

I was part of a group of selected international wine journalists and bloggers invited by CIVB (the people who promote Bordeaux wines) to take in Bordeaux Fete le Vin – a 4-day consumer based festival held along 2km of the docks of the Garonne every two years. Whilst Vinexpo promotes international wines, this wine festival is dedicated to the wines of Bordeaux and the Aquitaine region – it the time when the locals get to party.

Armed with our glasses and “carnet de tickets”, we joined the crowds streaming to the “quai”. Each of the region’s appellations had their a stand staffed with sommeliers serving wines from different producers whilst some of the larger producers and negociants had taken their own stands, eager to seize the opportunity to market their products to the 30,000 strong crowd which would flock to the area over those four days. Some let the wines do the talking whilst others filled their stands with flashing lights, dance music, live music and gadgets.

Looking to pace ourselves on the alcohol and tannins, we decided to head to the Graves stand for a few fruity whites before we were distracted with by the Dark Lab, hosted by the Concours de Bordeaux. In an effort to show how complex evaluating wine can be, they had set up a stand with a pitch black tasting room managed by a group of sight-impaired wine experts. In small groups we were lead into a completely dark room and positioned around a bar. The sensation was strange – first there was a pang of panic, then a sense of loss of orientation and to some extent balance, and then you could almost feel your other senses heighten to compensate for the lack of vision. We were given three glasses of wine and asked, now that we didn’t have any colour to go by, what we thought the wines were. We analysed the aromas and the taste before we were told what we were actually drinking. Two of them were white and the middle was rose, you couldn’t help thinking that perhaps they had used their wisdom to not serve red considering the high risk of spillages. All the wines were medal winners in the Concours de Bordeaux, a competition which each year attracts over 80, 000 wines from the Aquitaine region. The tasting lasted about 10 minutes at which point we were lead out to the sunshine marveling at how amazing an experience being in pitch black had been.

The Ecole du Vin which offers training courses on Bordeaux wines throughout the year, was one of the fairs centrepieces with a roomy, design lounge stand. The lounge, complete with DJ box, hosted a programme of wine related activities: wine and food matching, blending, wine cocktails lead by a very energetic barman. During the cocktails session we were given red shakers, and were dragged on our feet to “shake it” as we mixed our sweet cherry cocktail to thumping beats. Even the more skeptical wine cocktail shakers had to smile at this part.

But the partying wasn’t limited only to the quays, a programme of concerts was held at the nearby Jardins Publiques and the Allees de Tourny had also been transformed into a criss-cross of bars and restaurants where locals partied until the early hours..

The afternoon was spent meandering through the picturesque streets of St Emilion, the iconic ‘right bank’ village. The village is famous for its Cabernet Franc and Merlot based wines (different from the Left Bank which concentrate on Cabernet Sauvignon) and its unique recipes of macaroons made from a combination of bitter and sweet almonds.

With half an hour to spare before heading back to the city, we relaxed in the peaceful Cloitre des Cordeliers, one of the picturesque spots in the village, far from the tourist track. In the underground cellars, winemakers Les Cordeliers store their selection of sparkling Methode traditionelle wines and aboveground, visitors can pick up a bottle from the bar and enjoy it under the shade in the gardens.

Back to Bordeaux, it was time for more exploring in Fete Le Vin. The quays were lined with a collection of huge bottles that had been decorated by artists and there was a large marquee for Hong Kong – guest country for this year’s festival. They were hosting food and wine sessions with Hongkongese cuisines and had displays of their art, culture and cuisine.

Tonight’s activity was hosted by a very friendly group of producers of Sweet Bordeaux. Aiming to show us that Bordeaux was more than heavy reds, we were served 10 sweet wines in a standing dinner evening as we glided up the river on a party peniche. The wines included a selection from the 11 different appellations in the Bordeaux region that produce sweet wines starting with the Moeilleux (my favourites) and then moving onto the more traditional, lush Sauternes. Finger food for each wine was prepared by chef Georges Gontrand – thai sausage, chicken nibbles, pumpkin soup, spiced mango – everything was delicious and specially created to complement the fruity, floral sweet aromas of the wines. On our return, we were given a very priviledged vantage point as our peniche drifted in front of the Palais de la Bourse where at 11o’clock a spectacular light display was projected across the facades. Once that was over, a noisy fireworks display was the finale to the evening.

The next day we had to pack our bags and head home, for us Bordeaux Fete le Vin 2012 was over but visitors to Bordeaux got the chance to join in the fun throughout the weekend. I came away wanting to know and see more, loving the sweet and white wines of the region. Living a rather nomadic life, I don’t know where I’ll be in 2014, but one thing I do know, a quick trip to Fete le Vin will definitely be on my calendar…

Faye Cardwell is a wine events and marketing specialist living in Brussels. She lived in Italy for 10 years and travelled the world promoting Italian wines. She now enjoys organising wine events and promotions in Brussels and in her spare time blogs on wine, travel and life in Belgium.

by Faye Cardwell
Faye personal blog: bubbleandchic.me
Official website: Bordeaux Fête le Vin
Luxury hotels and designer Bed and Breakfasts in Aquitania, Business hotels and Secret places, Unusual hotels and B&B