The very name of Bordeaux has come to mean great wines. No part of France is able to produce a wider variety of the noblest wines than the Gironde area surrounding the city of Bordeaux. Horseback riding through this area you will have the opportunity to taste great wines such as Medoc, Cote de Blaye, Cote de Bourg, Bordeaux Superior, Bordeaux, Lalande, Pomerol, Saint-Emilion, Entre-deux-Mers, Cadillac, Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, Graves and Sauternes.
The area through which you will ride is the Gironde. It is a landscape of some of France's richest agricultural land. The landscape changes from the sandy beaches of the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the mountains of the Pyrenees, far to the south. You will pass neat and picturesque farms, rolling meadows, ancient villages churches and castles. Much of the area has not changed significantly for the last several hundred years.
You will stop at several vineyards along the way. Here, you will get a tour and tastings. Please remember to avoid swallowing these excellent wines, as you will be riding after your tastings. There will be much opportunity to enjoy these wines more completely when dinnertime comes around.
You will visit the Blaye Citadel, built by the famous architect Vauban at the end of the 1600's. Although this magnificent castle was built to defend the area, it now boasts a huge garden. The "Fleurs en Citadelle" attracts visitors from all over the world. It is a lovely experience to walk through this fortress so covered in flowers.
One of the magical treats of this horseback tour is the fact that you are riding in the same countryside that Charlemagne rode in the 8th Century, through one of the world's richest wine country, with a great gastronomic tradition and under the wall of medieval castles and towns.
You will ride horses from the southwest of France. Most are of mixed breeding and are of the French saddle type. Your accommodations will be in small hotels and in farmhouses along the way. The food and wine are excellent and are a delight to the senses.
On this ride you will taste great wines such as Medoc, Cote de Blaye, Cote de Bourg, Bordeaux Superieur, Bordeaux, Lalande, Pomerol. Saint-Emilion, Entre-deaux-Mers, Cadillac, Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, Graves and Sauternes. You will visit the village "Citadelle" of Blaye, the Middle Ages famous village of Saint-Emilion, the Rauzan Castle and the village of Cadillac.
Your Itinerary:
Day 1: Meet at Bordeaux Airport or train station, or at the Hotel Kyriad (if trail is running in opposite direction, meet at Chateau Couloumey). You may meet at the hotel between 6:00 and 8:00 pm. You will meet your guide to discuss your ride this week and enjoy an aperitif.
Day 2: You will depart from your hotel at 9 am. Your ride today is about 4 hours. You will ride toward the Gironde River through the Medoc Vineyards. You will picnic on a stream bank, enjoying the specialties of the country. In the afternoon, you will ride to Larmarque Harbor where you will put your horse on a ferryboat to cross the Gironde estuary (ride will take about 30minutes). You will arrive at the Blaye Citadel, built by Vauban and have the opportunity to do some wine tasting of Medoc and Cotes de Blaye in the afternoon. Overnight at a hotel.
The Blaye Citadel was built by Vauban at the end of the 17th century and along with the Fort of the Island of Pate and Fort Medoc on the left bank, formed Bordeaux's line of defense on the estuary of the Gironde. Blaye was an important stopover for the pilgrims en route for Saint Jacques de Compostelle. The area within the Citadel is home to the Square Pavillon where the Duchess of Berry was incarcerated. In the spring, "Fleurs en Citadelle" transforms the Citadel into a huge garden before the summer theater festival.
Day 3: You will depart at 9:30 am for a ride of approximately 5 hours. You will ride today on rolling hills covered with grape fields, to the Cotes de Bourg area. Picnic and wine tasting at a winery. In the afternoon, you will ride up to Cubnezais among cow pastures and Bordeaux vineyards. You arrive at Cubnezais, where you will have dinner and stay tonight at Domaine de la Gravette B&B, a Bordeaux wine producer, where you will enjoy the wine tasting.
Day 4: You will ride today for about 5 hours across the Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur vineyards. The landscape is one of hills of vineyards and forests. The picnic will be at the Courreges castle where you will be able to savor the best Bordeaux wine. Then you will ride across the Fronsac vineyards, up to the Libourne area. You will have dinner and overnight at Hotel Decaze.
