Bordeaux: wine and a Luas that connects

Giovanni Morelli visited châteaux in Bordeaux, read about buried cheese, and discovered that the Luas lines in France connect

“We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.”
— Benjamin Franklin
What have Bordeaux and Dublin in common? The Luas! Yes, we inherited the carriages and tracks from Bordeaux, but not, unfortunately, the massive intellectual endeavour which inspired the French to make sure one tram line joined with another.
You see in Bordeaux they have five lines, all of which join with each other. Yes, it is amazing but you can get off line C and get on to line A within a few metres.
In Dublin, as we all know, you have to walk from the top of Grafton Street to the middle of Abbey Street, slightly more than a few metres!
What has that got to do with wine? Absolutely nothing. However, I was in Bordeaux recently at a medical meeting. It must be said that Bordeaux has nothing to offer unless you like wine and gastronomic experiences.
Although I extolled the merits of the Luas it doesn’t actually reach the Conference centre so you have to get a bus! Maybe the Irish were involved in this piece of the planning!
Bordeaux is probably the most famous area for wine in the world. The Irish have a special affinity because of the ‘wild geese’ who emigrated in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Many Irish names
There are many Irish names still to be found in the vineyards such as Dillon, Phelan, Barton, Lynch and Kirwan to mention a few. Bordeaux is a red wine area. Yes, the most beautiful sweet wines from Sauternes made from naturally botrytised Semillon grapes are made in Bordeaux, but over 80 per cent of the wines from this area in France are red. The two main areas are the right and left banks of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers and the Gironde estuary. From a visitor’s point of view there is no contest between the right and left banks. The right bank area is very flat, and apart from the lovely town of St Emillion there is not a lot to see.
The predominant grape is merlot and some wines, including the exclusive Château Petrus, are made exclusively from this variety. Many of the houses associated with famous vineyards are quite plain and you may even have difficulty locating some of them.
The left bank is a different experience altogether. Here the land is also flat but the châteaux are magnificent. The predominant grape is the famous cabernet sauvignon, and this is the area where you will find many of the famous names.
Château Batailley
We were fortunate to have an introduction to Château Batailley. Not the most beautiful chateau in Bordeaux but an imposing building all the same. More importantly the wine is excellent and is on sale in Dunnes Stores. This is a 5th growth wine and the vineyard is situated between Pauillac and St Julien.
The vineyard is owned by the Castéga family, and we were fortunate to partake of a tasting with Frédéric Castéja, a most congenial man, and his enologist. The family has interests on the right bank and in a number of other areas. These wines are not inexpensive and the Château Batailley is priced at €25 in Dunnes Stores.
You can wash down some of the gloom and doom with good Bordeaux, but perhaps some of our top financiers and Government ministers could take a lesson from Italy.
17,000 tons of cheese
Alessandra Migliaccio and Flavia Rotondi, writing recently in the International Herald Tribune, described the vaults of the bank Credito Emiliano. These vaults are not filled with gold bullion or stuffed with Euros, but with 17,000 tons of parmesan cheese.
Apparently the bank accepts cheese as collateral for loans, helping to keep financing cheese makers. “This mechanism is our life blood,” according to Giuseppe Montanari, a cheese producer who uses loans to buy milk. “It’s a great way to finance our expenses and the bank doesn’t risk much because they can always sell the cheese.”
If only Irish Bankers had any imagination! Think of it, they could stuff their vaults with silage or better still good old fashioned horse manure!
Ciao for now. Giovanni.