"Why do you plant roses at the end of each row of vines?", "How should I hold my glass when tasting?"...are amongst the many questions asked by a group of 30 vistors from Brussels at Château Haut Bailly on Saturday. This classified growth of Graves, situated 20 km South of Bordeaux has been developing it's "business tourism slot", says Caroline Perromat, in charge of the tourist sector of this 28 hectare property owned by an American banker, Robert G.Vilmers. In fact, since the beginning of September, around fifty receptions have been held at Haut Bailly and two thirds of these vistors are from abroad. The price of the visit & lunch/dinner on the property depends on the "package" : caterer, agency fees...but usually costs between 100 - 150 euros for the visit/tasting/meal.
" We have always welcomed visitors to the château even though our wines are sold by the Bordeaux wine merchants and not on the property" explains Caroline, " often clients wanted to come back for a visit with friends and family. But as demand for visits from non-professionals increased, we decided that the time had come to organise our reception capacity for this new wine tourist market."
A wine boutique has now been opened at the château which refused to sell wine direct to customers before.
Many châteaux, cooperatives and wine merchants in Bordeaux, Bergerac, Lot-et-Garonne and Jurançon have followed the pioneering example of the Cognac properties in opening up to the tourist trade.
The Belgian visitors enjoying a walk through the vineyards of Haut Bailly that day, explained that they had come to the region to see the "magnificent city of Bordeaux". Opera, musuems, good restaurants and a trip on the tramway were all on their holiday agenda. "But it would have been inconceivable not to visit a wine château whilst we were here".
César Compadre S.O. 10/06/08
Translated by Maxine Colas.
doc@sudouest.com