This private full-day tour is designed for guests who want to go beyond tasting and truly understand what makes Bordeaux wines tick. Set in the Médoc — the Left Bank peninsula home to some of the world's most celebrated wine estates — the day combines three distinct experiences: a hands-on wine blending workshop, a gourmet picnic lunch with wine pairings, and an afternoon wine and chocolate pairing session. It is one of the most immersive food and wine experiences available from Bordeaux, and no two days are ever quite the same.

The Médoc: Bordeaux's Left Bank

The Médoc appellation stretches north of Bordeaux along the left bank of the Gironde estuary, through a succession of world-famous sub-appellations — Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe — whose deep gravel soils and mild Atlantic climate produce some of the most structured and age-worthy red wines on earth. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant grape variety here, blended with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot to create the classic Bordeaux blend. Understanding how these varieties contribute to the final wine is at the heart of this day.

Morning: Hands-On Wine Blending Workshop

Your day begins with pickup from your hotel or accommodation in Bordeaux, followed by a drive through the vineyards of the Médoc. At a selected estate, you take part in a guided wine blending workshop led by an expert winemaker or oenologist. You will work with individual varietal samples — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and others from the appellation — learning how each contributes structure, fruit, tannin, and aromatic complexity before creating and evaluating your own blend. It is an unusually direct way to understand the craft behind every bottle of Bordeaux.

Afternoon: Picnic Lunch and Wine & Chocolate Pairing

After the blending session, the tour moves to a beautiful estate setting for a gourmet picnic lunch — local produce, regional specialities, and wines from the estate, enjoyed outdoors among the vines. The afternoon concludes at a second winery with a wine and chocolate pairing workshop: an artisan chocolatier guides you through the unexpected but rewarding relationships between fine Bordeaux reds and carefully selected dark and milk chocolates, exploring how texture, tannin, and sweetness interact between the two. The tour returns to Bordeaux at the end of the afternoon.

This tour is available on request — please contact us to check availability and tailor the programme to your group's interests.