In the spring of 769, as Charlemagne was finishing his conquest of Aquitaine, he established a fortified camp at the confluence of the Isle and Dordogne Rivers. This explains the origin of the Fronsac, which means "Citadel of the Francs". The young emperor was the first person to construct a building on this site, a fortress to defend the outer limits of his empire. It was built on the remains of a Gallo-Roman burial mound whose form can still be made out to this day.
Libourne, the wine capital of the Northern Gironde, is in the heart of world famous vineyards producing top quality wines not far from Bordeaux. Libourne is the gateway to Aquitane, only three hours from Paris by TGV train. The old walled city of Libourne is tucked between the Isle and Dordogne Rivers, in one of the loveliest locations in this part of France. To the west Fronsac overlooks the plain for the top of the hill, which marks the start of the chalky slopes of the Fronsac vineyards. To the North, are the highly reputed wine producing plateaus of Pomerol, Lalande de Pomerol and Neac. To the east, panoply of hillside vineyards and "Grand Crus" surround the medieval city of Saint Emilion. Further afield are the vineyards of Cotes de Castillon, then Sainte Foy La Grande, on the borders of the Perigord. To the South, between the Dorgdogne and Garonne Rivers, are the dry and sweet white wine producing areas of Graves de Vayres and Entre-deux-Mers. Libourne was built in 1270 as a "bastide", a fortified town built on a square pattern. The streets are still in the grid pattern of medieval Libourne, fitting in well with the classical architecture of 18th and 19th century buildings, in the context of a modern town.
Day 5: Your ride today is about 5½ hours. You will depart at 9:30 am to ride toward the medieval village of Saint Emilion, famous for one of the best wines in the world. The town of Saint Emilion got its name from a Christian monk call Emilion, who came to the area in the 8th century, to establish his hermitage and live the life of a recluse, which he did for 17 years. He then became the leader of a group of Benedictine monks. His name was eventually given to the religious city that was gradually transformed into a fortified stronghold. Scenes from this era can be seen at St. Emilion's Trinity Chapel and on the King's Tower. In fact, St Emilion itself is one of France's great cultural and historical treasures. One if its key features is Europe's greatest monolith churches, which was carved out of a single gigantic piece of rock, between the 9th and 12th centuries.
You will have a tasting stop at Bellegrave Castle producing a great Lalande Pomerol wine, Mr. Xavier Pitton's production. For the picnic, you will stop near Saint Emilion, and will be able to visit the village and to taste the famous Saint Emilion wine. You will have dinner and overnight at a B&B. close to St. Jean de Blaignac.
Day 6: You will leave today at 9:30 am to ride to Cadillac, on the banks of the Garonne. Your ride today will be about 6 hours. You will ride across a varied landscapes today; small valleys, forests, vineyards and meadows. On the trail, you will visit the Rauzan Castle, from the 13th century and have a taste of the delicious Entre-deux-Mers wine. You will picnic in the countryside. At the end of the afternoon, you will arrive at Cadillac and will be able to visit this charming village "bastide" from the 13th century and to taste some of Cadillac's wines and some Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux. You will have dinner and overnight at the Chateau Broustaret.
Day 7: In the morning you will taste the wines of Cadillac and First Cotes de Bordeaux. You will leave at about 11:00 am for your ride of about 5 hours. You will cross the Garonne River on the Cadillac Bridge and reach the Graves and Sauternes vineyards. From Blanche Castle you will have an overview of the Sauternes vineyards surrounded by the Lands Forest that marks the end of the Bordelais vineyards. The picnic will take place in the countryside where you will have a Graves and Sauternes tasting at Chateau Gravas. In the afternoon you pass the wine school Chateau de la Tour Blanche with a sweeping view over the vineyards of Sauternes and the pine forest in the horizon that marks the end of the vineyards of Bordeaux. Overnight and dinner at the Château d'Arche.
Day 8: You will be transferred to the train station after breakfast, about 9:30 am (1½ ride).
2008 Dates: March 22-29, April 26-May 3, June 7-14, August 16-23, September 6-13, October 11-18, October 25 – November 1.
Meeting Point: Bordeaux Train Station or Airport.
Saddles: English.
Other Activities: Hiking, sight seeing, fishing, and wine tasting.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
$2375 per person shared.
$350 single supplement.
Price Includes:
- 7 nights guest house accommodation
- All meals
- 6 days of guided trail riding
- Horse
- Tack
- Luggage transfer
- Guide
- Transfer to/from airport/train station at pre-set time and tax.
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