Merlot grapes will be harvested this week

Merlot Grapes in St. Emilion – harvest is near

These are Merlot grapes in St. Emilion. Harvest will more than likely take place this week. In St. Emilion, the most important grape is Merlot. The other Bordeaux grapes grown in St.Emilion are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Merlot is the predominant grape in the wines made in St. Emilion. In contrast, wines made on the Left Bank of Bordeaux are mainly Cabernet Sauvignon. The harvest appears to be excellent for 2016. We shot this photograph the day after a night of heavy rain. This is exactly what the vineyard growers were hoping for. The last two months have been dry and very warm. In all of Bordeaux,  irrigating the vines is not allowed. The grape clusters at this stage are in need of a good dose of water. The rainfall will plump up the individual grapes and ultimately provide more wine juice.  The wine growers are expecting dry days ahead until harvest. This rainfall will turn the grapes into “liquid gold.”

Ominous clouds in St. Emilion

This is a landscape view of Merlot vineyards, with the hilltop town of St. Emilion in the background. Later we went into St. Emilion and strolled the many wonderful wine shops. Our favorite wine shop was  Ets Martin. Ets Martin has an incredible collection of Bordeaux wines. One can taste several wines in various price ranges. Wine shipments can be arranged to the United States.

We hired a driver to take us from the city of Bordeaux to St.Emilion. We asked him to drive through the backroads of the vineyards outside of St. Emilion. What a joy to view beautiful vineyards on this spectacular cloudy day! You can also take a 25-minute train ride from Bordeaux to St.Emilion.