After the Paris Marathon, my friends and I headed down to Bordeaux for an age old remedy for sore muscles: copious amonts of red wine, melted cheese, and duck. It was my first time in the region and it was so different than what I had expected. The terrain was less hilly than I had envisioned, the châteaux even more elegant, and the town of Bordeaux itself reminded me so much of Puglia’s Adriatic coastal villages and the outskirts of Lecce.

We stayed at Château Caronne Ste Gemme immersed in 113 acres of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and petit verdot vines. Not only does our lovely and talented host Georges Nony make wines (of the Haut-Médoc AOC), he is also a master on the BBQ and grilled us up gorgeous duck breasts, steak, and even camembert.

I’m genuinely shocked we had any room for this feast after lunch earlier that day at L’Antre Deux Verres in Saint-Emilion where tartine–thick slabs of crusty bread slathered in melted cheese–are the specialty. A glass of the local Crémant de Bordeaux was the perfect palate cleansing companion to a tartine of warm goat cheese, duck breast and walnuts. After lunch we headed up to Les Cordeliers, a 14th century cloister turned outdoor wine bar, for a bit more crémant and a box of the town specialty: macarons de Saint-Emilion.