Our produce guy Tom stepped away from the computer to try some luxury wines from France. How did he enjoy it? Read on
Wines are my favorite
Some time ago, I had the opportunity to attend a tasting of luxury French wines from the Alsace region. I've done tastings of rums and cognacs in the past, but to be honest, wines are my favourite of all types of alcohol. I find that the palette of flavours in wine is the most varied, especially when you realise that a wine from the same winemaker can taste a little different every year depending on how it has been cared for, how the crop has come out, or what the climatic conditions have been.
Great acoustics and tasting table
The tasting took place in Prague in the lounge of the Páv Hotel. Parking is a bit tricky here, but not many people drive to the tasting because everyone wants to taste. Luckily we had a driver. It's a great place, the lounge has good acoustics, you can see the projection screen well and the people, who gather for the tasting about 20, sit at one long table, so they can share their impressions of the wines with each other.
Wine trivia
Mr. Veverka led the discussion and started talking about the Alsace region. He described what wineries are located here, how which slopes are marked but also how the geology is and what the soil in this area contains. We devoured his every word. In fact, his explanation was a constant stream of interesting facts. For example, he talked about one vineyard that is bisected due to earth movements. Each half then grows wine in slightly different conditions, especially in terms of the minerals in the soil. Although the type of wine is identical throughout the vineyard, the taste is different because of these minerals.
But it wasn't like a school lecture. It was clear that Mr Veverka really likes the area, knows the winemakers from here personally, has friendly relations with them and visits them regularly. This, and the wines themselves, was probably the best thing about the tasting. It was not a learned presentation with information from the internet, but the stories and experiences of a man who knows this part of France and really understands the wines.
What wines did we taste?
We were supposed to try a total of 8 samples from 4 wineries, but right at the beginning Mr Veverka said it was difficult to put together a selection of wines and that he would like to add one more. At the very end we got one more sample as a bonus, so 10 in total, and I have to say that the selection was really great. There wasn't a single wine that I didn't like, on the contrary, each one impressed me with a slightly different aroma, colour and of course taste.
We tasted wines from the following wineries:
- Emile Beyer
- Louis Sipp
- Domaine Weinbach
- Clément Lissner
During the tasting, we learned information such as that one of the winemakers tastes the dirt that the vineyards are in, that one winery was until recently run by 3 women, or that some winemakers play piano in their barrels to age their wines well, among other things. During the tasting we were able to write notes on each wine and at the end we chose the wine of the night. That wine at our tasting was the Emile Beyer, Pinot Gris 2016, which was also my personal favorite.
At the end we had the opportunity to purchase some of the wines we tasted, which many people took advantage of. Some people then went home and some still stayed in their seats and chatted. I went up to Mr Veverka to thank him for a great experience.
This will definitely not be the last time I drink these wines!
Your producer Tom
