A Spring full of surprises for Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux wines!

On Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 April 2013, the Blaye Spring Wine Festival takes over the Citadel of Blaye. And in addition to the usual wine tastings, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux has a few surprises up its sleeve for visitors!

For the space of a weekend, over 80 winegrowers from the Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux appellation will take up residence in the Citadel to welcome an ever-growing number of visitors. Over 12,000 attended last year’s event and the Blaye Spring Wine Festival continues to go from strength to strength. In addition to the highly popular tastings of Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux wines, there will be no shortage of surprises at the 19th edition of the Blaye Spring Wine Festival this year. From flights in a helicopter to œnology and cookery courses and trips through the vineyards, two days will not be too long to enjoy the many attractions that have made the reputation of this event, the largest wine festival in the Bordeaux area after Bordeaux Fête le Vin.

A personalised bottle

In a new feature for this year’s Festival, in addition to the tastings offered by winegrowers on their stands, wine-lovers are invited to put on a cellar-master’s apron at a blending workshop. “We have arranged this attraction in response to demand from our visitors, many of whom want to go beyond just wine-tasting”, says Mickaël Rouyer, director of the Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux appellation. At the workshops, which will take place ten times a day during the weekend, participants will have an opportunity to create and bottle their own wine, leaving with their own personalised souvenir bottle. “Everyone can adjust the proportion of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the two main grape varieties of Blaye wines, to their taste”, remarks Mickaël Rouyer.

Meeting the winegrowers

For young Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux winegrowers, the Wine Festival is an opportunity to enjoy themselves and win over local customers. Sandrine Haure, winegrower at Château L’Haur du Chai near Fours, will be taking part in the Blaye Spring Wine Festival for the first time. “I have just finished switching to organic, so the Festival will give me an opportunity to introduce my new products to local customers, explain what I’m doing and give tastings of my red wines”, she says. Local customers mean visitors who now come from as far afield as Charente-Maritime, the Bassin d’Arcachon and Bordeaux. For Emeline Cot, from Château Siffle Merle at Marcillac, the Festival is an annual institution in the family, an event not to be missed. “My father used to keep the stand at the Blaye Spring Wine Festival before me. It is a time when we can get together with other winegrowers and enjoy ourselves with the public in a very uncomplicated way. There’s a country market feel about the Blaye Spring Wine Festival, with people standing up eating things they have bought at the food market and enjoying a glass of wine. It’s really great”, she smiles.

Vignerons - Printemps des Vins de Blaye Food market and explorations

Saint-Nectaire cheese, duck conserves, gourmet salt, asparagus, rib-eye steaks from cattle reared by local farmers… In between meeting winegrowers, visitors can also enjoy local specialities. Cooking workshops and tastings all through the weekend will give food-lovers a chance to sample all the delights of local produce. Those who want to explore the region can take a tractor-train ride through the vineyards or a boat trip on the estuary accompanied by a winegrower who will offer an on-board tasting. Another major attraction for the 19th edition of the Festival this year is a prize draw with flights in a helicopter for the 100 lucky winners, giving them a bird’s eye view of the estuary and the Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux vineyard. So mark the date in your diary! There’s plenty to do and lots of fun to be had during the weekend of 13 and 14 April 2013 in the Citadel of Blaye!
 

Pass price: €5. Includes tastings with winegrowers as well as entry to all the events, trips and workshops (on reservation).

Find the whole programme on the Blaye Spring Wine Festival website

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