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 On
the Garonne River, the port of Bordeaux, the capital of Aquitaine,
is one of the world's most important wine-producing areas. It
attracts visitors to the offices of wine exporters here, most of
whom welcome guests.
Since the XVIII century, the city of Bordeaux has assumed a majestic
air and prided itself on an elegance that it has never lost. Rich in
history, culture, arts, music, legendary wines and epicure, Bordeaux
is not only the wine capital of the world, but also a vibrant center
of trade, industry and business.
Bordeaux is a city of warehouses, factories, mansions, and suburbs,
as well as wide quays 8 Kms. (5 miles) long. Now the fifth-largest
French city, Bordeaux belonged to the British for 300 years and even
today is considered the most "un-French" of French cities.
It may not exude the joie de vivre of Paris, but Bordeaux is a major
cultural center and a transportation hub between southern France and
Spain. With a population of some 650,000, much of Greater Bordeaux
looks seedy, but some urban renewal projects are on the way. The
early 21st century will not be the most scenic time to visit
Bordeaux. The streets are mangled, thanks to the construction of a
new aboveground network of trams, estimated for completion about
2009, and there are scaffoldings over many of the city's 18th- and
19th-century buildings. But all of this is leading to a welcome
transformation of the city's historic core into one of the great (urban)
aesthetic triumphs of western France.
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 The Bordeaux Wine Trade: After Marseille,
Bordeaux is the oldest trading port in France. From Roman times
the export of wine was the basis for a modest prosperity but under
English rule (1154-1453), the merchants began making immense
fortunes from their monopoly of wine sales to England. After the
discovery of the New World, Bordeaux took advantage of its
Atlantic position to diversify and extend its wine market. Today
the Bordeaux region produces over 44 million cases of wine per
year.
The châteaux are at the heart of the quality system in Bordeaux,
the world's largest fine wine region. A château includes a
vineyard and a building, which can range from the most basic to
the grandest, from historic to modern. But, the château is also
the symbol of tradition and of the philosophy that a wine's
quality and character spring from the soil. Some châteaux welcome
visitors for wine tasting as well as buying. The Maison du Vin and
the tourist office in Bordeaux offer information and tours |
