Private Wine Lovers Tour - Gorgeous Graves & Sauternes, discover the diversity

The days are normally 9 to 6.30pm with pickup and drop-off at your hotel or ship within the city of Bordeaux.

The Graves is the birthplace of Bordeaux wines, a region of undulating hills, forests and fairy-tale castles - yet often missed out. Both red and white grapes excel in these stoney soils.

The sweet wines come from a particular micro-climate within this area created by the foggy conditions of the criss-crossing rivers. The golden wines of Sauternes are the most well-known and dominated by the hill with its queen Château d'Yquem on its top, the jewel in the crown with its lesser First growth jewels circling around it. Barsac is not to be missed though with its fresher flavours and vitality due to its limestone bedrock.

I like to visit three properties per day of a range of styles to show you some of the different aspects involved in Bordeaux vine growing and wine making. Most of my favourite properties are still family-owned, most are classified and all produce great wine. I like to include if possible a smaller independent producer (SIP) where we can meet the winemaker to see the 'other side' (there are 7000 properties in Bordeaux and only around 200 of them belong to the elite group called the Grand Cru Classé).

I will be organising your individual itinerary. Twenty-five years as a wine professional in the region enables me to open doors and offer you a unique insider’s authentic view of Bordeaux. It will be a fun, informative experience you will never forget and quite different to the other wine tours of Bordeaux available. Also note that what I charge is all inclusive except meals. Please advise if you have any particular Bordeaux favourites yourself or areas of special interest.