The Graves vineyards :
Historic cradle of Bordeaux wines
Come and explore the oldest vineyards in the region, dating back over 2000 years. Admire the beautiful chartreuses, the grand mansions that are emblematic of the Graves vineyards. As you meet the winemakers and visit their vineyards, you can taste red and dry white wines from the Graves Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC), as well as sweet AOC Graves Supérieures.
In Podensac, the Maison des Vins de Graves offers a fine sample of the wines produced in the heart of this historic appellation. A stone’s throw away is the Maison Lillet, where you can sample this famous local aperitif in white, red or rosé.
By the way, do you know why this vineyard bears the name Graves? It’s because of its soils, which include pebbles, gravel, sand, silt and clay. At the end of the day, the warmth emanating from the gravel spreads out over the vines, allowing the grapes to ripen properly. Like Sauternes, Graves wine owes its flavour to nature and above all to its geographical location along the Garonne.
The Sauternes-Barsac vineyards:
A unique terroir and wine
This world-famous sweet white wine is one of the region’s must-taste wines. This golden wine with its subtle colour owes its flavour to nature, and more particularly to the Ciron, a small, wet river running through the south of Gironde. When the cool waters of the Ciron meet the gentler waters of the Garonne in autumn, morning mists appear, allowing a microscopic fungus to develop: botrytis cinerea. This fungus causes noble rot, resulting in a concentration of sugar and an increase in aromatic richness. In 1855, Napoleon III asked for the different wines of France to be classified for the Universal Exhibition in Paris. 27 châteaux were classified in the Sauternes and Barsac appellation, divided into three categories. Sauternes became a wine of historic renown!
Prestigious châteaux and family-run wineries welcome you all year round to visit their cellars and taste this golden beverage.
The Bordeaux wine route in Graves and Sauternes
Discovering our vineyards and their treasures is guaranteed to be a delightful experience. If you’d like to take part in a wine-tasting tour, check out the list of châteaux open (and much more besides) on the Bordeaux Wine Route in Graves and Sauternes website, the only one to bring together classified growths in all three wine colours.
Visit, taste and venture along the wine routeThe hillsides on the right bank of the Garonne :
breathtaking panoramas
Opposite the Graves and Sauternes vineyards, on the right bank of the Garonne, white wine is king. You can taste Côtes de Bordeaux Saint-Macaire, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, Loupiac and Cadillac in these vineyards with their rich history. Sweet, dry or syrupy, white wines come in all shapes and sizes, and the winegrowers will be delighted to explain how they produce this typical wine.
Lovers of remarkable views will be delighted as they explore the vineyards and hillsides of the Macar region. Take a break and meet the winegrowers, who have been passing on their passion for their trade for generations. This authentic land and people make for an unmissable visit to the Sud-Gironde. In fact, it was in the heart of these hillsides that illustrious figures such as François Mauriac and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec came to seek inspiration.
Free wine-tasting sessions are available all summer at the Saint-Macaire Tourist Information Office. You’ll also find the wine cellar of the Coteaux Macariens winegrowers, with over a hundred different wines on offer.
If you like dry, sweet or syrupy white wine, then you’ve come to the right place!