The Orpheus and Bacchus Music and Wine Festival, St Emilion and Bordeaux

Travel Video and TV News report:

Music and Markets Offers Sumptuous Bordeaux Fall Getaway

Fall into the ultimate French getaway – luxuriating in Bordeaux’s renowned wine country and imbibing inimitable wine, food, music and guests on this, their most splendid tour, a sumptuous autumn escape to Bordeaux. This week-long getaway includes a rejuvenating grape-treatment spa, delectable haute cuisine, world-class wines (of course!), and best of all, mingling with internationally recognized musicians throughout the day before hearing them perform in an intimate soirée setting.

Throughout the week, guests will indulge in a lavish menu of cultural and gastronomic pleasures. The first night is spent delightfully decompressing amid the vineyards of the Château Smith Haut Lafitte at the Sources de Caudalie Hotel and spa.

The next day, guests can relax and refresh during a morning of pampering at the renowned Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa, before departing for St. Emilion, a medieval village set above the Dordogne River valley and surrounded by chateaux and vineyards. Postcard perfection awaits as guests can stroll the cobblestone streets, enjoy an aromatic pause at a patisserie, tuck into a boutique or two, and select a bottle of wine at a town vintner. Then in the evening, epicurean delights await during dinner at a former Cardinal’s palace, now a gracious hotel and restaurant inside the ramparts of the historic village, a Unesco World Heritage site.

For the next four days, as part of the Orpheus and Bacchus Music and Wine Festival, guests will continue to discover the lush beauty and culinary riches of the region, following the route du vin through the oft-toasted vineyards of Bordeaux at harvest time, and can either test their culinary prowess during a hands-on cooking class with Chef Georges, sniff, swish and swirl at a wine-tasting class with a Master of Wine, or just absorb the distinct pleasures of the treasure-filled villages of the region. Other activities include an insider’s visit to a winery that will allow guests to learn about the intricacies of quality wine making, and purchase, if they’d like, wines direct from the viticulteur.

It is the evening entertainment; however, that sets this Bordeaux getaway apart from all others. In the midst of stellar vineyards is the home of the Orpheus and Bacchus Music and Wine Festival, owned and organized by Ian Christians. Here guests will enjoy his bubbly house party with world-class musicians and fellow music lovers, sharing many a bon soir mingling with other guests, savoring hors d’oeuvres and aperitifs before stepping into the salon, La Musique, where artists introduce the works they’ve prepared for the evening. The grand venue, originally designed in the 1700s as a celebration hall for the vendage, boasts wonderful oak beams, stone-arched windows, and a splendid Steinway, owned previously by renowned pianist Alfred Brendel.

The artistry continues, as Chef Georges Gotrand presents his culinary masterpieces at a candlelit dinner table. Georges introduces each evening’s palate-pleasing menu, and the resident Master of Wine provides expert commentary about the wines and the rationale for the pairings. After the main course, guests return to the salon for a shorter, less formal concert before completing the evening with an abundant array of cheeses, as well as dessert and coffee.

This captivating combination of fine food and wine, marvelous music, and plenty of pampering – all in a lush French countryside setting – begins October 5 and is priced at $4450 per person. Each Music and Markets tour is limited to no more than 10 people, allowing each participant to receive personal service and attention that’s often unavailable on other tour packages.

For more information about the Music and Markets in Bordeaux tour, or any other
Music and Markets offering, contact us here.

Related articles:
Bordeaux
Canadian Resort near St Emilion
Bordeaux
Tourism and Porperty in France
Wine tasting weekends in Bordaux


Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Japanese Manga comic boosts Dordogne wine sales

"Taste of heaven: Manga spreads 'Drops of God' in Asia" reports Sophie Hardach in Reuters today.

Apparently "Wine reviews with a twist are a speciality of "Kami no Shizuku" ("The Drops of God"), a manga comic series that has taken Japan by storm, is conquering Korea and China and has boosted European wine sales along the way.
Written by a brother-and-sister duo of wine enthusiasts, the manga comic combines a mystery plot with a playful introduction to European wines. Think "The Da Vinci Code" set in a Tokyo bar.

