Most visitors to Bordeaux head straight for St-Emilion, Bordeaux city centre or the Médoc’s Route des Châteaux along the D2, and don’t get much further. But those who prefer to get off the beaten track and don’t mind focusing on less glitzy wines will be amply rewarded by a stay in Entre-deux-Mers. Often overlooked, this is Bordeaux’s largest wine region, scenically beautiful, with a gamut of affordable wines made by traditional winemaking families.
The name Entre-deux-Mers refers to the marées (‘tides’) of the bordering large tidal rivers: the Dordogne and the Garonne. The region accounts for about one third of the Gironde’s wine production, thanks to some 7,000ha of vines spread over 18 communes, so there’s plenty of choice when it comes to estates to visit and wines to taste (for more information, go to the regional tourism site entredeuxmers.com).
Among rolling hills of vineyards, some of which were first planted in Roman times, you’ll find bastides (fortified villages)
