The Aquitaine is famous for more than sun-filled summer days, white sandy beaches and amazing surf. It is internationally recognized as one of the best wine producing regions in the world! Of course, that’s something our surf holiday guests needed to see, or rather taste, for themselves!

Following an evening of drinking, I mean “networking” with some of the French locals, our Carcans surf camp was introduced to the Blasquez family who own a vineyard in Medoc which is only a 40-minute drive from our surf camp in Carcans. Sampling some of their wines made us decide to take the opportunity to find out more about some of Carcans’ regional produce and, of course, have another taste for ourselves.

After a great morning’s surf, we arrived at Chateau Baudan mid-afternoon and immediately fell in love with its rustic charm and bleached white sandstone building. We were greeted by a lovely Madame Blasquez who, after a welcome drink, gave us a brief introduction to the Chateau. Chateau Baudan has belonged to the Blasquez family for many generations and Mme. Blasquez’ passion for her trade is evident when speaking about the winery’s history. The vineyard encompassing eight hectares of varying ages and types of grapes, and the wine produced is a complex, subtle blend of ‘pinot noir’, ‘petit verre d’eau’ and ‘chablis’.

As part of the tour, we had an opportunity to see the vats where the first part of the wine making process takes place, creating up to 50,000 litres of wine on a good harvest. We then went on to the cellar where hundreds of oak barrels lined the room and the strong smell of red wine flooded our surfer’s nostrils.

The Blasquez family are proud to have retained the traditional method of wine making, leaving the wine in an ‘all natural cellar’ and, every year, their wine is assessed in order to retain their title of Crus Bourgois – Superior Quality Wine. After taking the time to answer all our questions, we got to what all our surf holidays guests were waiting for… the tasting! We sniffed and swirled the wine around our glasses in true wine tasting fashion, trying both the 2009 and 2011 ‘Crus Bourgois’ which really were exceptional, and it was no surprise that many of us jumped at the opportunity to purchase a bottle or two once the tasting was complete.

A mention of taking bottles back home for loved ones was heard, but I’m seriously doubting if many bottles will actually last that long!

If you’d like to join us on one of our Carcans adventures, it’s not too late to join us this summer!

We look forward to tasting wine with you!

Bianca & the Carcans Star Surf Team