The French Embassy

[James Roscoe]

For anybody who lives in the DC area or who can get to the DC area the French Embassy, in conjunction with the French Wine Society, is having two really great events. They are both at the Embassy in Georgetown which is beautiful, if a little inconvenient as far as public transportation is concerned.

The first event is titled "Burgundy vs. America". On March 21, 2007 the Embassy will host a taste-off between American and Burundian Piot noirs and chardonnays. The event will be hosted by Jay Youman and Lisa Airey. No wines are listed. For more info. check out http://www.frenchwinesociety.org

The second event is titled 'April in Loire" and is set for April 19th. This event is co-sponsered by MacArthurs Beverages so attendees ought to be able to get deals on their favorite Loire Valley wines (not that anyone here would fit that description). There is also the promise of scrumptious food from top DC chefs.

The price for each event is $65 for non-members and $55 for members. I might join just to get the discount! I believe the MacArthurs website http://www.bassins.com/ might have some info as well. These seem like really great events that might be of general interest to this forum. If you can get to DC for one of these two events, let me know, we'll make a night of it.

Sounds like nice events, James! I hope you will report from them if you go there. I'm particularily curious to hear your impressions from the Pinot tasting.
Cheers, Anders

It would be easier to attend if they occurred on the weekend. We are short of staff at work right now so it is tricky to get leave days during the week. I had received a notice about the Burgundy/Pinot Noir event in my e-mail but will keep the April event in mind.

[James Roscoe]

I would love to go to both these events. The prospect of showing up to school half in the bag twice in one month is probably not a good idea. I am leaning towards the Loire evening. Are there enough Loire-heads who might come down that we could make it an evening or even a weekend?

[James Roscoe]

I just received another note from the French Wine Society of two more events in June. The good part is that these are both on a Saturday. Even better, they do NOT conflict with NiagraCool. The first is called Bordeaux vs California and is scheduled for the afternnon of the 30th of June. The idea is to taste the wines of Bordeaux and the wines of California blind and decide which are better. The second is titled France vs, The Rest of the World and is scheduled for later that evening. It has the same idea, but is taking in a wider range of wines. The price is $70 for non-members for each event. If anyone decides to come, let me know!

I just attended their "France vs. the Rest of the World" event last weekend, and it was very well organized and a lot of fun. Jay is my instructor for my WSET course (we had a substitute the other night, so it was not Jay to whom I referred in the Maryland Winery thread, in case anyone happened to see that one). He and Lisa have a lot of energy and humor, and helped make the event that much more fun.

Although I'm still not sure who won (France or the Rest of the World), and when I asked one of the students in my class last night who who had volunteered to pour at the event, he said he had no idea...he said everyone was "wasted" by the time it was over

I'm really hoping to make the Loire event on the 19th.

[James Roscoe]

K, the notice I received said the French won the first two flights and "the world" came back in the last flight to make it a draw. It read as if it were somewhat "fixed" to me, but it still sounded as if it was fun. Are you able to give us more details?

I am definitely planning on the Loire event in April. I would also love to do one of the two events in June. I would probably chose the afternoon event and then hit a restaurant in town that evening. DC has some good choices if you know where to look.

K, the notice I received said the French won the first two flights and "the world" came back in the last flight to make it a draw. It read as if it were somewhat "fixed" to me, but it still sounded as if it was fun. Are you able to give us more details?

Okay, I brought my notes in from the car:

The event was divided into four rounds, w/ two flights in each round:

Round 1: Albert Mann Riesling Grand Crus Sclossbuerg 2004 (Alsace) vs. Koonowla Riesling 2005 (Clare Valley)

Domaine Fournier Pere & Fils Sauvignon Blanc 2005 (Loire) vs. Konrad Sauvignon Bland 2005 (Marlborough).

Round 2: Vincent Girardin, Rully, Vielles Vignes 2004 (White Burgundy) vs. Marimar Estate Torres Chardonnay 2005 (Russian River Valley)

Domaine des Bouamard, Coteaux du Layone 2004 (Loire) vs. Mulderbosch Chenin Bland 2005 (Stellenbosch)

Round 3: Domaine Chevalier, Cote de Nuites Villages 2003 (Red Burgundy) vs. Amisfield Pinot Noir 2004 (Central Otago)

Chateau La Commanderie, Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2003 (Red Bordeaux) vs. Neyers Merlot 2004 (Nappa)

Round 4: Jean Louis Chave "Offerus" St. Joseph 2003 (N. Rhone) vs. Oliver Hill "Jimmy's Section" Shiraz 2004 (McLaren Vale)

Chateau Haut-Bages Averous, Pauillac 2003 (Red Bordeaux) vs. Worthy's Sophia Cuvee 2004 (Cab, Mer, Cab Franc, Syrah) ( Napa)

My notes as to the "winners" only go as far as the first two flights, and they agree with what you read - France took it. After that I apparently quit paying attention to what others thought and only noted which one I liked the best. The judging was done by a show of hands, and it was pretty difficult to tell which was in the majority on quite a few of them.

I ended up preferring the Rest of the World 5-3. I guess I'm the consumate American consumer Although I am committed to continuing to broaden my exposure to france, because I think that once my palate becomes more refined I'll be able to appreciate them more.

Please do keep me posted about plans for June. I just realized that I'm going to have a very busy week in April and may not be able to attend the Loire event, but I'd love to meet some other WLDGers in person and since I'm here in DC, dinner afterwards would be fun.

I see all the French reds were 2003s. No way to do a fair comparison with that overheated, bizarre vintage.

I see all the French reds were 2003s. No way to do a fair comparison with that overheated, bizarre vintage.

it seems they drank:

Albert Mann Riesling Grand Crus Sclossbuerg 2004
Domaine Fournier Pere & Fils Sauvignon Blanc 2005
Vincent Girardin, Rully, Vielles Vignes 2004
Domaine des Bouamard, Coteaux du Layone 2004

.. but still, these comparisons are always tricky, vintage being just one of the issues..

I see all the French reds were 2003s. No way to do a fair comparison with that overheated, bizarre vintage.

it seems they drank:

Albert Mann Riesling Grand Crus Sclossbuerg 2004
Domaine Fournier Pere & Fils Sauvignon Blanc 2005
Vincent Girardin, Rully, Vielles Vignes 2004
Domaine des Bouamard, Coteaux du Layone 2004

.. but still, these comparisons are always tricky, vintage being just one of the issues..

I was just referring to the reds, not the whites. Though of course, you are right, eight side-by-side comparisons cannot lead to a broad conclusion. I imagine it must have been fun, though.

[James Roscoe]

Bruce, I was thinking the same thing as I read K's comments. That was an unfair comparison. Although it sounds like fun. They picked some pretty good wines all around. It would be fun to get down there.

It looks like it will be impossible for me to attend the Loire tasting although I would love to (I have limited experience with Loire wines other than Sancerre region). However, I am planning to attend the France vs. the Rest of the World event the evening of June 30 and possibly the Bordeaux vs. California event that afternoon. Sounds fun. Will check back in early June to see if other WLDG participants will be there. The web site is http://www.frenchwinesociety.org (and then select Washington DC for the chapter.)