Sommeliers are being invited to join the new Bourgogne Wines Club – four free sessions on the region’s wines hosted by sommelier Xavier Rousset MS.
Organised by the BIVB (Bourgogne Wines Board), the aim of the club is to work with UK sommeliers to improve their knowledge of the region’s wines, with sessions focused on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Chablis Premier Cru and the ‘ladder’ of Burgundy wines.
Around 20 wines will be tasted blind in each session, and participants will be given the chance to enter a competition to win a trip to Burgundy at the end of the year.
‘The club will be a fun and interactive way to bring like-minded sommeliers together to share their thoughts and opinions about the wines,’ said Rousset. ‘I am looking forward to some of the blind tasting flights – watch out, there may be some surprises!’
François Labet, president of the Marketing & Communication Commission for the BIVB, added: ‘Sommeliers are important influencers in the wine world and we want to get to know them better and in a personal manner. Bourgogne will focus on two key messages: the two flagship wine grape varieties and [the region’s]100 appellations.’
Session one, ‘Bourgogne Chardonnay – the real deal’, takes place on 15 February in central London. It will feature whites from a range or ‘climats’ (plots of land with specific geological and climatic conditions), with classics such as Meursault and Chablis, along with rising stars like Pouilly-Vinzelles and Saint-Romain.
Sommeliers interested in this and other sessions should email [email protected].