Bordeaux Blog: Saint Emillion

The French life of an almost 21 year old: And so it begins, the first trip away blog. Myself and my house mate Jenny fancied a day out of Bordeaux so we popped to the small and quaint village of Saint Emillion.

The vineyards of Saint Emillion in Winter

Getting There

A return train journey to Saint Emillion cost us less than 20 euros, and the journey only took 50 minutes, which I think is pretty decent for a day trip, especially in France. We didn't have a plan for the day, which is so unlike me but it felt kind of cool for me, exciting even! Jenny and I enjoyed the French countryside as we travelled on the train, whilst chatting about anything you can imagine, from food to valentine's day presents. The time flew by and we arrived feeling like we'd been on the train for 10 minutes. The train station at Saint Emillion honestly reminded me of Canada, out in the wild west, it only consisted of a barn and there wasn't even a bridge to get to the other side of the line. We had to traverse the tracks via a few planks of wood laid haphazardly on the tracks!

We didn't have a plan for the day, which is so unlike me

We weren't sure where to go when we got off the train, so we just followed the signs, like anyone else sensible would do! The walk into Saint Emillion took about 20 minutes, you walk along a quiet road with vineyards either side of you, it's very belle, as the french would say. Jenny grabbed a baguette from a boulangerie and we found a nice place overlooking a vineyard to have lunch. I had a baguette mixte (it's effectively a ham and cheese sandwich) from Paul's bakery, one of my best discoveries since being in France.

Walking around Saint Emillion we noticed everything was closed between 12-2, exactly over lunchtime, so we headed to the tourist information centre and waited (im)patiently for it to open.

The view out over Saint Emillion in Winter

We overlooked the village from an amazing view point, in summer this little town would be the most prettiest of places! In winter, it was still stunning even with bare vines, but I can imagine with all the vine yards and grapes growing in the fields, the view out over the country side would be something special.

Lunch time views

Vineyard tours

The lady in the tourist office was so lovely, we spoke in french to her and she explained what the best things to do were. We had to choose between staying in Saint Emillion and going to one of the wine cellars (caves) underground to sample wine, this would cost anywhere between 3 to 16 euros depending on the wine producer. The second option was to pick an independent vine yard within proximity of the village and head there, viewing the chateaux around Saint Emillion and having a private tour of the vine yards.

Jenny and I chose to go to UDP Union de Producteurs for a free tour of the wine factory. We saw the production line of wine making, from the tractors which deposit the grapes, to the condensers, to the cedar tree barrels for storage, all the way to the bottling of wine.

Standing in front of one of the many impressive old buildings

The factory was massive, I would estimate there was at least 5000 barrels of wine, and each wine was organised into type, age, producers etc. It was a very interesting tour and our guide was lovely, understanding that we are English so speaking slowly for us. We asked many questions and were genuinely interested in the tour.

After the tour we had a free wine tasting session, where we sampled 5 wines, from the Saint Emillion Grand Cru (the best of the best) to a standard Saint Emillion. 2014 was supposedly a good year for harvest, so if you're interested in buying a bottle I recommend a 2014 Grand Cru which is ready to drink now.

In front of the Saint Emillion sign, situated in a perfect location so we knew how to get there

Keep posted for more updates on useful facts about Bordeaux (and random ones) as well as the typical life of an English girl trying to be French in a foreign city. 

Much love

Ellie xx