2012 Cellars In The Sky

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Viewing 6 posts - 16 through 21 (of 21 total)

  • DontTurnRight
    Participant

    Becky – not a wine tasting course per say, but take a look at Richmond Wine Society. Attended a Hawkes Bay tasting last week with them. Very informal and entertaining too. They also do tastings in Teddington and Chiswick.


    StephenLondon
    Participant

    Guest wines are a great idea – especially for customers who fly frequently as anything that adds variety or the unexpected can be a delight. More airlines should do this if, as VK says, selections are hard to come by in volume.

    Cathay Pacific are currently offering a guest selection of one of six Classified Growths from the 1855 Official Bordeaux Wine Classification on selected long haul flights in First Class which complements the rest of their First Wine List. We had a delicious Chateau Branaire-Ducru out of HKG the other day that went beautifully with the delicious lamb dish on offer.

    @Becky: Try The London Wine Academy in Bloomsbury, who have one-day courses which are very interesting, along with evening courses, etc. Bacchanalia, located in Broken Wharf across from Tate Modern, also does wine tastings. And, right next door is High Timber, which has 40,000 bottles in their cellar – so something for everyone! Remember – wine is all about personal preference, not how grand the bottle is, or how fancy the label is. Cheers!


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    I was going to recommend one of the Hotel du Vin chains, as many of their sommeliers (one in particular) are beyond superb.

    But they’ve sold their London outposts to http://www.burgerandlobster.com/ which I can’t get too upset about as B&L is a top notch offering, though more focussed on the food side of things.

    Agree, High Timber is a top choice!


    IanFromHKG
    Participant

    StephenLondon, I went to the dinner that the CX Marco Polo Club threw to mark their association with Chateau Branaire-Ducru. Lovely evening, with some top tipples. I think I still have a bottle lurking somewhere in one of the wine fridges.

    Becky, you should also try to do a glass tasting. I have been to several of these, hosted or co-sponsored by the local retailer for Riedel wine glasses (Riedel, as you may know, make glasses which are matched to wine varieties – so you can get a Pinot Noir glass, a chardonnay glass, and so forth). The idea of the tasting is that you have a meal with wine pairings, but you get about half a dozen glasses. They pour the first wine into one of the glasses, a sommelier or representative from the vineyard talks you through it (smells of lettuce and smoked mushrooms, tastes of cut grass and lemons, all that sort of stuff). Then, you tip the remainder into the next glass, and you get talked through it again, and lo and behold the bouquet and taste are quite different. I was deeply sceptical about the idea that a glass could make that much difference to the taste of a wine until my first of these glass tasting dinners – but believe me, it can make a huge difference. Now I am a complete convert, and we use Riedel wine glasses at home. We have been to quite a few of these dinners over the years, and I still find it fascinating how much difference the glass can make.


    Tom Otley
    Keymaster

    I did the intermediate course here several years ago – it’s for the trade but also the public – no frills but very thorough

    http://www.wsetglobal.com/


    BeckyBoop
    Participant

    Thanks guys, will look into these when i get back home.

    ps. check this vid on glass tasting – thanks for the tip Ian 😉 x

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93W7VzWOwlM

Viewing 6 posts - 16 through 21 (of 21 total)
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