The Casa Del Mar Hotel in Santa Monica proved to be the perfect location for the wine tasting of the Grand Cercle des Vins de Bordeaux.  The Cercle Rive Droite was established in 2002 and then Cercle Rive Gauche  followed in 2013. Now combined the Grand Cercle showcases some 200 Bordeaux wines from both banks of the Gironde Estuary.
We met with Alain Raynaud, president and founder of Grand Cercle, who explained that the thirty nine wineries represented at the tasting included almost every region of both the right and left bank of the Gironde River.
Most of the winery tables were hosted by the winery owners and we had most interesting conversations with some of them while tasting their excellent vintages.