Château Larose Trintaudon specifically designed their visitor experience to allow visitors to observe the harvest from the walkways above the cellars, seeing all the activity without getting in the way. The château is one of the properties on the route of the iconic Marathon des Châteaux du Médoc. This year, the 5th of September sees the 40th anniversary of this annual event with the suitable theme of the 1980s. Prepare yourself for some fun outfits as the runners make their way from château to château.
There’s an interactive map of the route on the site where you can see the famous names they’ll be running past, and they’ll be tasting along the way!
Also in the Médoc, in Saint Julien, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou celebrates the 5th edition of their ‘Food Festival des Vendanges’ on the weekend of 17th and 18th October with a Médoc Banquet on Sunday 18th. Enjoy Masterclasses, visits and traditional ‘foire aux vins’. You don’t even have to drive there, there’s a bus to and from Bordeaux city. It’s a family event dedicated to gastronomy, in which, of course, wine plays a leading role.
La Route Bordeaux Graves Sauternes offers a year-long guide of where to stay, eat, drink and visit across this historic and fascinating region.
On the 16th October as part of the annual Les Vignobles en Scène weekend by Vignobles et Découverts they will welcome 200 guests to a single table for a ‘Grand Banquet’. Three chefs, from three awarded Best Of Wine Tourism‘s Châteaux; Yoann Amado from Château Guiraud, Jérome Schilling from Château Lafaurie Peyraguey and Nicolas Masse from Les Sources de Caudalie at Château Smith Haut Lafitte will unite their five stars to create a single menu across three appellations of Pessac-Léognan, Graves and Sauternes to celebrate the wines and gastronomy of the region. Wine makers will be on hand to present their wines.
Learn the unique skill of Sauternes berry by berry hand-harvesting wit the team at Château d’Arche. On the 18th October after a welcome coffee, and a stroll through the vineyard to discover the unique biodiversity, guests will join the workers. A harvest lunch will be the opportunity to raise a glass of the delicious wine to the new incoming vintage.
Château Malartic-Lagravière, 2024 Best Of Wine Tourism winner, also joins the celebrations from 16-18th October, with a food and wine workshop in their panoramic tasting room. After a visit of the beautiful property, the vines and the cellar, hand-crafted treats will be treat perfectly paired with the wines of this Classified growth of Pessac Léognan in the northern Graves.
While you’re waiting for October, the nearby Royal Château Cazeneuve will take you back in time on the 19th September. Built from the 13th and 17th centuries upon an 9th-century fortress, this Renaissance architectural gem, with its magnificent park, brings together nature and history. An open-air ‘son et lumière’ takes guests back to 1287, when King Edward I of England visited. They’ll meet the imprisoned French Queen Margot, join a hunting party of King Henri IV of France and experience the visit of King Louis XIII in 1620, all culminating in a wonderful firework display
Night harvest
If it’s a party you’re after rather than a picking basket, the right bank doesn’t disappoint. The ‘Vendanges Nocturnes’ or Night Harvest returns to Saint Emilion on the 28th and 29th August at Château Trianon. This immersive festival mixes DJ sets, musical experiences and grands crus tastings. There’s been music all summer long in Saint Emilion at Cloître des Cordeliers. They have hosted musical evenings every weekend, finishing on the last weekend of August – but all is not lost if you are coming for the harvest. On the 5th September they will host a Western evening. Pull on your cowboy boots and Stetsons and join the party with a DJ set transforming this historical site into an open-air saloon above the bottles of Crémant de Bordeaux deep in the caves under your stomping feet.
Fly high
From 11-13th September Les Mongolfiades du Grand Saint Emilionnais is an opportunity to see the beautiful hot-air balloon festival. Balloons take off morning and evening. Château Coupelle d’Ertan invites you to join them for breakfast to watch them take off and to stay a while to taste the wine or enjoy a picnic in the vines. Why not make a day of it? The Château is also part of the Vignobles en Scène weekend, offering a lunch and book signing on both the 16 and 18th October.
On a more classic theme, La Fête des Vendanges returns for the 4th time on the weekend of 10 and 11 October. 45 Grands Crus Classés of Saint-Émilion will open up spaces normally closed to the public to celebrate both wine and heritage. Unique visits with workshops, tastings, hosted wine and food events and discovery circuits through the vineyards promise unexpected experiences.
Not far away in Fronsac, Château George 7 is hosting an evening of yoga, wine and friendship to raise money for breast cancer research starting off ‘Octobre Rose’ on 1st October.
Total immersion
Over in Lalande-de-Pomerol, Château La Fleur de Boüard invites visitors behind the scenes during this exciting time of year. Harvest-adapted tours take guests through the vines and into the winery to discover the grapes arriving, sorting and the first stages of winemaking, before finishing with a guided tasting. As harvest waits for no one, experiences depend on the activity of the day, so contact the château in advance to see what the vintage has in store for your visit.
Further north in Blaye, family-owned Château Monconseil Gazin is hosting their ‘initiation to the harvest’ on Saturday 12 and the 19th September. This is the 11th year of the party where guests participate in the harvest from picking the grapes to selecting them once they arrive in the cellar. There’s a tasting, visit and lunch of course after all that hard labour.
Saturday 12th Château Réaut also welcomes guests wanting a harvest experience. It’s quite the party, you can join this unique community of co-owners of the property in Côtes de Cadillac. They usually welcome over 500 guests. Join the lunch of steaks grilled over the vine clippings or bring your own picnic but be prepared to share your home-made specialities with your neighbours on the communal tables.
Across the region, although vineyards and wine makers are busy, they will always find time to share and celebrate the creation of a new vintage.
Author: Wendy Narby for Great Wine Capitals Photos credits: ©ChateauLaFleurDeBouard / ©ChateauMonconseilGazin / ©MarathonDuMedoc / ©ChateauMalarticLagraviere / ©CloitreDesCordeliers / ©ChateauReaut