Tutored Burgundy wine course with Colin Wills

Tuesdays 10th September - 1st October 2013
7-9pm
Bishopsgate shop
Seated
£245 per person inc VAT

An introduction to the wines of Burgundy and Beaujolais.

The emphasis will be on examining the idea of terroir as it may or may not refer to winegrowing. Since the study of Burgundy is so complex that a mere lifetime is inadequate for it, don't expect to complete the course with more knowledge than a rough idea of how much more there is yet to discover. We'll take as our motto that oft repeated phrase - Bourgogne; c'est compliqué.

Since most of Burgundy's wines are made from a single grape variety I hope that over the four sessions we will distinguish differences in both reds and whites that are attributable to winemaking and to the distinct vineyards in which they are grown. And learn to write shorter sentences.

The six areas of Burgundy we look at are certainly all different and each will be illustrated by carefully selected wines, mostly from growers I know personally and who are lauded by critics and aficionados alike.

To book a place send us an email, or call 020 7638 5998

Offered subject to availability

No refunds within 48 hours of the first event

Session 1 - Chablis and Beaujolais: oystershell and granite
Cool and stony Chardonnay juxtaposed with fun loving Gamay. Perfect partners for one evening.

Session 2 - Chalonnais and Maconnais: Stevie and Macca in a bottle
The overlooked hinterland of Burgundy that you can actually afford.

Session 3 - Cote de Beaune: world famous for whites, prolific in Pinot
In the last years peculiarly susceptible to hail, this area has some of the most delicate and the most powerful reds, possibly the most pleasurable whites made anywhere from Chardonnay and some top Aligoté, the Duchy's forgotten grape.

Session 4 - Cote de Nuits: stuck in the middle, tasting along the N74
One of those delightful three lane roads where you take it in turns to overtake in an underpowered hire car - momentum's the name of the game. Either side of the road, but particularly the west, this is Pinot central. Yet it's not about the fruit, rather the dirt. From hundreds of years of study of this quasi miraculous conjunction of variety and terroir, monks and other scholar-farmers have delimited a hierarchy of quality.