In the US the legal blood alcohol limit is between 80 – 100mg per 100ml of blood, depending upon the state.

Contrary to what one might think, in France, the limit is only 50mg per 100 ml of blood.  Drivers in France found over the limit of 50mg already face fines of 135€ or more ($175).  To make matters worse, as from July 1, 2012 all drivers in France will be required to carry a breathalyzer in their car.  This includes tourists crossing France and rental cars!  Failure to produce a test when stopped by a local police will result in a fine of 11€ or about $14.   But be careful, the alcohol tests have a sell by date so make sure yours is current.

This new French law is in line with the recent policies put in place to reduce the number of alcohol related accidents. France’s lower limit means it’s very easy to be over the limit the morning after as well. As always, the best advice for motorists is not to drink and drive at all.

So what does all this mean for the wine tourist?  How can we help?  Decanter Tours will gladly organize your chauffeur driven wine tour in Bordeaux, Burgundy or Champagne.  Check out some of our wine tour suggestions and Contact us if you are interested in obtaining a quote.

Winter is notoriously boring in Bordeaux - so what does one do on the long lonely winter nights? THE DUAD

The Bordeaux University Oenology faculty runs very high-powered, academic courses in both the production and appreciation of wine. So high powered it is, the pass rate is sometimes not even 50%.  This year is our year to participate in this illustrious and infinately famous program.  As most Bordeaux children of famous winery owners do, we have picked up our school bags and hit the chalk board. But what is it all about?

It is an exploration into how our bodies work for starters. We learn first and foremost about our senses:   how the nose works, our sense of smell, our sense of taste and our taste buds.  We have studied colors and  the effect of light, the effect of pollution be it noise or air, how it influences the way we taste, the environement in which we taste, the importance of the glass, the temperature and even our own health and the role it can play in our perception of taste and smell. That was just the first few weeks.

Following the biology lessons came the history of Bordeaux and the evolution of the vine in the world and its importance in our daily lives, commerce, religion and politics.  Then we started with the vineyard, grafting, grape maturity and soil.   Our early lessons concentrated also on the four or is it five tastes: acidity, sweetness, bitterness and saltyness. Did you know there was a fifth? Umami discovered in Japan, its the taste of soy sauce, not exactly salty, not exactly sweet…

We spend most of our tasting sessions sniffing molecules responsable for the smells in wine.  Linalol – rose, geraniol – geranium, citronellol – lemon, Whiskeylactone – coconut, IBMP – green pepper, etc.  We also get to taste wine from time to time. But more about that later.

No better way to discover the Bordeaux vineyards.

There are a thousand ways to discover the vineyards of Bordeaux - gain a new perspective on horseback!

Contact us to visit Bordeaux in a different way.