Sometimes the Goddess doesn't get to attend wine events. Sob! Luckily, she has a band of merry and hearty wineaux who provide eyewitness accounts for her. Today, a special post by Staff Writer, Marya Glur, about an extraordinary annual event. Read on, and thanks, Marya!
January 21, 2012
Fairmont Hotel, Santa Monica, CA
By Marya J. Glur
The first time I attended the Union de Grand Crus des Bordeaux wine tasting a few years ago in an event space at Hollywood and Highland, I thought it was the single MOST important educational experience of my career as a wine aficionado. With over 100 château representatives, many of them winemakers and/or château owners, pouring over 150 Bordeaux wines, the event planners placed all the producers from each AOC area together making this event the perfect chance to taste through 5-10 wines from each viticultural area to really understand what makes Pauillac wine a Pauillac and how that's different from a Saint-Julien -- areas on the map that are directly adjacent. For that tasting, the Goddess and her merry band of wineaux decided the best strategy was to go for the most expensive, most prestigious wines of Bordeaux first while our palates were fresh. So, while everyone else was starting at the beginning by tasting through the whites, we headed directly to Margaux. The beauty of this strategy was that we were alone with the Margaux producers and then, Pauillac and Saint-Julien for an hour before anyone really caught up to us. We got to leisurely chat with each chateau representative about their wines before, during, and after each tasting. It was truly brilliant.
