My Quest for Wine: A Journey: April 2011

As my trip to France rapidly approaches I find myself focusing on French wines and drinking as many as I can before leaving. After a Queens of the Stone Age concert, and with my friend Mike in town, I thought, what better time to crack open a nice white Burgundy. And here.....we.......go

2008 JM Boillot, Chassagne-Montrachet, 1er Cru, Macherelles, Burgundy
consumed April 11, 2011, with family/friends, Retail $59.99 (I think I acquired this on sale for $40)

I find myself more engaged in a wine when it reveals more than just fruit. The fruit is the given, I mean, wine comes from grapes. It's when you get into the mysterious or unexpected that my love for wine increases ten fold. This is one of those wines. The wine had this saltiness or brininess on the nose that was very interesting, with cinnamon, and nutmeg showing in the background. This wine also has that "old world" minerality, reminiscent of wet stones. In terms of the fruits, lemon custard, apple were prevalent. Also on the nose was this elusive smell that I have never smelled in a white wine, it reminded me of tomatoes, but roasted and sweet, a little smokey as well. It was crazy. I have smelled it before somewhere but that is all I could think of. As I write now I am still trying to locate the smell beyond what I described above. Further, this full body wine tasted of apple, lemon and was framed with a strong yet integrated acidity. The acidity took a second or two to hit and once it did the fruits seemed to really come out on the palate. The wine had a nice long finish with the apple and lemon continuing on... and on... and on.
*****

My terrible camera work.

I am back, after a month long immersion in wine at the Culinary Institute of American (CIA). I learned so much during the time I was at the CIA. Hands down the best learning institution I have ever been at. The caliber of teaching and the practical experience is unmatched. Every one at this institution was so willing to help and really took ownership in making sure we learned and were on the right track for our next moves. I highly recommend the school. They have all sorts of classes that you can take (Culinary Institute of America).

What's next? Going into the program I had this notion that it would help narrow my interests in food and wine, meaning I thought I would walk out of there with being able to say, "I am going to open 'X', for sure." The opposite has happened, the program has opened so many more doors into the realm of what business(s) I want to open. Throughout class I was constantly scribbling ideas that would come to me as I was listening to my instructors. It's really exciting and overwhelming. I can't focus on one idea, I get lost in multiple ideas at a time and find myself wondering where to start. Of the classes I took at the CIA the Wine Business class and Food and Wine pairing class really had me on the edge of my seat. I know that the first business is going to be something with food and wine which, for me, has been the original starting point all a long with the ultimate goal of owing a winery. I think I have said this before, but the saying in the wine business goes something like if you want to make a million in a winery spend ten million. Its extremely expensive to start a winery and especially expensive if you plan on planting your own grapes! My first vision is to start a business with a focus on food and wine with a heavy emphasis on wine education. The key here is making wine education down to earth and fun! Karen MacNeil (Karen MacNeil.com) said something to our class like, "wine grabs a hold of your mind and the more you know about it the more interesting it gets." This is exactly what is happening to me. I hope to some day have a forum, besides this blog, to share all of my knowledge and experience with wine with you. For now, I will push forward and continue to learn.

With that, after one month long 'immersion' ends another begins! France is quickly approaching and I find myself buried in information and scheduling appointments with wineries. France is nothing like Walt Disney World, I mean Napa, you have to have appointments in advance and from what I hear you are sometimes walking up to someones house and spending the afternoon with them. When I began the Wine Immersion at the CIA I had the idea that I would try for maybe six wineries a day, sort of like what I average when I am out and about tasting in California. After speaking to many of my instructors this number has gone from six to two! The general consensus is that if the people you are tasting with like you, and everything is going well, you could end up being there from your appointment at say 10am through lunch (2pm) and then off to your last appointment at 3pm. I am adhering to this advice with some back up plans if not every tasting goes long. I am also planning on bringing a bunch of wine from here to share with the people I taste with.

Here is the outline of our trip thus far!
Paris - 1 week
Burgundy - 1 week
   Chablis Visits: Michel Laroche, Louis Michel et Fils, Daniel-Etienne Defaix, and William Fevre
   Gevery-Chambertin: Henri Rebourseau
Northern Rhone - 3 days
   Alain Graillot
Southern Rhone/Provence - 4 days
Bordeaux - 1 week

As you can see, I have barely put a dent in the sheer amount of appointments I need to make. It's going to be a bust April! I have maybe 3 days out of the entire trip planned! Speaking of which, I better get back to setting 'em up. Below you will find a bunch of picture taken from when I was up at the CIA. Enjoy!