Big Caveat: I have not yet been to every wine bar in Bordeaux. There is a wine bar on every corner, like Starbucks in Seattle, and (contrary to popular belief), I do go to school and don’t spend all my waking hours drinking wine (although I will admit that we do sometimes have wine at school).
These are three of the wine bars that I’ve found myself going back to, although there are still so many to discover!
- Quatre Coins du Vin: The first wine bar I went to, the very first day of classes in October, and the very first day that I knew I was going to love the people in my program. The concept is great: the wine-by-the-glass dispensers (so many of them in one room!) allow you to buy a taste, a half glass, or a full glass, so you can choose the kind of experience you want. Since they have 23 wines available for tasting, and we are (obviously) a group of wine geeks, we opted to taste. And oh, did we taste! From Argentina to South Africa to France, and even a Zinfandel from California, we tasted. The owners, Benjamin Bouet and Chloe Allano, are young, dynamic, love wine, and know their stuff. Would recommend to: anyone looking for a wide range of wines to try in one night. Wine nerds.
- La Conserverie: So welcoming, and such a cozy atmosphere. The wine selection has a range of prices, and you can buy by the glass or grab a bottle from the shelf and drink it there for a small corkage fee. I have never had less than a stellar welcome there. The wine selection may not be huge, but it changes frequently, and I’ve had some really incredibly value wines. I’ve been here several times, both in a larger group and for a quiet drink. It doesn’t hurt that it’s on my favorite street in Bordeaux: Rue Notre Dame. Would recommend for: a glass of wine to unwind with friends after a long week, or date night (for wine nerds).
- Verre O Vin: This is a quiet neighborhood joint that always seems to fill up just after I get there. This is the most versatile of the three, with an extensive list of wines by the bottles but also the cool wine-dispensing machines that make tasting so much fun! The walls are old stone, which is one of the things I love about France, that you can sit and have a drink in old buildings where people may or may not have been drinking wine for hundreds of years. They know their wine here, and can tell you something about every bottle. I’ve seen large parties here, as well as small groups of friends, and couples, so there really is something for everyone. Would recommend to: someone looking for a low-key evening, but who is also a wine nerd.
So, if you’re in Bordeaux, these are three not to miss, along with countless others (seriously, wine bars are the Starbucks of Bordeaux). If you have any suggestions for places to check out, let me know; I’m always on the lookout for somewhere new!
