A conversation about the Loire Valley

I am so excited!  This Tuesday, I start a 6 week teaching endeavor that I have dreamed of doing for a long time.  I will be teaching wine at the famed Alliance Française.  Alliance Francais was founded in Paris in 1883, and has the largest network of French language and cultural centers around the world.  "Alliance Française is dedicated to promoting French languages and cultures and fostering intellectual and artistic exchanges between the French-speaking world and local communities". 
I was at a wine function and met the marketing director of the Atlanta chapter.  We started a conversation about wine and the rest is history, or should I say destiny.  My first class will be conversing about the Loire wine region.  I say conversing because my classes are unpretentious, intimidating, and relaxing.  I feel the best way to learn about wine is to talk about it.  I and the class will talk about the region, about the wines of the region and what makes the region and wines so special.   Not a lot of people don't know about the Loire Valley and its wines.  Actually that may not be true.  Have you ever heard of Pouilly Fume or Vouvray or Sancerre?  These are wines of the Loire Valley.  The Loire is one of the largest and diverse wine regions of France.  Four distinct districts; Nantes, Anjou-Saumur, Touraine, and Centre Vineyards produce wine from over 70 different appellations.  Grape varieties include Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Gamay.  The class and I will have quite a lot to talk about and a lot of wine tasting to do.  I think that's what I'm most excited about...information sharing that enhnaces and brings people one step closer to living the wine life!  A great producer of Loire Valley Wines is Barton & Guestier.  For a taste of the region, try a bottle of Vouvray (Chenin Blanc) with spicy Chinese or just sitting with friends on the patio.

enjoy

Spring and New Adventures

It maybe premature to talk about spring, but I'm going to. After our recent snow storms here in Atlanta, I'm ready. With spring comes a sense of renewal not just for the trees and plants that have been waiting all winter, but for us. Spring makes you want to rearrange your furniture, and plant a new herb garden. Spring makes you want to quit your day job and pursue your passion. Spring makes you want to try new things and hopefully with that, new wines from new and exotic wine regions. Take India for example, I had a Chenin Blanc (white) from India the other day that was so flavorful and characteristically correct that I thought it was from the Loire Valley wine region of France. It was produced by Chateau Indage Estate Vineyards. Look for their wines on your next wine shopping excursion. Another country to try is Italy, no not Chianti, Sicilia. Sicily makes these berry intense red wines from the Calabrese grape, you may have heard of Nero d'Avola? Sicily is hot and sunny and its red wines are intense with berry fruit in a non-overly tannic, overly oaked way. Pick a Sicilian recipe and go for it. As the weeks go on I'll let you know about other wine region wines to check out. You know I mentioned Loire Valley, France earlier... here's an itinerary for the wine country adventurer in you....go for it!