Bordeaux is not a wine. Let me explain.

Here’s something that happens at nearly every tasting we do. We mention that we grow Bordeaux varietals — specifically Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot — and we can see the gears turning. Is Bordeaux the wine? Is it the grape? Is it a style? And then, to be polite, people just nod.

So let’s clear this up once and for all, because it’s actually a pretty simple idea wrapped in unnecessarily fancy language.

“Bordeaux” is a place. Like how “Champagne” is a place. The wine is named after the region, not the other way around.

Start here: Bordeaux is a city in France

Castely Bordeaux bits

Bordeaux is a city in southwestern France, about two hours south of the Loire Valley and close to the Atlantic coast. The region around it has been making wine for over 2,000 years. The Romans planted vines here, and by the Middle Ages, Bordeaux wine was being shipped all over Europe. It became one of the most famous wine regions in the world, which is why “Bordeaux” became shorthand for a whole style of winemaking.

Think of it the same way you’d think about Champagne. Champagne is a region in France. The wine made there — using specific grapes, in a specific way — gets to be called Champagne. If someone makes sparkling wine in California the same way, they have to call it something else (usually just “sparkling wine”). Same idea with Bordeaux.

So what’s the Médoc? What’s St. Émilion?

This is where people get lost, and honestly, it’s fair. The naming gets layered fast. Here’s the simple version: the Bordeaux wine region is large, and within it are smaller sub-regions, each with its own personality and rules.

Checking out some Pomerol dirt

The Médoc Left bank, Cab Sauv country On the left bank of the Gironde River, this is the home of big, structured reds built mostly around Cabernet Sauvignon. Famous names like Pauillac and Margaux live here. When people picture “serious Bordeaux,” this is usually what they mean.	St. Émilion Right bank, softer and rounder On the right bank, and a very different vibe. The soils suit Merlot and Cabernet Franc much better here, so the wines tend to be softer, rounder, and a bit more approachable young. Same region, totally different grape emphasis.
Pomerol Tiny, famous, expensive A tiny right-bank area next to St. Émilion, famous for producing some of the most sought-after wines in the world. Pétrus lives here. Merlot-dominant, incredibly rich and plush when done well.	Graves & Sauternes South of the city Graves makes both reds and whites. Sauternes is famous for luscious sweet wines made from grapes intentionally affected by a beneficial mold. It sounds weird, but it tastes incredible.

Médoc, St. Émilion, Pomerol, Graves — these are all parts of Bordeaux, the same way Brooklyn and Manhattan are both parts of New York. When someone says “I love St. Émilion,” they mean they love wine from that specific corner of the Bordeaux region.

Nobody orders “a New York.” They order “a Brooklyn lager” or “a Manhattan cocktail.” Same idea — the region contains multitudes.

What makes a wine “Bordeaux-style”?

In Bordeaux, winemakers blend several specific grape varieties together — usually Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and a couple of others. No single grape has to dominate. The blend is everything. The final wine might be 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc, or something totally different, depending on the year and the winemaker’s goal.

A useful analogy: think of a Bordeaux blend like a recipe that has a few required ingredients, but the amounts are up to the chef. Two chefs using the same ingredients can make very different dishes. That’s why a Médoc and a St. Émilion can both be “Bordeaux” but taste completely different — different grapes in the lead, different soils, different philosophy.

Something très yummy in these barrels!

When we say we grow “Bordeaux varietals” at Skyhaven, we mean we’re growing grapes from that same family — the same cast of characters used in Bordeaux for centuries. We’re not making French wine, and we’re not pretending to be Bordeaux. We’re just using those grapes as our starting point and letting our land tell its own story.

The two we’re growing at Skyhaven

Cabernet Franc The grape behind the grape Many people have never heard of Cab Franc, but they’ve almost certainly tasted it. It’s a key blending grape in most Bordeaux reds, and it’s actually the parent variety of Cabernet Sauvignon. Think of it as the Cab Sauv you already love, but a little softer, a little more interesting, with something almost herbal going on. It works beautifully as a solo wine. We love it, and our 2023 Skyhaven Cab Franc is a triple-medaler. BAM!

Petit Verdot The finisher In traditional Bordeaux, Petit Verdot is the seasoning. Winemakers use small amounts of it in a blend to add color, structure, and a "little something extra." As a single varietal, Petit Verdot is bold in the best possible way. It has structure without being harsh, and depth without being heavy. We’ve found it thrives in our heat. It fully has a mind of its own and is a real pain in the butt to farm! Despite that, though, we’re so excited to harvest our first PV grapes this fall.

The short version, if you need it

Next time someone mentions Bordeaux wine, and you want to sound like you know what’s going on, here’s all you need:

Bordeaux = a region in France, not a grape or a style of wine.

Médoc, St. Émilion, Pomerol = neighborhoods within that region, each with its own vibe.

Bordeaux blend = a wine made from that region’s classic grapes — Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, and a few others — mixed in whatever proportion the winemaker wants.

Bordeaux varietal = just one of those grapes, grown anywhere in the world. When we say it at Skyhaven, we mean we’re working with Cab Franc and Petit Verdot — grapes with deep roots in that tradition, grown right here in our conditions, on our terms.

That’s it! No certification needed. You now know more than most people at a dinner party. 😏