Château Le Taillan: Armelle Cruse & Tatiana Falcy Pioneers
Catherine Leparmentier has been developing wine tourism for 20 years. She is currently the director of Great Wine Capitals (GWC), a Bordeaux initiative that was established to link cities connected to great wine regions in order to sustain the health and prosperity of their wine-related activities. GWC started with six members and is now a global network of 12 including Adelaide, Rioja, Mendoza, Porto and Napa Valley and growing. Leparmentier says wine tourism may have started in Napa with Robert Mondavi but that Bordeaux wasn’t far behind. Small properties reliant on direct sales started the trend, with classified growths selling through ‘La Place’, slower to catch on until they understood the loyal fan base visits created. Now many estates have shops offering direct sales for tourists and locals alike.
Sylvie Cazes, co-owner of Pauillac fifth growth, Château Lynch Bages worked there alongside her brother Jean-Michel before setting up her own tourism agency Bordeaux Saveurs in 2005. The company specialises in organising tailor-made stays and events on the theme of great wines, gastronomy and the French art of living. She is also president of Bordeaux wine attraction La Cité du Vin and welcomes visitors at her St-Emilion Grand Cru Classé estate Château Chauvin.
Former Olympic skier Florence Cathiard has worked tirelessly since 1990 to welcome visitors to the Pessac-Léognan estate Château Smith Haut Lafitte she owns with her husband Daniel. What started with the pair running visits themselves seven days a week
