Thursday, November 21, 2024

Invitation: Bordeaux Wine Tasting at the WWCS (Washington Wine & Cheese Seminar) next Tuesday, November 26th at 7.45 pm, Washington DC






Dear wine friends,

I invite you to join me next Tuesday, November 26th at 7.45 pm  when I take you to Bordeaux - to the world -famous Médoc region with its phenomenal red wines - to show you fantastic, delicious top Bordeaux wines for little money. These are also the perfect wines to go with your turkey on Thanksgiving.

How can it be that you can have delicious Médoc wines that do not stretch your wallet?

I show you 5 wines classified under the label “Cru Bourgeois”. 4 wines are classified “Cru Bourgeois”, 1 is classified “Cru Bourgeois Supérieurs”.

Bordeaux is the largest wine region in France and arguably the most renowned.

In 1855 Napoleon III ordered that the wines of the " Médoc”, deemed as the most exclusive wine growing area, be classified according to quality and price. We all know this classification of the 61 Châteaux listed as Grand Cru Classé ranging from 1st down to 5th growths.

But there are hundreds other Châteaux in the “Médoc” that make excellent wines for far less money than the well-known ‘Grand Cru Classé’ ones. Some great estates did not even exist in 1855, hence they did not have a chance in getting included in the 1855 classification.

One of the goals of coming up with classifications is to guide the consumer when choosing his wines. In 1932 the Cru Bourgeois du Médoc association was founded as a way to appreciate and to showcase great wine making estates that were not included in the 1855 classification. The original selection deemed worthy carrying the ‘Cru Bourgeois’ label comprised 444 Châteaux. Over the years, the system of how to evaluate the Châteaux included in the Cru Bourgeois classification has evolved and tightened. One big difference to the 1855 classification system is that the Cru Bourgeois classification is not set in stone. A re-evaluation occurs every five years. The last evaluation took place in 2020 (with 250 Châteaux selected), hence next year, in 2025 the next evaluation is coming up.

The Châteaux applying for Cru Bourgeois du Médoc classification have to undergo a rigorous process. This includes following requirements in viticultural and wine making methods, and presenting wines from five vintages for evaluation. The tastings are blind and the judges come from outside the Médoc area to be impartial.

The classification knows three quality levels from bottom to top: Cru Bourgeois, (in 2020: 180) Crus Bourgeois Supérieurs (in 2020: 56), Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels (in 2020: 14).

Today the distinctive Cru Bourgeois du Médoc Logo is visibly placed on the bottle for the consumer to immediately recognize the wine on the shelf. These wines generally range from 18$ to 35$ and are an outstanding value for money.

I am looking forward to tasting these 5 wines with you.

Please join me for a great tasting adventure and a pre Thanksgiving celebration. This is a very social event.
 
Best
Annette

This is a 30$ tasting. As usual 2 cheeses and delicious baguettes will accompany the tasting.

The Seminar meets at 7:45PM every Tuesday (except for July, August and the weeks of December 25th and January 1st) at St. Patricks Episcopal Church at 4700 Whitehaven Pky, between Foxhall Road and MacArthur Blvd. 

No reservations are required. You just show up (side entrance where the parking is) and pay cash or check when you are there.

Coming up: Bordeaux by ombiasy WineTours led by Annette Schiller (Tuesday May 20 – Thursday May 29, 2025)

ANNOUNCEMENT: Wine Tours in Europe by ombiasy with Annette Schiller 2025

Total Immersioin in Bordeaux: World Class Wines and Exquisite French Gourmet Cuisine - Bordeaux Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours, France

Join us as we explore Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Médoc, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Sauternes, Pessac-Léognan, where we will visit well-known classified Châteaux, classified under-the-radar Châteaux, and so-called “Petits-Châteaux” producing phenomenal wines. Wine and food, that’s so important in Bordeaux, and wine pairing lunches or dinners at famous châteaux with the owner or Managing Director are an almost daily routine. Besides doing Châteaux hopping, I will also show you other aspects of “Bordeaux” that the usual wine tours do not do: we will be introduced to the “Place de Bordeaux” buying and selling system unique in Bordeaux by visiting a négociant house, a wine merchant; we will visit a cooper to see from A to Z how a barrique is being made; we go to the basin d’Arcachon to see how an oyster is raised; we will experience the big bodies of water so important for the Bordeaux climate: the mighty Gironde estuary and the Atlantic ocean. Instead of sitting for 3 to 4 hours in traffic every day going back and forth to Bordeaux city we will travel around, spending nights in the heart of the Left Bank in Pauillac and in the heart of the Right Bank in Saint-Émilion to “feel” the vineyards; and of course we will spend some time in the vibrant, hip, cultural, cool city of Bordeaux. 

This is a 9-nights – 10-days wine tour. The tour starts and ends in Bordeaux city.

All wine tours are guided by my husband Christian and me. Once you arrive at the starting destination you are taken care off. All transport, meals, winery visits, accommodation in 4-star hotels, sightseeing and other cultural events, are included in the price. Prices will be made available on my website as of December 1st as well as the possibility of signing up for the tours.

To get an idea how the tours are conducted please visit the website: www.ombiasypr.com 
My husband publishes a wine blog and he writes a summary on each wine tour as well as a detailed description of each winery visit. For past wine tours you can browse his blog: http://schiller-wine.blogspot.com/2019/10/total-immersion-in-bordeaux-world-class.html

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