A fun weekend to enjoy tasting and to appreciate Champagne – the wine and the region; to be welcomed by a top Champagne producer for an exclusive visit of her vineyards and tasting in her cellars, visit a famous Grande Marque, and a specialist grower in the Montagne de Reims

Friday – The weekend will begin on Friday afternoon when we meet in the centre of Epernay and from there we will go to a caviste for introductions and a degustation of four champagnes from different parts of the region to appreciate the role of the different terroirs.

After which we will be treated to a guided tour of the
cellars of a Grande Marque Champagne House in the Avenue de Champagne followed by a tasting.

Epernay is an interesting town, not touristy at all, and you will have a little time before dinner to explore for yourselves. We will dine early in a local restaurant, which prepares original dishes based on traditional Champenoise recipes.

Saturday – After breakfast Sylvie Maizieres will welcome us for a unique insight tour and tasting of her estate.

She own 7 hectares of vines, most of which are located in the Grand village of Bouzy and the Premier Cru village of Trepail, producing a range of Champagnes in their own individual style; a Blanc de Blanc (made solely from Chardonnay), a Brut Reserve, a Rose, a Demi–Sec and even a red wine, Bouzy Rouge, made from the famous Pinot Noir grapes, a wine so respected that it is bought by Moet et Chandon to add to their Dom Perignon Rose!!

The day will begin with an hours visit to the new museographe/scenographe to be educated and entertained by the robot ‘Creabulle’ and a ‘virtual’ Dom Perignon.

Then back to tradition for a personal tour of the cave for an explanation of how Champagne is made.

Lunch will take the form of a tutored tasting, to discover the joy of matching different styles of Champagne with samples of regional food, and of course, to enjoy drinking it!

After lunch we will have a tour of the vineyards to appreciate the unique ‘terroir’ and see why it makes the most revered sparkling wine in the world.

Should you be tempted there will be the opportunity to stock up on your favourites at cellar prices.

At the end of the day we will have a little free time before sharing an informal buffet supper together sur place.

Sunday – After breakfast, we will set off starting with a light-hearted rally driving through the wine villages of the Route de Champagne enjoying a leisurely scenic route on our way to our next visit. We will have a tour and tasting of another small producer who specialises in Champagnes made with a predominance of Pinot Meunier.

We will then enjoy a lunch of traditional steak & frites maison in a local village café before making our fond farewells.

Where to find us and taste some ‘real’ wine with me …….

Wednesday 21st October: 11.30am – 15.30pm

Divine Wines: 16 High St, Wincanton, BA9 9JQ

Thursday 22nd October: 15.30pm – 18.30pm

Ranmore Wines Unit 17, Dunley Hill Court, Ranmore Common, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6SX

And with 4 vignerons too ……

Friday 20th November: 18.30pm – 22.30pm

Englefield Green Social Hall, Victoria St, Surrey TW20 0QT

Saturday 21st Novmeber: 11.30am – 16.00pm

Divine Wines: 16 High St, Wincanton, BA9 9JQ

Sunday 22nd November: 11.00am – 16.30pm

Chichester Yacht Club, Chichester Marina, Chichester, PO20 7EJ

Please if you’d like to join us – feel free to just turn up or email for more info.

]]> http://www.vinetude.com/our-languedoc-tasting-trail-octnov2009/feed 0 http://www.vinetude.com/le-chemin-des-vins http://www.vinetude.com/le-chemin-des-vins#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:06:35 +0000 Lits http://www.vinetude.com/?p=260 Chemin des Vins
December 2004 at King’s College, London Waterloo

This was an exhibition of five winegrowers from different regions of France:

“These are all small producers passionately caring for their grapes in the vineyars to the wine in your glass. They are proud of their individual ‘terroirs’ and the expression it gives to the character of their wines. It is difficult for them to comprehend that the price of a bottle almost doubles when it is imported into the UK. Certainly it is not they who are heavily marking up their wine and they are hoping this tasting will help to dispel the myth that good French wine is expensive.

At a time when wine sales are dominated by the supermarkets with aisles and aisles of industrially produced, chemically treated bottles here is an opportunity to appreciate natural, traditionally-made wine that is not normally available to us unless we knock at their Cave door.

This Wine Fair is different because no wine will be available to buy en place, it will only be possible to order it, and collect it at a later date, on a short hop over or under the Channel (not far from Calais). Their belief is that once you taste this wonderful wine you will be convinced that it is well worth the effort whether it be for six bottles or ten cases!”

Joly Rouge AOC Coteaux du Languedoc 2004
Tartine avec poivrons rouge et anchois

Saturne Rouge AOC Coteaux du Languedoc 2003
Saucisse de porc

Virgile Rouge AOC Coteaux du Languedoc 2002
Terrine de gibiers

Virgile Blanc Vin de Pays de Herault 2003
Fromage Cantal jeune

Carthegene Vin de Liqueur 2001
Pain d’epices

Eau de Vie de Marc Rouge 2001
Fresh cherries from the Vallee de l’Orb

A Taste of Languedoc
December 2005 at Egham, Surrey

Lits would like you to come to a tasting of thirty handcrafted wines from 12 personally selected vignerons with samples of regional food. A bistro corner will be serving a Menu du Jour to allow you to linger if you wish!

