Wine enthusiasts considering a late summer holiday may wish to consider a trip to the Bordeaux village of Saint-Emilion this weekend.

Saturday September 19th sees the medieval village celebrate its annual Harvest Festival, which Bloomberg critic Elin McCoy says is unmatched in terms of wine pageantry.

The weekend event begins on Saturday evening with the region's chateau owners, known as the Jurade, holding a torch-lit parade through the village in their toques and robes.

On Sunday, this group will then officially open the Saint-Emilion harvest with the release of purple balloons, bunched together like grapes.

Ms McCoy says that St Emilion is now beginning to make its traditional wine festival more accessible to outsiders.

Chateau Soutard is one of the local vineyards which has decided to give wine enthusiasts access to its 22-acre vineyard, while there are numerous walking tours throughout the region that have been put together by the local tourism centre.

Soutard is also offering oenophiles the chance to try their hand at winemaking by spending half a day with the estate's cellarmaster and vineyard manager.

Chateau Troplong Mondot is also welcoming guests to its estate to enjoy lunch with the owners and winemakers.

This year's festival is a special one for the vineyard, as the region was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classe B status by the French government back in June, taking its place alongside the likes of Chateau Angelus and Chateau Beausejour.

Chateau Ausone and Chateau Cheval Blanc remain the only Saint-Emilion wines to be considered Premier Grand Cru Classe A.

The Saint Emilion wine classification is updated every ten years, unlike the Bordeaux classification of 1855, which covers wines from the Graves and Medoc regions.

However, the 2006 classification was declared invalid in 2009 after a lengthy legal challenge, and has been redrawn.