Le Château Malagar et Le Vignoble de Raymond-Lafon

The view from le Château Malagar! Yesterday, after intensive language classes in the morning, all the EAP students went on an excursion there and then to the Raymond-Lafond vineyard for tours and a wine tasting. It was really cool to see the countryside around Bordeaux, especially all the vineyards that the region is so famous for.

First, we went to the Château Malagar, which is where the famous French author François Mauriac would go to write because he was inspired by the countryside. The area around the château is gorgeous; there are vineyards and old châteaus as far as you can see. Everyone was ooing and ahhing over the ivy covering the château! The whole estate was incredible; there's a huge vegetable garden, a lawn the size of a football field, and a terrace that looks out over the surrounding vineyards. The inside of the house was really pretty too, and the guided tour was pretty interesting.

When we first got there though, most people (including me) weren't totally clear on who Mauriac was and why we were visiting this particular château. What? This isn't the wine tasting? Wait, are you serious, man? We went into a little side gallery first, and I could tell from all the books that he must have been a writer, but I kept looking for the name Malagar instead! Actually, Malagar is the name of the estate. The guide said it was derived from a phrase that means nothing can grow there, but that was a little confusing since it's surrounded by vineyards...

After the guided tour, we walked around the grounds for about half an hour. It sprinkled a little, but luckily it didn't start to really rain. We took in the view on the terrace and posed for the obligatory pictures with the Bordeaux vineyards in the background and next to the ivy wall. I actually took this photo of grapes at the Château Malagar instead of at the vineyard! Later, I would find out that they use the rotted ones to make wine... Appetizing...

After we were done walking around, we got back on the bus and drove over to the Raymond-Lafon château and vineyard which produces Sauternes wine. The man who owns the vineyard showed us around the grounds and talked to us about the types of grapes he grows, how they make the wine, and the history of the vineyard. The grape vines are so old, the roots go down 30 feet! The Raymond-Lafon vineyard makes very expensive and fancy wine; every individual grape vine only produces about one glass each year because they're so selective when they harvest the grapes. It's next to the most famous vineyard in France (Châteaux d'Yquem, I think). The French talk about famous wines like celebrities sometimes!

The vineyard also had an "exotic garden," which I think referred to the plants, but everyone was distracted by the black swan swimming around in the pond there. When everyone gathered around the pond to watch it and take pictures, it started honking and preening itself. I guess it's used to the attention!

Afterwards, we went inside for a wine tasting. The man from the vineyard showed us how to swirl the wine and smell it before tasting it. It was a very sweet white wine (vin blanc). It was good, but one thing I've learned here in Bordeaux is that wine is not really my thing... Still, it was very cool to be able to try such a prestigious wine, especially in France!

We also got to see the cellar/storage area where they keep all the barrels and bottles of wines,which was neat. It was quite a comprehensive tour of the château and the wine making process. Very Bordeaux!

In other news, I'm now in a homestay! And, thank goodness, out of the dorms! I live in Bègles now, which is a suburb of Bordeaux. In my head, I like to call it Bagel Town, even though I don't think they even have bagels in France. When I was on the phone with Bank of America (for like an hour!), the woman I spoke with called it Bagels, France too! Anyways, more on that coming soon...