French kids from Duras know their wine

IT's for reasons like this we all move to France. An article in today's local paper, Sudouest, brought it all back to me. Dozens of french school kids decked out in their luminous cycling jerseys parked their bicycles against the wall of the Maison des Vins de Duras in the Lot-et-Garonne, their teacher led them to the tasting room.

They were on a school trip to sample some of the Maison des Vins grape juice. A deep appreciation and respect for their heritage of wine making is instilled at a very early age here in France.

Another group of kids surveyed the garden of 1,000 recently planted vines and read from the information panels in front of them, pens and quiz sheets in hand, eagerly scanning for the answers.

Corinne Lacombe, who runs Maison des Vins de Duras which opened in 2002, explains "we want to provide a showcase of fun, discovery and teaching for our children. France is about family and children."

The wine shop stocks an impressive 100 wines, half of which are from small local co-operatives and half from privately owned vineyards, from about 200 AOC vintners.

The vines from which the wines come covers a local area around Duras of over 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres). Wine tasting is free and wine can be bought from four euros a bottle. Bargain!

The Maison, of more than 400m2, has welcomed more than 5,000 visitors since the begining of 2007.

Mr Marie-José Bireaud, the head of an AOC between the Bordeauxs and Bergeracs near Duras says "Duras does not subscribe to large scale distribution to pricy retail outlets. We prefer our tradition of welcoming people here at the Maison."

Well worth a look is the exhibition on the second floor of the building. It's educational and focussed on wine, taste and aromas. Well worth a visit.

Have a look here for more information: www.cotesdeduras.com