Visiting Bordeaux during harvest means arriving while the grapes come in. The harvest traditionally takes place in September, but it can begin as early as August and end as late as October. In Saint-Émilion, the exact timing depends on grape maturity.
Some châteaux, including Château Margaux and Mouton Rothschild, close to visitors for the picking weeks, while others stay open or run harvest programs of their own. Saint-Émilion opens the harvest with a ceremony, and in October 2026 it held a Fête des Vendanges.
This page covers when the harvest happens, how to get there, which estates receive visitors at harvest time, what visits cost and what to book ahead.
When the harvest happens
The ban des vendanges is the official opening of the harvest period. In Saint-Émilion, the Jurade holds its Ban des Vendanges in September, generally on the 3rd Sunday of the month. In 2026 it fell on Sunday, September 20.
Experts once went into the vines to make sure the grapes were perfectly ripe before the Jurade proclaimed the opening of the ban. Today the ceremony celebrates the vintage.
Sauternes and Barsac
In Sauternes and Barsac, picking is done by hand and can last up to three months, because noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) does not develop evenly on the grapes. Pickers go through the vines 3 to 5 times, taking only the most botrytized grapes each time.
Fall mists, formed where the Ciron meets the Garonne, followed by sunny days, favor the noble rot. For the villages and estates, see Sauternes.
Harvest events in 2026
- September 18 and 19, 2026: Les Vendanges de Malagar, Courage !
- September 19, 2026: the Jurade's torchlight parade in Saint-Émilion for the Nuit du Patrimoine.
- September 20, 2026: the Ban des Vendanges of the Jurade in Saint-Émilion.
- October 10 and 11, 2026: the fourth Fête des Vendanges in Saint-Émilion, with vineyard walks, visits to heritage sites, food workshops and tastings.
- October 16 to 18, 2026: La Nuit des Châteaux.
The gerbaude is the traditional end-of-harvest meal in Bordeaux, held every year after the last harvest. At Château Smith Haut Lafitte, up to 100 grape pickers work around the château at harvest time.
Getting there
The fastest route from Paris is the direct TGV INOUI from Paris Montparnasse to Bordeaux Saint-Jean, in 2 hours 4 minutes, with 33 round trips a day. Direct OUIGO trains take from 2 hours 7 minutes.
| Option | From | To | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| TGV INOUI | Paris Montparnasse | Bordeaux Saint-Jean | 2h04 |
| OUIGO | Paris Montparnasse | Bordeaux Saint-Jean | from 2h07 |
| TER line 33 | Bordeaux | Saint-Émilion | from 29 minutes |
| TER line 42 | Bordeaux Saint-Jean | Margaux | about 45 minutes |
| TER line 42 | Bordeaux Saint-Jean | Pauillac | about 65 minutes |
| Car | Bordeaux | Saint-Émilion | about 35 minutes |
OUIGO trains on the route also use Paris Massy TGV, Paris Marne-la-Vallée Chessy and Paris Aéroport Roissy CDG 2. Make sure your ticket names the Paris station you want. Tram line C links Bordeaux Saint-Jean with the city center.
About 16 trains a day run from Bordeaux to Saint-Émilion on TER line 33, with tickets from €9.50 ($10). The station is about 1.5 km from the village, a 20-minute walk.
TER line 42 crosses the Médoc to Le Verdon, stopping at Margaux and Pauillac. By car, Margaux is about 45 minutes from Bordeaux on the D2 toward Blanquefort, Macau and Margaux, and Pauillac is 50 minutes by the Route des Châteaux (D2) or the D1215.
For more detail, see Paris to Bordeaux by train, Bordeaux to Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux to the Médoc and Bordeaux vineyards without a car.
When to go
The Saint-Émilion tourist office invites visitors to see the harvest between mid-September and the end of October. The Bordeaux tourist office gives the high season for wine tours as May to October, with peaks in June and during the September harvest.
The Bordeaux tourist office also calls fall the season to discover wineries during the grape harvest and take part in tastings.
Château Branaire-Ducru in Saint-Julien stays open for visits during the grape harvest. From April to the end of October it takes visitors by appointment, Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Château Guiraud in Sauternes opens 7 days a week, including public holidays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with or without a booking.
Visiting the estates
At harvest time, visits range from standard cellar tours to half-day programs in the vines.
Harvest programs
Château Troplong Mondot, a 1er Grand Cru Classé in Saint-Émilion, runs a private harvest tour during the harvest period, Monday to Friday at 10 a.m. It lasts 4 hours 30 minutes for 1 to 6 people.
It covers the vineyards, with tastings of grapes from different plots and of wines in fermentation, and ends with lunch at the grape-pickers' table with old vintages of Château Troplong Mondot.
