Sat 12th April
I’m quite the fan of Napa Valley in northern California but the beauty of St. Emillion simply outshines Napa hands down. There’s nothing quite like tiny winding roads through acres of sloped vineyards, dotted with massive stone chateaus and not a major highway in sight. But one point that Napa does win is the fact that the vineyards are open.
Yes, we made the tragic mistake of visiting St. Emillion on a Saturday. Most vineyards are open Monday – Friday but pretty much all of them are closed on weekends and/or require you to book an appointment. The tourism office in the centre of town will not make bookings for you and considering our tight budget, we decided to save our roaming calls for the family instead of wine drinking.
Despite the main purpose of our visit being defeated, we still had an amazing time. Our campsite was conveniently located about a 10 minute cycle from the centre of the old village and we were completely surrounded by vineyards. So after a mid-morning breakfast and a brief stint feeding the local campsite ducks, we hopped on our bikes and started to pedal.
Town itself was stunning and worth the stop with or without wine.
Narrow, steep cobblestone roads wind up the hillside with cafes and wine shops on literally every street. The place is simply gorgeous and after a short cycle, we decided to treat ourselves to a glass of the local wine at one of the cafes in the central plaza. I’m not normally a red wine fan and neither is Bevan, but once again we managed to polish off a bottle back at the campsite so it must have been good. Tomorrow I’ll remember my liver… I promise.
I’m quite the fan of Napa Valley in northern California but the beauty of St. Emillion simply outshines Napa hands down. There’s nothing quite like tiny winding roads through acres of sloped vineyards, dotted with massive stone chateaus and not a major highway in sight. But one point that Napa does win is the fact that the vineyards are open.
Yes, we made the tragic mistake of visiting St. Emillion on a Saturday. Most vineyards are open Monday – Friday but pretty much all of them are closed on weekends and/or require you to book an appointment. The tourism office in the centre of town will not make bookings for you and considering our tight budget, we decided to save our roaming calls for the family instead of wine drinking.
Despite the main purpose of our visit being defeated, we still had an amazing time. Our campsite was conveniently located about a 10 minute cycle from the centre of the old village and we were completely surrounded by vineyards. So after a mid-morning breakfast and a brief stint feeding the local campsite ducks, we hopped on our bikes and started to pedal.Town itself was stunning and worth the stop with or without wine.
Narrow, steep cobblestone roads wind up the hillside with cafes and wine shops on literally every street. The place is simply gorgeous and after a short cycle, we decided to treat ourselves to a glass of the local wine at one of the cafes in the central plaza. I’m not normally a red wine fan and neither is Bevan, but once again we managed to polish off a bottle back at the campsite so it must have been good. Tomorrow I’ll remember my liver… I promise.
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