The 6th Bordeaux Wine Festival marked the event’s 10th anniversary with renewed spirit in keeping with Bordeaux’s inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List and candidacy as 2013 European Capital of Culture. The 450,000 (!) visitors to the Bordeaux Wine Festival 2008 enjoyed a very colourful time!
All along the left bank of the Garonne River
Proudly displayed along the entire length of the new 2 km „Wine and Food Route“ on the left bank of the Garonne, the mermaid symbolising the 2008 Bordeaux Wine Festival took on 2013 rainbow colours. This was also a way of celebrating the first anniversary of the city’s listing as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 28 June 2007.
On the facade of the Palais de la Bourse
A spectacular state-of-the-art sound and light show (on a 4,000 m2 backdrop!) illuminated Place de la Bourse three evenings in a row. This modern homage to Bordeaux wine was admired by hundreds of thousands of people.
In the evening sky
A fireworks display representing each of the seasons in the vineyard (winter on Thursday, spring on Friday, summer on Saturday, and autumn on Sunday) emblazoned the sky.
In their wine glasses
Visitors had ample opportunity to discover the – rosé, red, dry white, and sweet white – wines of Bordeaux and the Aquitaine region at numerous pavilions thanks to their Tasting Pass. The Vineyard Pass also attracted some 450 wine lovers to tours of the wine country. There was even a stand showing how to make multicoloured cocktails with Bordeaux wine at the CIVB’s Wine School pavilion. Furthermore, Master Class tastings tutored by château owners, organised for the first time in conjunction with the Union des Grands Crus, enjoyed considerable success.
On their plates
For the first time, prestige wine dinners were organised in the Palais de la Bourse. Some 1,200 guests appreciated dishes specially created by great French and foreign chefs such as Vincent Arnould (Le Vieux Logis in Trémolat-24), Fabrice Biasiolo (Auberge en Gascogne in Astaffort – 47), Alain Darroze (La Garburada Rose in Bayonne – 64), Philippe Etchebest (Hostellerie de Plaisance in Saint Emilion – 33), Philippe Garret (Pain, Adour et Fantaisie in Grenade-sur-Adour – 40) Nicolas Magie (La Cape in Cenon – 33), Thierry Marx (Cordeillan-Bages in Pauillac – 33), Michel Portos (Le Saint James in Bouliac – 33), Guozhong Hua (China), Michalis Koustantonakis (Greece), Jeffery Lizotte (New York), and Sarah Kosca (Las Vegas).
The marriage of fine food and wine was also celebrated in the festival’s Etals du Terroir and Bordo’Mundo sections.
In their ears
Virtually all the major languages spoken around the world were heard at the 2008 Bordeaux Wine Festival, starting with Russian thanks to visitors from this year’s special guest city, Saint-Petersburg (twinned with Bordeaux since 1992). Every evening, two Russian tenors and a soprano sang music by Verdi, Puccini, and Massenet.
German was also everywhere and Italian was beautifully represented on Thursday, 26 June by the Bordeaux Aquitaine National Orchestra on Place de la Bourse, with nearly 200 musicians and singers performing the opera Carmina Burana.
Spanish was also spoken all over the city thanks to a stopover by the Cuauhtemoc, a Mexican naval training vessel with a crew of 250. The ship was visited by almost 20,000 people over 4 days!
Conversations in English (British, American, and Australian!), more Spanish (visitors from Spain, Columbia, Chile, Argentina, etc.), Portuguese, German, Dutch, Danish, Korean, and Chinese, could also be overheard, as large numbers of people from around the world combined work and pleasure at the celebration.
On the work side, the Festival’s partners had invited wine professionals to take part in the Bordeaux Wine Festival and share their experience. The following people thus visited the festival and the Bordeaux wine country:
– a group of 37 winegrowers from the Napa Valley (USA)
– a delegation from the Basque government in Bilbao, who had come to support Bordeaux’s candidacy as 2013 European Capital of Culture
– a delegation from the Secretary of State for Commerce and Economic Development in Hong Kong, interested in developing exchanges with the world of wine
– a delegation from Los Angeles (a sister city of Bordeaux) led by Tom LaBonge, Mayor of the 4th district
– a group of Belgian professionals and consumers who won a competition organised by the CIVB (Bordeaux Wine Bureau)
– Russian and Canadian tour operators invited by the Tourist Information Office
– a delegation from Slovenia
– representatives of the city of Barcelona
On the media side, over 260 journalists (including 70 foreign journalists from 17 countries) came to Bordeaux to cover the event.
With the Wine Festival Ambassadors
Yamina Benguigui, Charles Berling, Claudia Cardinale, and Stéphane Freiss came to celebrate on Friday, 27 June 2008.
These personalities, who already knew and enjoyed Bordeaux, were named „Ambassadors of Bordeaux“ and left their footprints on the banks of the Garonne. Their trip was coordinated by the Bordeaux-based ambassador, Bernard Montiel.
Bordeaux ambassadors Françoise Laborde, Stéphane Bern, and Patrick Poivre d’Arvor attended again this year.
They joined the 1,200 guests at the Fête de la Fleur, a gala wine dinner organised for the first time on the right bank of the Garonne by the Commanderie du Bontemps.
Thanks to the Conseil des Crus Classés en 1855, Bordeaux also welcomed Yann Arthus Bertrand (who photographed the great growths for a „collector“ poster). He was completely bowled over by the „Hommages“ show on Place de la Bourse.
On the water
377 people joined a swim across the Garonne (1.7 km) during the festival, reminding us of the river’s central role and the city’s commitment to protecting the environment.
The Cuauhtémoc, a Mexican naval training vessel, docked on the quays for Bordeaux Fete Le Vin from Thursday 26 to Monday 30 June. Nearly 20,000 people, or about 530 an hour, visited the ship and were totally charmed by the 250-member crew!
A major innovation in 2008, ships on the Route du Vin de Pays de l’Atlantique, were universally admired. These were reminiscent of the gabarres (flat-bottomed barges) and sailing ships that formerly exported Bordeaux wine all over the world!
The festival’s new configuration on the riverbank called for certain adjustments over the weekend in order to allow for the safe flow of large crowds. Visitors were surprised and delighted with their time at the Festival!
