Wine extravaganza

Every year at this time, in Bordeaux, there is an independent wine producers' expo.

It is held at Bordeaux lac, in the Parc des Expositions, on the north-eastern fringe of Bordeaux city.

To the uninitiated, with a fallable sense of direction, the site is tricky to find. In desperation, I reverted to a pre-technology ploy ... and asked somebody.

We got there and parked in a massive car park with hundreds of cars. At the entrance, people in small jovial groups were filing in. People with trolleys of wine were filing out. They appeared more jovial than the people going in.

We presented our tickets, which our friends Kerrie and Graham had kindly given us, and received two tasting glasses. Without tickets, entry costs 18 euros.

Spread out before us, a huge hall with seven aisles of small stands stretching 50 metres or so, each exhibitor had about a metre and a half of space, a small counter with bottles ready for pouring.

 A coloured disc on a long pole advertised their region, their name and the variety.

With 300 wine producers here, the choice was overwhelming. Where to start? In the end we walked up and down the aisles and chose styles we liked and regions from which we had drunk good wine.

There were food stalls too. One sold oysters, another Spanish ham off the bone, yet another old cheese with nicotine-coloured rind. The sandwich stall did a roaring trade.

There are 6000 independent wine producers in the association which organises these wine shows. It costs each producer 1500 euros to be in the Bordeaux expo. But with around 26,500 visitors over three days, it’s sure some at least will make a handsome return on their investment.