ANOTHER TASTE OF LANGUEDOC
In Egham and Billesdon, Leicester
November 2006

You are invited to sample more wonderful, natural wines
from the Languedoc avec bonnes-bouches!

With personal presentations from 4 vignerons
+ new vintages of old favourites & some new discoveries

The idea is to try the tastes and flavours, to match a wine with the different food flavours. The experimentation, the sensations of pleasure… we have only made suggestions at the tables, take your time and return to try again.

These wines are selected on the basis of not only being pure, unadulterated by chemicals, but also because they taste good. That is never to forget that wine, like food, is so personal. We have our likes, our dislikes…. and our favourites. But one of the most fascinating things we must remember is how much the flavour of a wine can change with what you are eating. A wine which may appear easy to drink on its own may be overwhelmed by the powerful flavours, likewise a full bodied wine can easily overpower delicate ones. It is an art to match a suitable bottle to a chosen dish, something which can only be learnt by trial and error, imagination and a lot of fun practising!

Similarly they also have their place in time, the mood, the company, the occasion, the budget! The French have terms for them: ‘un vin pour tous les jours’ a wine for everyday drinking, ‘un vin de copain’ , to be shared with friends, ‘un vin de dimanche’, a special wine for Sunday, ‘un vin d’anniversaire’, a special wine for a celebration. A special feast usually calls for a special bottle!

I hope I have given you a choice!

COOL SUMMER CLASSICS
Virginia Water, Surrey June 2006

You are invited to a tasting of 21 summer wines
with canapés set amongst a fleet of classic cars!

This year we returned to Egham and Billesdon and also presented an evening dinner with Languedoc wine at ‘The Wine Circle’ restaurant in Virginia water and a wine tasting at an art exhibition in the ‘Power Station Gallery’ Battersea, London.

Jane is an excellent cook and a fun teacher with a wonderful repertoire of regional recipes. Languedoc cuisine is famed for its tasty simplicity and with the wealth of ingredients available, dinner is a pleasure to prepare. There is nothing better than a visit to a local market for inspiration. Not only is it an opportunity to taste a little of the neighbourhood atmosphere but it is where the local people shop for the largest variety and freshest produce.

I will be your guide and lead you to select and purchase the ingredients that you will have the pleasure of preparing with Jane for a sumptuous feast.

Sample Weekend Itinerary

First Day

Afternoon arrival at Domaine de Brousson.
4 course dinner with wine tasting and an introduction to the region, its culture, wine and food.
Overnight at Domaine de Brousson.

Second Day

Breakfast.
Guided visit with Lits to local market to seek and select the ingredients for the afternoon cooking class.
Lunch at a traditional bistro.
Afternoon cooking class with Jane to prepare your 4 course evening meal. This will be interactive, informative, and fun.
Your dinner with wine!

Third Day

Breakfast.
Today will be spent touring and tasting in the Languedoc wine region with Lits as your guide. Meet the vignerons, walk in the vines and experience what makes this region produce such top quality wines.
Lunch will either be at a local restaurant or, weather permitting, a picnic in the vines.
Dinner with wine at Domaine de brousson and a tutored tasting, matching the wines we have tasted with our 4 course meal.

Fourth Day

Breakfast and farewells.

Price 450€ pp based on double occupancy

September is the busiest and prettiest time of the year in both the vineyards and the cellars. The colours are at their autumnal best with the leaves a myriad of shades from greens to amber and russet reds. This is the most colourful and exciting time to see at first hand the viticulture and wine-making styles of each individual producer and what’s more, to participate yourself. You will see first hand how wine is made, the choices the vigneron must make and the role and influence of their individual terroirs.

We welcome you here on a Friday afternoon and begin with a discussion of our itinerary, details of which are at the mercy of ‘Mother Nature’ who determines the start of the harvest (’la vendange’, as it is called in France).

Over the following couple of days we will visit winemakers in different appellations, watching them in action; sorting and pressing the grapes, starting the fermentation, and its vinification. Seeing the grape harvest in full swing and witnessing the picking by hand and machine, with a chance to join in ourselves (should you wish!).

We will lunch at local restaurants or picnic at scenic spots and in the evening feast en famille at the House where we will enjoy matching the wines we have chosen from the day with our freshly prepared supper.

“The amount of work, much of it manual, involved in maintaining a great vinetard defies description. The initial investment is colossal. The risks of weather are beyond man’s control: too much rain, no rain at all, hailstorms, freak winds, late frosts, early frosts. Everything can be done perfectly for eleven months of the year and destroyed overnight. I can never open a bottle again without thinking of the effort and skill and patience that have gone into it, and what a bargain it is.”
Peter Mayle 2001