Local Event
Cost: $60
Summer 2018 Wine Class Series : France Series - Loire / Bordeaux / Southern France, 07/10/18
Bonjour! This package is for one class in a series of three. Each course stands alone, or can be packaged. To purchase the package, click below
From the vineyard to the winery to the glass, each varietal has its own virtues and nuances, and there’s no better way to learn about them than through firsthand tasting. In this series of interactive, geeky, “research”-intensive courses, held in our cozy barrel room, you’ll sip a range of classic expressions and styles of numerous grapes while delving into history, genealogy, geography, and terroir, as well as production methods, aging, flavor profiles, and food pairings. You’ll sharpen your wine knowledge, gain confidence, and strengthen your understanding of your own tastes. Join us and get educated, with a glass in hand!
This course includes a family style selection of cheese and charcuterie with baguette.
Course Overview:
The Loire Valley is home to Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, but also Chenin Blanc and Melon de Bourgogne. An amazing stretch of over 700 miles from the salt encrusted banks of the Atlantic into the heart of the French countryside. Piercing wines that speak of place. A familiar batch of wines to ease us into the educational series.
In-depth study is required to truly understand the historical drama and the complex situation, so, we are here to keep it casual, interactive, and fun while sipping and learning.We'll cover the quick and dirty introduction, but also dive into the nitty gritty. We will discuss the 1855 Classification system, but also the soils, the Right and Left Bank, red and white wine, with a dash of sweetness to top it off. 1855. The top chateaus classified and set in stone. First premier cru through fifth. Only five chateaux qualify for the First Growth status, with all others falling in line. Southwestern France, close to the coast, in a low lying, marshy plain with softly rolling hills and outcroppings of gravel, with sand and clay. The Right Bank to the east...St. Emilion of note. The Left Bank to the west...Medoc downstream and Graves upstream. With wine history spanning back to 48AD with the Romans, the gravel banks of the Gironde Estuary, the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers, as well as the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, this is a place like no other in the world.
Amidst the bustle of a busy urban city, the vines and the gravel stretch on out, while the Chateau perch on top. The five(ish) allowed grapes are each and every one a 'noble' varietal, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec (Carmenere, too, if we are being totally honest). Not just red, but white and sparkling and sticky sweet, too. We’ll pop open the classics, Right and Left, but also a white and maybe even a treat to wrap up. Perhaps we'll toss in a white Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, to balance on out the equation, as well as a sweet and spendy Sauternes. The classic, the most refined, structured and lusted after. The wines of Bordeaux are coveted, invested in, and auctioned off. The futures...the dollars and the ratings, the collection, cultivation, and the cult. Put on your serious wine tasting shoes, this is a class that bites back.
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