The ‘Winegeese’ is the name given to the emigrant Irish families and their descendants, who from the eighteenth century onwards engaged in the wine trade of the various countries of their adoption. Today the international wine scene resounds with the rich history of those Irish families whose names and labels have become synonymous with quality wine. Many of these pioneering families have played significant roles in the viticulture development of some of the finest wine-growing regions in both the old and new world.

Bordeaux, capital of the wine world, is the spiritual home of the Winegeese. The splendid châteaux of Bordeaux and the wines they produce comprise one of the great cultural treasures of France, inextricably interwoven into the tapestry of Irish history. In Bordeaux there are fourteen châteaux, ten streets, two wine communes and one public monument, all bearing Irish names.

The city’s most famous secular monument ‘La Grosse-Cloche’ commemorates Patrice McMahon, Marshal of France and President of the Republic.

Terry Cross as a member of the Winegeese fraternity is happy to share the proud legacy of the many families of Irish ancestry who for centuries have graced Bordeaux, the finest wine-growing region of the world.