Italy: The Adventure Continues: Discovering Bordeaux: River Cruise, Part 3 & Return to Bordeaux

Following our brief afternoon visit to Saint-Émilion, we cruised back along the Dordogne River to the Garonne, and then on to Bordeaux for the evening. There we could stroll the beautiful river-front promenade and enjoy the city by night before heading south to our last port, the town of Cadillac in the heart of the Graves region.

Sauternes grapes with the noble rot

In addition to being known for its white (as well as red) wines, this region of Bordeaux is the home of world-famous Sauternes wines. Sauternes is made from grapes that have been affected by what is called "noble rot" -- a fungus that causes a somewhat raisin-like drying out. This results in a very concentrated, perfumed and distinctly flavored sweet wine.

Our education and experience began with a visit to, and tasting at the producer La Tour Blanche. Here we had a tour of the production facilities and a tasting of Sauternes from 2007 and 2009 so that we could compare the development of the flavors from two different vintages. Interestingly, a good year for Sauternes--cool and wet--is exactly the opposite for the other grapes of the Bordeaux region.

So interesting and delicious was the tasting that we decided to buy a small bottle for our own future dining pleasure (and which we later enjoyed back in Florence).

Current tastes are less inclined to sweet wines but a visit and special lunch at the Château d'Arche persuaded us to be more open-minded. We feasted on a three-course lunch (smoked salmon, caramelized hen, and peach melba), in which each course was accompanied by a different Sauternes selected to complement and enhance the flavors of each dish.


Sauternes lunch

Much to our surprise, this really worked well. While we would probably not ourselves try to plan a dinner in which each course was accompanied by a glass of Sauternes, the experience did broaden our horizons.And also made us think that we should more frequently finish a meal with a cheese plate accompanied by a glass of Sauternes.

Our three lunch sauternes

Following lunch, we returned to the ship in a very pleasant state of mind after this delightful meal and accompanying Sauternes, and embarked for our final sail back to Bordeaux.

Grand Hotel de Bordeaux

We had two more nights and one full day in the city while under the charmed care of Uniworld. Rather than sight-see again, we opted to spend our last day in a cooking class at the Grand Hotel de Bordeaux.

Our head chef Stéphane

After our immersion into Italian life and food over the past few years, we decided that it was time to become reacquainted with traditional (and new!) French ingredients and cooking techniques.

And so the next morning we were whisked off the ship to the kitchens of the hotel's Michelin-starred restaurant, Le Pressoir d'Argent, to meet Stéphane Carrade, executive chef, and the two sous-chefs who would guide 12 of us through the preparation of our amazing lunch.

Opening & cleaning scallops

What surprised us most was the reminder of the large amounts of butter routinely used in French cuisine. (while living south of the Apennines, we have become olive oil people). French butter is delicious, and the resulting dishes so delicious that we decided not to worry about what it might be doing to our arteries.

Lunch included: 1) an appetizer of scallops prepared with roasted yellow beets, 2) a main course of local fish and sauteed cèpes mushrooms with a mousseline sauce made from Jerusalem artichokes, and 3) a dessert of lemon cream framed by spiced biscuits. Of course, this all sounds all-the-more more delicious in French!

Zesting a lemon for dessert

So we set to work learning how to open and clean scallops, how to filet fish, saute mushrooms, zest lemons.

Lee was especially interested in the techniques of the pastry chef, and so volunteered to help prepare dessert. What interested us as much as the food preparation were the techniques for plate decoration.

The Executive Chef pours the champagne

After hours of hard work (truly, we did peel, saute, and stir) it was time to begin our lunch celebration with the prerequisite of every meal in a French fine-dining venue - a glass of champagne. And what a feast it was!!!

Close-up food porn pictures from our lunch.