While sailing with Viking River Cruises through the Bordeaux wine region of France, we took an…read moreexcursion from the ship called Bordeaux Wine and Barrels. During the tour, we visited "Tonnellerie La Nadalie". It was a great highlight of the trip for me. It was such an interesting and educational tour. We had an excellent guide for this insightful excursion into this large family business. We learned about the entire process with many steps, of how wine barrels are made. We actually had a guided tour of the factory and saw how oak wood slats are shaped into casks, selected, shaped, heated, banded, and designed to age fine Bordeaux wines. This cooperage was a great discovery. The work of these "artisans" of wood is amazing. Everyone who works in the cooperage rotates and learns every job in the factory. It's a real art to manufacture wine barrels. Our guide gave clear and precise explanations on all stages of the production, while we had the opportunity to observe the whole detailed process, watching many very skilled workers. We would certainly recommend this tour! I will never see a wine barrel the same again. It gave me a better understanding of the importance of the barrel to the wine too. This was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience!