Long weekends abroad: Wine tasting in

Bordeaux
I arrived in Bordeaux not knowing my merlot from my elbow, but it didn't take long
for me to start thrusting my nose into a glass and citing red berries and flowers, and
wondering if it was typical of the appellation (0) (.......................... area) in which it
was made.
Take the evening of (1) ....................... and wine tasting at Château Rigaud, a
wonderful, boutique-style establishment where guests come together in a lavish
dining room for organised "house party" (2) ............................ It started sensibly
enough with teachings from oenologist Fabian Barnes on different (3) ........................
distinguishing sweet wines and matching wines and cheese. But it wasn't long before
he was suggesting (4) ........................... was more "animally in hue, with a hint of
stuffing, wild boar and fox".
Aside from the odd, enjoyable moment of parody, a wine-tasting (5) .................... in
Bordeaux has to be one of the best (6) ........................ journeys you can take from the
UK. You can have your low-carbon, guilt-free travel, then spend the rest of your
holiday piling the guilt back on in spades with (7) ................................ of the local
nectar - washed down with the local cheeses, meats and potato dauphinoise -
knowing this is the only right and proper thing to do.
We started our trip with a lesson in the basics of (8) .......................... at the Ecole du
Vin. Our teacher was Alex Hall, a British banker who gave it all up to pursue his
dream of opening (9) ................................. After scouring the area for the perfect plot,
he soon came to the conclusion that it didn't exist, and turned his hand to teaching
and (10) ............................. instead. You can see why. Producing - and, in some ways,
drinking - wine in the region is frighteningly (11) ........................................ There are
10,000 (12) ............................. in Bordeaux alone but, aside from an overproduction
problem, they don't make things easy for themselves. In Bordeaux, it is traditional to
mention only the appellation on your (13) ...................................... (and to expect
consumers to know what grapes are used in that area). Which, given that there are 57
appellations, is a lot to ask of your average buyer who heads to the supermarket
(14) ........................... section knowing only that they fancy a sauvignon blanc with
their supper.

a, grapes b, label c, events

d, glass after glass e, booze f, castles

g, a vineyard h, break i, wine production

j, flight-free k, complicated l, food

m, tourism n, parties o, learning

p, wine estates q, a bottle r, wine-producing

s, barrel t, ceremony

iSLCollective.com
Key:

(0) - r

(1) – l

(2) – c

(3) – a

(4) - q

(5) – h

(6) – j

(7) – d

(8) – i

(9) - g

(10) - m

(11) - k

(12) – p

(13) – b

(14) – e

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