Adventures In France: A Wine Heaven Named Saint-Émilion

(Forbes) - So you’re in Bordeaux, arguably the most famous of France’s many wine-producing regions, and you’ve set aside a day to explore the best that the area’s 1,500-some odd wineries have to offer.

How do you make your decision? With such a dizzying array of fermented grape juice to choose from, where can one possibly begin? Even a trained sommelier would be flummoxed.

Do what those in the know do: set your GPS for the small hilltop town of Saint-Émilion, 25 miles due east of Bordeaux, and steel your jaw for the inevitable impulse to have it drop at the sights and tastes that await you in this charming medieval village.

The place isn’t exactly a secret – it’s on the to-do list of most foodies and wine snobs who make their way to southwestern France, so arrive early in the morning or mid-afternoon if you want to avoid some of the crowds. Parking in town can be an impossible affair, and navigating the narrow streets in your rental car can, if you’re not careful and skilled, result in a very expensive low-speed, drawn out “crrrrunch” – with all the vacation-tainting frustration and wallet-draining damage deductibles a collision with a 500-year-old building can bring.

For fans of the vine, the first stop must be the Maison du Vin, a sort of visitor’s center/history museum/wine shop that sells a huge selection of the region’s best vintages, from small-batch vintners that produce just a few hundred bottles per year to large-scale producers who ship much of their wares overseas.