"The minute it was translated into Korean, we had calls from three importers," said Basaline Granger Despagne, whose family has grown wine near France's Dordogne river for 250 years. Their Chateau Mont Perat 2001 Bordeaux appears early on in the manga. With this sudden interest, the producers are getting calls from all over for shipments of wine. Basaline Granger Despagne said her family had been approached by distributors in mainland China but had so far found no one they felt comfortable selling their wine to.

"When it was translated into Chinese, people called us from Taiwan saying, 'I bought some Mont Perat and sold 50 cases in two days because of the manga'," she said in a phone interview. In Korea, businessmen drop names from the serialised book into chats with reporters and shops display "Drops of God" signs.

Wine industry experts believe part of the manga's appeal is that it teaches readers enough about wine to understand the drink and impress their friends, but does so in an entertaining way. The main character of the manga, a young man called Shizuku Kanzaki, discovers the beauty of wine after his father, a famous wine critic, dies and leaves an unusual will: a description of 12 wines he considers to be the best in the world, comparing them to Jesus Christ's disciples. The first person to find these "disciples" will inherit the father's wine collection, a contest that pits Shizuku against his adoptive brother, Issey Tomine, who works as a sommelier."

The authors say the manga is not sponsored by anyone and they choose the wines based on their own independent research, including trips abroad and tastings.

Japan probably has the most developed wine scene in the Asia. At a recent wine tasting in Tokyo's Grand Hyatt hotel, row after row of Japanese wine lovers were expertly slurping, spitting and taking notes as German sommelier Markus Del Monego explained what they were drinking.

Early next year, "The Drops of God" will be published in French, possibly followed by Italian. The original book series is expected to continue for another five years or so, and there is talk of a film.

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Related post:
Asterix vs Manga : Japanese comics conquer the hearts of France

Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France

Canadians build a new resort in the Dordogne

St. Emilion

If you've always dreamed of owning a traditional property in rural France, but don't want to be isolated or get involved in renovation work, a new development in the Bordeaux region may be just the ticket.

According to an article by Laura Latham in The Independent two days ago, you will now be able to invest in some stylish mock architecture in France. Close to the beautiful St Emilion, there is a pocket of rural charm -- a ruined 19thC manor house with its outbuilding, surrounded by farm land and vineyards, called the Domaine Haut-Gardegan. This will form the backdrop to a new village, which, though being built from scratch, is designed to look as though it has always been there.

As well as a mix of flats and detached houses, the 12-acre estate will have cobbled streets, a village square with restaurant and bar, and shops run by independent local retailers. And the old stable block is being regenerated into a market place where you will be able to buy fresh produce, just as you would in any farmers' market.

Will it be a Disney-esque attempt to capture the magic of Bordeaux?, asks Ms Latham. Well, it makes a refreshing change from the faceless new-builds in more developed locations – but it may come as little surprise that there is transatlantic involvement: the Canadian developer bought the site after the original owner failed in his attempt to turn it into a golf course, and though there will still be an 18-hole course, designed by the champion Tom Lehman, the main focus of the project is the village.
"It will be built in the traditional mellow stone of the area, and according to strict planning laws. The original manor house at the centre of the development dates back to 1890, but burnt down in the 1950s and is now a shell. Nevertheless, the company decided to keep it as a focal point, and the structure help to preserve a sense of the history and character of the original estate. " The chateau will have some renovation, but it will be left as a ruin. Along with the open market and exhibition space, it will be the soul of the site".

Not everything at Haut-Gardegan is as you would find in your average village, though. In addition to the golf course (which will be open to the public) there will be a spa, swimming pools, acres of formal gardens, a conference centre and a cookery school, all aimed at drawing visitors throughout the year. The company hopes to attract a top chef for the school, where residents and visitors can do classes.

Property is priced from £205,000, which gives you a 42sq m, one-bedroom apartment with terrace and views over the countryside or golf course. At the upper end, a 98sq m three-bedroom penthouse apartment, with Jacuzzi on the terrace, starting at about €300,000, and when the villas are released, they'll be more expensive still. So, it's not cheap, but the proximity of sought-after St Emilion raises prices. Plus, residents will have access to on-site facilities, including concierge services.

You may find that you're there more than you think – part of the beauty of owning in this area is that you can hop over with ease. It'sa 90-minute flight from the UK to Bordeaux; three hours from Paris via TGV."




Click on Link:

Chateau Lalinde : The perfect venue for your event

Relocation Orientation in France