Are you in a wine rut? I know I typically gravitate toward big full-bodied and spicy reds. If I am going to drink something lighter it typically is a rose and not a white. But I do like to experiment, so with that in mind check out this article. Maybe it can help you break out of your rut.
I think that says enough. Vintage champagne! But the only thing that made the evening better is
Aubert de Villaine!
(And yes I’m totally ware that I am having a significant wine geek moment.)
Yesterday was a bit crazy as I had significant back to back events and yesterday seemed to be the day of missed registrations (not all on my part). But all worked out in the end and I got to attend both events.
The crew of INSEEC Master 1 interns left work early to head back to the city for the introduction to this year’s sponsor: Aubert de Villaine, the co-owner and director of Romanee-Conti as well as one of the judges of the infamous 1976 Judgement of Paris. As a California native, and a poor student who can’t afford a bottle of Romanee-Conti Pinot Noir, I was excited to hear him speak about the Judgement and hear his thoughts on the new world. While primarily in french he gave a wonderful and very interesting lecture.
While I love wine – hell I am living in France to study the business of the wine industry – and have a strong preference for red wine, I don’t think there is anything better than champagne. And last night was magic – as courtesy of my internship, I was able to go to the Millesima Panorama Degustation. After the lecture with Aubert de Villaine we (the intern crew) made the mad dash across the city to the Millesima warehouse (2.5 million bottles of fine wine in their original wooden cases direct from the Chateaus. What I wouldn’t give to be let loose inside for an hour with a corkscrew!). But last night they opened their doors and hosted a tasting from twenty of the best champagne houses in France.
Bollinger. Veuve Clicquot. Krug. Dom Perignon. Moet & Chandon. Ayala. Jacquesson. I bubbled all the way home with a huge smile on my face.
While I love – and wine aficionados are going to scold – California champagne – and yes I know it is not officially Champagne unless it comes from the champagne region of France – I got to taste my way through some of the best last night and realized California just isn’t quite the same. Of course I stand by and firmly believe California makes excellent sparkling wine in the methode champagnoise, (and will in fact bring a bottle back to France in January to enjoy with my friends from Champagne) some things just can’t be recreated.
Wine in its many forms has been gracing tables, parties, flasks and more for hundreds of years. With technological advances and better production some things have changed, some things have stayed the same and some things have been forgotten. But in celebration of the Bard himself, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the spirit of exploration Sones Cellars has created their very own Sack. Oxidized, fortified and sweetened – Sack was once what passed for white table wine in Elizabethan England. White wine was imported from Italy or Spain. But given the limitation of the times upon arrival in England the wine would have spoiled and been oxidized. To return it to a drinkable state it would have been fortified with either brandy or sherry and then sweetened. After doing the research the Sones’ created their own – awesome – version. Served warm, cold or mixed in a cocktail it is a fun taste of history.
Last night I joined the Sones family and the Sones Cellars Family – for a picnic and a wonderful – and Sones Cellars sponsored – performance of Henry V in the UC Santa Cruz Sinsheimer-Stanley Festival Glen. (Shakespeare is always better when it’s performed outside, don’t you think?)
The past two seasons, Shakespeare Santa Cruz has put on performances of Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2 – the inspiration for the research, creation and bottling of the Sones Cellars’ Sack. Of course, much of the historical record about Sack comes from Falstaff’s famous drunken soliloquy in Henry IV Part 2. It follows then that this year the festival added Henry V to the line up. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area I highly encourage you to make the trip to Santa Cruz visit the Sones Cellars tasting room to try some Sack and enjoy a performance of either Henry V or Taming of the Shrew. I can say that Henry V was magical and I can’t wait to see Taming of the Shrew.
Click here to visit the Sones Cellars website.
Click here to learn more about Shakespeare Santa Cruz.
Cuvee Appeal 