Christmas in Bordeaux

Did you ever get that feeling of doom on the flight home after a wonderful holiday in the sunshine? As a fairly well-travelled Englishman, it was an all-too-frequent encounter for me to be met by the damp, cold, drizzling rain and a hefty traffic jam on arrival back into the U.K. My wife and I would sulk like children all the way home and spend the next 2 weeks fantasizing about a life abroad, warm al fresco evenings and skipping to work along cobbled pedestrianised streets. This was usually followed by some very left-field job applications – usually in the direction of Perth, Australia (another of our favourites), California or somewhere in Europe. The result was typically underwhelming with a low response rate on the jobs front, waking up 9 minutes earlier to try and beat the rush hour traffic and eventually giving up entirely on the dream and settling back into ‘normal’ life. The next holiday came and repeat.

Then in our 30’s kids came along. I was content as a Sales Director for a British property firm and my wife was a marketing guru at a national grocery retailer. Money was good but quality of life was poor, generally with both of us working long days and suffering, as many in the corporate world do, under some fairly intense pressure. Suddenly my wife had an epiphany (or perhaps she was close to a breakdown!) and decided it might be worth spending more time with our children and trying to prioritise our wants and needs instead of our CEOs.

For the first time in our then 10-year marriage, she gave me the green light to scope out a move abroad. Having been pushing for this pretty much on and off throughout the 10 years, you can imagine my excitement when that moment arrived! Most families, I imagine, would map out a game plan for such a move and factor in a healthy amount of time to plan the intricacies involved with international relocation. Fast-forward 3 months and we’d both quit our jobs and were living on a vineyard in Saint-Emilion in the south-west of France.

To be honest, it’s all a bit of a whirlwind when we look back now, but somehow amid the Covid19 era, the blur of working from home with kids with limited human interaction, the stars aligned, and we took the plunge.

So why Saint-Emilion? Having worked in real estate for 20 years in England, I’d always had the same goal; selling

French chateaux in the south of France. The appeal of French culture, the historical architecture and the prospect of merging my work with a more attractive lifestyle led me to France. Along with my wife’s dual nationality, it made France an obvious choice. I secured a job as an independent real estate agent with a luxury property agency based in the Bordeaux region, specialising in the sale of chateaux and vineyards. My wife also secured work, we rapidly found a house and a school for the children, and in August 2020, French life began.

The ‘living on a vineyard’ aspect was quite unexpected, and not something that was in the original plan. It was somewhat a stroke of luck, thanks to my very well-connected property colleague, and included a nice chateau that we were able to rent and now call home. My wife and I both like wine, but now as Saint-Emilion residents, we really love wine.

Saint-Emilion is a UNESCO world heritage site, inhabited since Roman times, with a monolithic church built in the 12th century and 200km of tunnels created centuries ago. Today there are 42 restaurants and more than 970 prestigious vineyards generating more than 10 million bottles of fine red wine each year. Located only 40 minutes from the city of Bordeaux, the only UNESCO city in the world and boasting the longest shopping street in Europe, rue Saint-Catherine – Saint-Emilion is also just over an hour from the stunning Atlantic coastline, in fact making it one of the best places to live in France (in my opinion). As a beach lover (and chief sandcastle builder) – proximity to the beach was a must for us. Also high on our checklist was an International Airport, which Bordeaux is, with daily flights back to London should we need, plus Paris and many other international destinations. The added bonus was the TGV (Train Grande Vitesse) which links Bordeaux to Paris in just over 2 hours, making the region’s connectivity really quite impressive and certainly much better than the north of England travel links we’d been used to for most of our adult lives.

Bordeaux of course is steeped in history…... the Saint-André Cathedral, the Grand Theatre built in 1780, the Place des Quinconces (largest square in France) and Place de la Bourse with its famous Miroir d’eau (photo above) attracting millions of tourists each year. The Jardin Public, the Cité de Vin wine museum, bike rides along the quays and boat tours on the Garonne River, make it well worth a visit. It’s the hub of the wine region so everything is centred around outstanding gastronomy, bustling squares with packed out cafes and restaurants as the French enjoy their 2-hour lunch break with wine. Another cultural bonus of life in France!

