Bordeaux Fête le Vin – Bordeaux Wine Festival 2016

The famous Fête le Vin returns once again to the world favorite wine capital, Bordeaux. Running from June 23 – 26, this year’s event celebrates the 10th anniversary of the festival, which is widely regarded as the leading European wine tourism event. It coincides with the opening of the magnificent new Cité du Vin, a mega-museum devoted to wine culture and civilizations which was inaugurated on June 1.

Courtesy of Bordeaux-Fete-le-Vin

The festival will take place on the beautiful Bordeaux riverfront, a UNESCO World Heritage site, providing the perfect venue for visitors to enjoy the fantastic Aquitaine and Bordeaux wines produced in the region. In a 2-kilometer long village set up along the Garonne River, the wine trail is free for the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected. A special tasting pass is available here for those who want to taste the diversity of local Bordeaux and Aquitaine wines at different pavilions and meet the local winemakers and négociants.

Courtesy of Bordeaux-Fete-le-Vin

What makes the wine in Bordeaux so special? The region is renowned for its unique terrior, which refers to the special environmental factors which create the high quality vines. The region, centered on the city of Bordeaux and the Gironde department produces a large and diverse variety of wines. With a vineyard area of over 120,000 hectares, it is the largest area of wine growing in the whole of France with wine made by more than 8,500 producers, with 54 varieties of wine being produced.

This special anniversary edition will bring together 10 cities as special guests of the festival, inviting everyone– local and international– to enjoy the festival. Seven of the cities are in the network of Great Wine Capitals (GWC): Bilbao, Cape Town, Mainz, Mendoza, Porto, San Francisco and Valparaiso. The remaining three are cities have also held “Bordeaux Fête le Vin” festivals for several years: Hong Kong, Quebec and Brussels.

For the full Aquitaine and Bordeaux wine experience, why not take the opportunity to truly experience the region’s impressive vineyards nestled in the valleys surrounding the historic chateaux, for wine tasting and tours with the locals? For more information view the passes on offer. Don’t forget to take in the fantastic architecture of the city. Venues will be holding special art exhibitions, concerts and firework shows; view the program of events here.