| Wine Tasting Course |
If you want to sample French vintage wines with an expert, if you want to learn how to evaluate and how to recognize French grape varietals, our French wine appreciation course is definitely for you.
In each lesson, you will taste six French Grand Cru wines, presented by Joel Corre, Director of the Institute of Oenology of Aix-en-Provence. The course takes place at Château de Calas, home of Count de Villeneuve.
« To taste the Grands Crus is the royal route to communicate directly with the essence of wine, says Raymond Dumay. It is the classic school, in the great tradition. For the good student has to keep his mouth pure. »
Introduction to oenology, wine tasting technique, the words of wine. Dry and sweet white wines. Alcool, sugar and acidity, the balance and harmony. Tannins and structure in the red wines. Young and old wines, the evolution of colour and flavours.
The Bordeaux vineyard, soils and varietals. The 1855 classification, Premiers Crus and Grands Crus Châteaux. The harvest, fermentation and oak barrel aging, new and old barrels. Commercialization of Bordeaux wines, future sales, brokers and shippers.
The vineyard of Burgundy, the grape varietals, villages and appellations. Hierarchy of the climats, Premiers Crus and Grands Crus. Winemaking technique for red and white wines. Great domaines and prestigious wines of Burgundy.
The vineyard of Champagne, the grape varietals, Blanc de Blancs and Blanc de Noirs. The famous brands of Champagne, négociants and growers. Winemaking in Champagne, the prise de mousse, or second fermentation in bottles.
Three classic vintage wines are served blind. Blind tasting is excellent to evaluate a wine without being influenced by the label. It enables the taster to find his own marks and to forge an opinion with his sole palate and taste buds.
Convivial and friendly, the blind tasting is followed by the delivery of a Wine Evaluation Certificate from the Institute of Oenology.
Price of the course : 275.00 € per person.
Reservation at the Institute of Oenology, Aix-en-Provence, France. Classes are restricted to twenty people. To day, eight places are still available for the September 2010 seminar.
Next wine tasting course : Spring 2011.