An immersive wine and cheese tasting in Bordeaux: pair nine top French cheeses with three Bordeaux wines in a vaulted cellar. Learn, savour, enjoy.
In the heart of Bordeaux, an exceptional culinary experience in France invites gourmets and travellers alike to explore the subtle harmony between mighty Bordeaux wines and France’s finest cheeses. This is not simply a tasting but a refined French cooking lesson in the broad sense of gastronomic culture — learning to pair ingredients with intent. Set in a vaulted cellar famed as the “cave aux 100 fromages”, participants savour nine distinct cheeses, each matched to three stellar wines from the Bordeaux region. The host guides you through texture, ageing, terroir and flavour, transforming a standard indulgence into a thoughtful culinary experience in France. Ideal for aficionados of French gastronomy or anyone eager to learn French cuisine-adjacent skills, this session blends tasting, technique and conviviality in a compact 1 h 30 format — perfect for those exploring a cooking holiday mindset without full-scale hands-on cooking.
Bullet-point summary
- City: Bordeaux (centre of Bordeaux metropolis)
- Region: Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Gironde, South-West France
- Price: Approximately €55 per person for 1h30 session (as advertised)
- Duration of the class: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Conditions and restrictions: Minimum age 18 years for alcohol; small group setting; morning (11:30) or late-afternoon (17:30) sessions; no foods specified beyond cheeses and wines
- Provider: La CUV, a wine-cave offering 2-h pairings
Discovering the Experience
This particular cooking class in France style tasting is anchored in a unique setting: the vaulted cellar of a restaurant dedicated to the union of cheeses and wines. Participants descend into a well-aged stone vault — the “cave aux 100 fromages” — and are invited to taste nine curated French cheeses, each meticulously selected for its typicity in milk, region and ageing profile. These are served alongside three regional Bordeaux wines (typically a white and two reds or variations thereof) chosen for their complementary profiles. The host presents each cheese-wine pairing, explains the underlying French gastronomy principles of texture, fat content, acidity, ageing, and how these interact with wine characteristics such as tannin, fruit, oak, and residual sugar. You’ll taste, discuss and refine your palate in a convivial small-group atmosphere. At the end of the 1h30 session you walk away not just sated but with a clearer understanding of how to learn French cuisine-adjacent skills: how to think about pairing rather than just consuming. For travellers on a culinary experience in France, this format delivers high value in a short timespan, ideal for a cooking holiday itinerary in Bordeaux.
The Host & Setting
The experience takes place at the restaurant located at 19 Rue Huguerie, 33000 Bordeaux. According to listings, this venue specialises in “accords vins & fromages” and boasts a vault where over 100 cheeses are stored for maturation and display. Although the specific facilitator’s name is not publicly highlighted in every listing, what stands out is the ambition: to treat cheese and wine not as incidental sideline, but as centre stage in a culinary experience in France. The environment — a vaulted cellar, ambient lighting, subtle presentation — reinforces the premium nature of the lesson rather than a casual tasting. It sits at the intersection of French gastronomy, educational flavour pairing and travel-friendly format. The provider, while not billed explicitly as a “cooking class in France” by traditional definitions, effectively delivers a lesson in gustatory technique and terroir understanding, framed around the art of pairing. For those seeking to learn French cuisine and wine synergy rather than full cooking technique, this offering is a compelling fit.
Detailed Course Format
Participants arrive at the designated time (either 11:30am or 5:30pm) and are ushered into the wine-cheese cave. After a brief introduction to the principles of French gastronomy — terroir, appellation, affinage (cheese-ageing), maturation of wine — the tasting begins. You sample nine cheeses, one after another or in thoughtful sets, each served on a slate board with local bread as palate support. Between each cheese, the facilitator explains the cheese’s origin, milk source (cow, goat, sheep), ageing time, texture (from fresh goat to washed-rind to blue) and how its fat, salt and moisture interact with certain wine types. The three wines from the Bordeaux region vary: typically a dry white (Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon blend), a medium-bodied red (Merlot-dominated) and a fuller red (Cabernet Sauvignon / Cabernet Franc blend). As each wine is served with one or more cheeses, the host guides participants on how to observe mouth-feel, taste progression, finish, aroma shifts, and how food-wine synergy occurs. The interactive portion invites questions: what changes if you pair a soft goat cheese with a tannic red? Why might washed-rind cheese prefer a white or sweet wine? By the end, you are invited to pair freely from the served cheeses with the wines, applying newly learned insight. The session closes with informal discussion, recommendations for home pairings and contact details for follow-up. You leave not just tasting-satisfied but technique-equipped — a genuine French cooking lessons-adjacent format for those seeking a richer culinary experience in France.
Why This Experience Stands Out
What distinguishes this workshop from standard tastings is the strong educational core: you are not only sampling but actively understanding the method behind creating successful combinations. For anyone embarking on cooking holidays or wanting to learn French cuisine (even indirectly via pairing logic), this format delivers both flavour and insight. The vaulted “cave aux 100 fromages” gives dramatic context — more than a bar, more than a cellar — it is a dedicated space for memorably engaging all senses. The use of nine cheeses and three wines gives breadth, and the small-group size ensures personal attention and interactive learning. Furthermore, the Bordeaux location situates the lesson at the heart of one of the world’s great wine regions, connecting the tasting to larger French gastronomy traditions and regional terroir. The semi-hands-on but focused format makes it accessible for travellers who may not have the time or desire for a full cooking class yet still wish to immerse in gourmet culture. In short: this is more than a tasting. It is a mini-masterclass in pairing, designed for the international gourmand seeking both pleasure and knowledge.
Elevate Your Palate in Bordeaux
In the culinary world of France, the marriage of wine and cheese has long held cultural prestige. Yet many travellers sample it passively. This boutique workshop flips the paradigm: you become the learner, the taster and the analyst. By engaging in a guided, structured session that blends elegance, regional specificity and friendly conviviality, you gain more than memorable flavours — you gain the vocabulary and confidence to recreate similar pairings at home. Whether you are on a short stay in Bordeaux or planning a more ambitious cooking holiday, this experience offers a refined yet accessible gateway into the heart of French gastronomy. More than a simple indulgence, it’s a lesson in taste, terroir and technique — a true gem for the discerning epicure.
Back to find your Cooking Class in France