Wine has fast become a focal point for us, and whilst it might not have the most positive impact on our bank account, we are building quite a collection of right bank Saint-Emilion Grand Cru and Grand Cru Classé wines to enjoy now and in the future (huge thanks to our newly found winemaker friends).

Only a short drive away is the left-bank wine region of

Medoc and Haut-Medoc with its famous appellations such as Margaux, Saint-Estephe and Pauillac. South of the city in the Graves region you’ll find the renowned Pessac-Léognan and sweeter wines often made in Sauternes. Closer to home between and Saint-Emilion is the Entre-deux-Mers wine region, named by its geographical position ‘between two seas’ signifying the rivers Garonne and Dordogne that surround it.

Having lived in France for two years, it was easy to learn that the French (and 100 million tourists) enjoy holidaying in many of the country’s hot spots. The popular Bassin d’Arcachon, a sea-side basin on the Atlantic coast offers luxury real estate, a beach lifestyle, and oysters from the bay itself, with many charming villages and towns such as Cap Ferret, Pyla-sur-Mer and Arcachon itself. We were delighted to find it only 90 minutes’ drive from our home, resulting in many summer day trips to the beach and very happy children (and adults). The Pyrenees offer sensational skiing just 3 hours’ drive away (which enables our black Labrador to come along too!) along with a selection of local delicacies like Raclette (a delicious meal of charcuterie and salads enjoyed with melted local raclette cheese). La Rochelle is also a destination we’ve come to love, with the old port and Ile de Ré offering seafood delights and local oysters.

All in all, French life is great. Living on a vineyard is something quite remarkable - some mornings we are woken by the sound of the wine-maker Jonathan, arriving at 6:30 am and taking his tractor out into the vines. Other days we meet a large truck delivering pallets of bottles as I try to navigate out of the drive on my way to a chateau visit, via the most incredible school drop-off in the village of Saint-Emilion. And at harvest time, each September, our family loves to watch the team bring in the season’s grapes and prepare for their journey ahead, seeing the pride in their faces after a year of nurturing their vines.

Safe to say we’re glad we took the plunge, took a chance, and made France our home!

CHRISTMAS IN BORDEAUX… IT’S MAGICAL!

CHRISTMAS MARKET, SAINT EMILION

Some 75 stalls sell all sorts of wonderful products from arts and crafts to food and drink, perfect for those Christmas presents and last-minute Christmas treats. Spread throughout the town you can find them in the Cloître de l’Eglise Collégiale, the Halles du Marché, Salle Gothique, Logis de Malet and the Place du Marché au Bois.

OPEN DOORS IN THE CHATEAUX OF PESSAC-LÉOGNAN

The Pessac-Léognan appellation is hosting its annual open doors weekend on December 4-5. 34 wineries will take part in the event with wine tastings, tours, gourmet food, and activities for kids. Some of the participating chateaux are Château Brown, Château Pape Clément, and Château Haut-Lagrange.

SEARCH FOR BEAUTIFUL ANTIQUES AT THE BROCANTE

The big brocante of Bordeaux is hosted twice a year at place des Quinconces with 200 antique dealers, horticulturists, restaurants and craftsmen. It’s the biggest brocante event in the area and the selection is huge, from vintage home decor to paintings, antique furniture, garden accessories and more.

ANNUAL BORDEAUX TASTING

In December you also have a chance to taste some of the best French wines in one place at an event called “Bordeaux Tasting”. For two days (December 11-12) tens of wine houses from Bordeaux and other regions in France will be there to present their best wines. The tasting will take place at different sites around Place de la Bourse.

A TRADITIONAL MARIONETTE THEATER

Guignol Guérin is the oldest family-run marionette theater in France. Their traditional winter spectacle takes place in Théâtre l’Inox between December 18 and January 2.