If you’re looking for a good excuse to visit Bordeaux, let me introduce you to the Bordeaux fete le vin! This festival is so much more than just a celebration of wine! This yearly international festival welcomes foodies and lovers of wine together in an amazing four-day event! This fun French tradition is an excellent way to dive deep into French culture, enjoy some wine, and visit the underrated city of Bordeaux!
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, below you’ll find an overview of what to expect at the festival. I’ll outline important FAQs and events that take place so you can be fully prepared to enjoy your time!
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What is the Bordeaux fete le vin?
The “Bordeaux fete le vin” translates to the Bordeaux Wine Festival! During this event, local wine producers and other vendors come together to showcase their products! You can expect to see many wineries, however, you’ll also see other local produce stands sharing cheeses, charcuteries, ice creams, pastries, and so many more delicacies!
This year, the Bordeaux wine festival takes place from June 27th to 30th! The markets, events, and activities take place all day from 11 am until 11 pm for the entire four days!
To keep in mind: you cannot buy bottles of wine at the Bordeaux fete le vin. The festival is a ‘tasting’ experience!
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Where is the Bordeaux fete le vin?
Every year, the festival sets up a “village” right in the heart of Bordeaux’s city center. This consists of different pavilions for wine tastings, events, food, and all other activities! You can find the Bordeaux fete le vin village on the left bank of the Garonne River. There is a lot to see! It stretches from the Mirror d’Eau, at the Pont de Pierre, until Hangar 14!
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How much does it cost?
You can enter the Bordeaux fete le vin village for free! You are completely free to come and go as you please. However, if you want to get the most out of your experience and actually try the wine, you need a Tasting Pass.
A Tasting Pass costs 23 euros and you must be 18 years or older to buy one. It includes:
🍇 11 tastings
👩🏼🍳 1 workshop at the Bordeaux Wine School pavilion
🍷 a tasting glass (you can deposit this in one of the designated recycling terminals when you’re done with your visit)
The Tasting Pass at the Bordeaux fete le vin can get a bit confusing. So to summarize, here are four important things you need to know about this pass:
💰 You can buy your pass either online or at one of the ticket offices in person. There is one at Place Munich and Cailhau.
🎟️ If you bought your pass online, bring your voucher to one of the ticket offices to pick up your pass.
📆 You DO NOT have to use your entire pass (11 drinks) in one day. You can use your pass across the entire four-day event. You can even share the tastings with multiple people. However, if you do not use your entire pass, there are no refunds. You also cannot request just an individual tasting.
🍷 Nine out of your 11 tastings have to be from the different pavilions (ie. 1 tasting per pavilion). The remaining two tastings are known as “coup de coeur”. This means you can go back and retry your favorites.
What happens at the Bordeaux fete le vin?
See the tall ships
Every year in honor of the Bordeaux fete le vin, the city welcomes several historic tall ships into the city’s harbor! This element of the festival pays tribute to the historic origins of the wine trade and is always particularly fun for children!
You can buy tickets to explore and tour the historic ships for 5 euros per person (children under 6 can go for free!) Make sure to arrange your tickets in advance as you need a designated time slot to tour the ships.
Drone shows
Drone shows are the newest edition to the Bordeaux fete le vin! During these performances, 500 drones take flight to music and a choreographed performance. You can watch the performance from the left side of the river and entrance is free!
There will be two drone performances this year on Friday, June 28th, and Saturday, June 29th from 11 pm until 11:30 pm!
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Games, music & exhibitions
For a complete list of events check out the Bordeaux fete le vin program here!
As I said above, the Bordeaux fete le vin is far more than a celebration of wine! During the course of the festival, you can find tonnes of activities and events across the city. There are concerts with live music, demonstrations, installations, workshops and exhibitions! It really is an event for the whole family to enjoy!
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Tasting tours
But of course, local wines remains at the heart of the Bordeaux wine festival! There are nine different wine pavilions in the village and each is dedicated to different types of wines across various areas in this region of France.
Visitors are encouraged to engage with the wine producers, ask questions, and start discussions as they are the ones that know their products best!
But don’t forget, a workshop at the Bordeaux Wine School pavilion is included with the Tasting Pass! You are entitled to take part in one 30-minute workshop which you are required to book in advance. You can book your workshop starting 30 days before the event directly on the Bordeaux Wine School’s website.
If you’d like to partake in the Grand Cru tasting, this takes place on June 27th from 6-9 pm and requires a special ticket. You can learn more about that here!
Tips for visiting Bordeaux:
🍇 Don’t forget to visit the vineyards! The best way to really get into the local wine culture is to pay a visit to the local vineyards and wineries. Not only is this where you can go on tours and visit chateaux, but you can also explore quaint, charming towns like St. Emilion. Here are some of the Best Wine Tours from Bordeaux.
🏨 Book everything in advance! As you can probably imagine, this is a very popular cultural event in France, and it expects visits from wine lovers from around the world. You should be anticipating crowds throughout the event and booking all transportation and accommodations well in advance is strongly encouraged. If you’re staying for the entire Bordeaux fete le vin, you should book any tours, and tickets in advance as well since this will be a busier time than normal. Be sure to check out my FREE Bordeaux Guide for tips and recommendations such as where to stay and where to eat!
📆 Plan around 2-4 at least to visit. The Bordeaux fete le vin takes place over four days, but, of course, you do not need to visit every day if you don’t want to. I usually recommend first-time travelers to Bordeaux need at least 2-4 days to explore Bordeaux and its surrounding region!
Enjoy the Bordeaux wine festival!
The Bordeaux fete le vin is such a lively, fun, and somewhat overlooked event for many international visitors! It is an event for the whole family and goes beyond the region’s love for wine! Hopefully, you found everything that you need in order to prepare for your visit to the festival! It is really quite a special tradition that I hope you enjoy!
Did you know? I offer custom travel planning on Thatch! Whether you are in need of a consultation call to talk over your travel itinerary or are in need of a personalized guide or itinerary, I’d love to help you with your France travel planning!
