{"id":272,"date":"2012-07-16T14:43:02","date_gmt":"2012-07-16T13:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=272"},"modified":"2016-09-05T21:03:55","modified_gmt":"2016-09-05T20:03:55","slug":"bergerac-bordeaux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northeastwine.org.uk\/Blog\/bergerac-bordeaux\/","title":{"rendered":"Bergerac and Bordeaux, 2012 summer holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday 7th July 2012 we\u00a0touched down at Limoges airport in France with a group of (almost) complete strangers to begin a wine themed tour of Bergerac and Bordeaux organised by local company AdVintage Wine Services<\/a>, run by Suzanne Locke and Bill Oswald. A week later we touched down back at Newcastle amongst good friends with a bag full of wine and happy memories that will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n

I first heard about AdVintage last year when looking for local wine tastings to put on this Blog’s Events Page<\/a> (the link is to its current incarnation as part of the North East Wine Tasting Society\u2019s site). A couple of fellow NEWTS also mentioned they’d been on previous tours organised by Bill and Suzanne so when I saw their 2012 trip was to Bergerac and Bordeaux (and fitted in with when I could get time off work) then it seemed like a perfect match.
\nIf what follows sometimes comes across as an AdVintage advert this is purely because we really did have such a good time on the trip, but this was our holiday, which we booked and paid for ourselves, and we did not receive any preferential treatment to other members of the group (it is a fact I have long understood that writing a wine blog, especially one that is read by so few people, is unlikely to change my lifestyle!).<\/p>\n

AdVintage always try to arrange tours with flights from Newcastle Airport (previous experiences with a coach-only tour and flying out of Leeds-Bradford have proved unpopular with the clientele) which is why 17 of us arrived at Limoges. Whilst we were the youngest of the group and newcomers (all the others had been on at least one trip before and many knew each other) we were immediately welcomed as if we had known the others for ages (to be fair one there was one other NEWT, Elaine, on the trip along with her brother and friends who I had met before, so it wasn\u2019t a completely unknown situation).<\/p>\n

Outside in the brilliant sunshine a coach awaited for the 2 hour ride to Bergerac itself, our first meeting with le chauffeur, David, who would be with us the whole week.\"\"<\/a>
\nBill\u2019s prepared announcements were abandoned as the tannoy system in the bus wasn\u2019t working – not an auspicious start but it was fixed for the remainder of the week! \u2013 so we enjoyed the scenery as we drove past the lush green countryside (it wasn\u2019t just the UK getting more rain than normal) through the heart of the Perigord region, with Foie Gras and Truffles featuring highly on signs (even on what appeared to be a roadside caf\u00e9!).<\/p>\n

Finally arriving at the Hotel du Commerce<\/a> we checked in just as the heavens opened and rain of North East proportions fell, which had us slightly worried for the rest of the week! Dinner, where we were joined by the 2 remaining members of the party who had arrived from elsewhere in the UK, was a boisterous affair, lubricated by the free bottle of red Bergerac provided in each room (Les Pujols 2009, a little rustic round the edges but smooth & fruity and very quaffable) and Ch\u00e2teau La Fougere 2010 Ros\u00e9 from the hotel bar (equally quaffable, and the first of many thirst quenching Ros\u00e9s for the week). What also became clear at that first meal was that we were going to be well looked after by the hotel as the food was superb (from roasted duck legs on that first night through confit chicken, foie gras, guinea fowl, salmon, more duck, Pollock, enormous and tasty salad starters\u2026 only a too-rare and chewy steak didn\u2019t hit the mark) and we were given our own reserved dining and wining area which helped foster \u201cgroup bonding\u201d from the beginning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For the rest of the week we woke up each day to partly cloudy skies which always managed to clear by lunchtime and give relatively sunny afternoons with average temperatures of 23-25C, much less than normal for the time of year but perfect for our excursions. Apart from a little rain on the Sunday morning we didn\u2019t see a drop until the last evening and even that was when we had finished for the day so, all in all, the weather was on our side.<\/p>\n

The format for the week was straightforward;<\/p>\n