In Saint-Julien, Château Gruaud Larose runs Secrets d'un vendangeur, a half-day harvest experience for 2 to 8 people. You pick alongside the estate teams with pruning shears, and the session ends with the pickers' meal, the repas vendangeurs.
Book Secrets d'un vendangeur through the estate's website, by phone on +33 5 56 73 89 43 or at visit@gruaud-larose.com. Visits run in French, English and German.
In the Graves de Vayres, Château Fage in Arveyres held a Ban des vendanges festival on Sunday, September 28, 2025, at 11 a.m. It included a session in the estate's educational vineyard on winemaking, a guided tasting, a group lunch and a walk through the surrounding vineyards.
Château visits in Saint-Julien and Pauillac
Château Branaire-Ducru's The Classic is a 1-hour private tour with a tasting of three wines, for up to 10 people. Book it through the estate's Book a private tour link. Tours run in French, English and Italian.
Gruaud Larose's private visits are by appointment, from two people, and its visit office opens Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Panoramique lasts 30 minutes.
In Pauillac, Château Lynch-Bages runs a 1-hour-30-minute cellar visit Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., booked online.
Saint-Émilion
The Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru appellations cover 5,400 hectares over the 8 towns of the Jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion and part of Libourne. They are planted mostly with merlot, with cabernet franc or cabernet sauvignon and malbec in smaller proportions.
Each day, the Saint-Émilion tourist office's château-of-the-day list shows between 2 and 4 estates open to the public. Clos Systey opens from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for visits of 1 to 1.5 hours, and Château de Roques in Puisseguin runs visits of about 1 hour.
Tourist office tours
Almost every Bordeaux tourist office tour leaves from its office at 12 cours du 30 Juillet, near the Quinconces tram stop. The half-day Chateaux & Terroirs tour runs 4 to 5 hours, and the full-day Saint-Émilion tour 8 to 9 hours, usually 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What it costs
Standard château visits with a tasting cost €20–80 ($22–86). Château Haut-Bailly's 30-minute Tasting costs €20 ($22), Gruaud Larose's Panoramique €25 ($27) and the Lynch-Bages cellar visit €25 ($27).
Branaire-Ducru's The Classic costs €40 ($43), The Epicurean €55 ($59) and The Signature €85 ($92). Troplong Mondot's Getaway, a 1-hour-30-minute vineyard walk with two wines, costs €50 ($54), and a visit at Château Figeac €80 ($86).
Harvest programs cost more. Troplong Mondot's harvest tour costs €950 ($1,026) for 1 to 2 people and €1,100 ($1,188) for 3 to 6 people. Gruaud Larose prices Secrets d'un vendangeur by the number of people.
Château Fage's 2025 harvest festival cost €49 ($53) for adults and €25 ($27) for children under 12.
In Saint-Émilion, a visit at Clos Systey costs €15 ($16), and Château de Roques charges nothing. The Bordeaux tourist office's half-day Chateaux & Terroirs tour costs from €55 ($59) and its full-day Saint-Émilion tour from €99 ($107).
Before you go
- Château Margaux and Château Mouton Rothschild stop visits during the harvest and take visitors Monday to Friday only. Château Margaux also closes in August, and its tastings are only for professionals.
- Book early for September, when the harvest season draws the most visitors. Summer tours generally need booking 2 to 3 weeks ahead.
- Around Saint-Émilion, reservations with the estates on the château-of-the-day list are compulsory, and the tourist office strongly recommends booking château visits in advance.
- Book restaurants in Saint-Émilion in advance, particularly at weekends and in peak season.
- Spit or choose a designated driver if you are driving between estates.
For the wider region, see Bordeaux and Booking Bordeaux château visits.
Frequently asked questions
When is the grape harvest in Bordeaux?
It traditionally takes place in September, but it can begin as early as August and end as late as October. In Saint-Émilion the exact timing depends on grape maturity. In Sauternes and Barsac, picking can last up to three months, with pickers passing through the vines 3 to 5 times.
Can I pick grapes in Bordeaux as a visitor?
Yes. Château Gruaud Larose in Saint-Julien runs Secrets d'un vendangeur, a half-day for 2 to 8 people picking alongside the estate teams, followed by the pickers' meal. Château Troplong Mondot runs a private harvest tour of its vineyards with grape tastings, from €950 ($1,026) for 1 to 2 people.
Are Bordeaux châteaux open during the harvest?
Some close. Château Margaux and Mouton Rothschild stop visits during the harvest. Château Branaire-Ducru in Saint-Julien stays open for visits, by appointment, and Gruaud Larose and Troplong Mondot run harvest programs during the picking weeks.
What is the Ban des Vendanges in Saint-Émilion?
It is the Jurade's ceremony that launches the harvest period, held in September, generally on the 3rd Sunday of the month. In 2026 it fell on Sunday, September 20. Experts once checked that the grapes were ripe before the opening was proclaimed; today the ceremony celebrates the vintage.
