Far … Between the Seas

Bordeaux, in southwest France, is the French wine region most famously defined by its rivers … and that’s saying something!

In Bordeaux, two rivers flow parallel from south to north. The eastern one is the Dordogne, and western is the Garonne. As they flow north, they join together into the Gironde Estuary, that empties out into the Atlantic Ocean. The whole riverine structure looks like a lambda or an upside down “y,” and based on this structure, people divide Bordeaux into two regions — Left Bank (the vineyards that lie below the Garonne) and Right Bank (the vineyards that lie above the Dordogne).

Well, actually, it’s three regions, because the area wedged into the inside of the “y", between the two rivers is called the Entre-Deux-Mers region (even though, yes, “entre deux mers” means “between two seas” and not “between two rivers,” which would be (the accurate and less confusing) “entre deux rivières”). What is not confusing is that this Friday’s tasting will be great as guest pourer Michael Smith from Native Selections wine importer and distributor pours Bordeaux wines primarily from the Entre-Deux-Mers region.

For this Friday’s free, walk-up tasting, take a walk between the riversides with Michael Smith and us.