Why visiting France’s revered wine regions is essential for professional tasters!
How do you build a foundation for tasting wines? With so many wines in the marketplace, France remains the best country to make your wine tasting skills. By knowing the classics (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone Valley, Provence, Loire, Champagne), you can tackle any grape variety someone puts in front of you.
I always dreamed of traveling abroad when I was a kid watching black and white movies.
I always dreamed of traveling abroad when I was a kid watching black and white movies. Little did I know that France would become my holy grail and as a teenager, did I have any idea what I wanted? After getting married at age 23 to Alice at 21, I became fully entrenched in our family business, Ashbury Market. It was an excellent little corner store that my father Walter and mother Jane took care of in our neighborhood. I was already taking additional responsibilities when I decided to turn our business into a specialty store with fine foods, a delicatessen, and a full-fledged wine department.
The business grew well, we expanded our space, and our little family market received national recognition in wine magazines and the San Francisco Chronicle. My younger brothers, Richard and Arnold, join the family. A recent San Francisco Culinary Academy graduate, Arnold took the food department to another level. But I was feeling stifled, and I knew that I could not stay with the family business and be at the top of my game wine-wise. So in the late 1980s, I decided that I had to get to France every year and that someone would have to send me.
My wine education had slowed down, and I needed more opportunities. My childhood dreams finally found focus. France would be the place in which my palate would grow. The palette France could provide me would take my appreciation and understanding of food and wine and separate me from others in the field.
I left our family business in 1993 and wandered for a year before landing one of the best jobs I could have wished for as I became Beverages & more! (Later renamed to BevMo!) and became the company's first imported wine buyer. I immediately traveled the globe and often to France. When my position changed to Cellar Master, I traveled even more- sometimes twice and thrice a year to France. Now I desire to receive a French wine education after a seven-year absence.
In the spring of 1986, I took my first trip to France. Traveling with Suzanne Chambers of Chambers & Chambers, importer of French and other wines, and several colleagues, my eyes were wide open, and I learned more than I had imagined. We landed in Paris, of course, and it was exhilarating, but this was only the beginning.
Walking on the shores of Brittany and then jettison to the Loire Valley was like a magic carpet ride. Castles in the background, delicious Chenin Blancs, Sauvignon Blancs, and Cabernet Franc led the way to meals that worked so well in their respective pairings. Though the visit here was brief, the memory still lingers in my good thoughts. On this same trip, we visited Champagne and Veuve Clicquot and paired off in a different direction as the two of us went to Bordeaux.
Bordeaux has always been my first love, and visiting there often gave me a greater appreciation for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and their related grape varieties. Coupled with my North Coast and Washington State research, I gained a global understanding of the category. While the First Growths (Latour, Lafite, Margaux, Haut-Brion), Pétrus, Ausone, Cheval Blanc on the Right Bank always command attention, Dassault in Saint-Émilion remains the most memorable. We visited the family numerous times and enjoyed the camaraderie as much as the wine and meals. Dassault Wine Estates Laurence Brun and her family have become lifelong friends with my colleagues and me.
In Burgundy, Pinot Noir is the grape, and it commands attention.
In Burgundy, Pinot Noir is the grape, and it commands attention. The domains are often tiny and rustic and often far from polished; it is an area where serious winegrowers deal with one of the world’s most challenging grape varieties. Wineries are more concerned about the harvest than hosting visitors. I have been here a half-a-dozen times and continuously learn. Vintners worldwide often travel to Burgundy to better understand how to produce the best version in their growing region. My most memorable visits include Domaine de Romanée-Conti, Domaine Dujac, and many others.
The Champagne district is a one-hour taxi ride from Paris. I have taken this trip a few times. From vineyards to the finished product, the process is meticulous and perfected. Joseph Perrier is one of my favorite stops. You will not go wrong with any appointment here. The Rhône Valley, the south of France, is a stopping I have always found aesthetically pleasing. You can hunt down red blends and rosés. These growing regions make some of the world’s finest in these categories.
As my work expands globally, I will always make sure that I return to the foundation of how I started my journey.
France provides wine lovers with some of the best and most thorough learning opportunities. While more and more countries are competing with the classic wines, France remains the palette to understand how it all works. As my work expands globally, I will always make sure that I return to the foundation of how I started my journey.
