Free Wine? Yes, Thank You.

Hi all! Remember when I told you about how our adoption classes said we should be enjoying our time as a couple while we wait for our little bundle of joy? Let me tell you about the fun wine tasting we went to recently.

First, a little back story... I work in the same building as the Sud de France showroom. Sud de France has these fabulous wine events every few weeks. The showroom is all glass and as I am leaving to go home at night (and sometimes at lunch) I see these people enjoying wine and appetizers and looking like they are having the best time. Jealous!

The hot topic of conversation around the office is how do we get in to these tastings? I am in charge of planning our office holiday party and one of my ideas was to have our very own wine tasting there. How awesome would that be? So I contacted Sud de France to see if this was something they could do for us. Unfortunately for us, their wine tastings are for media, restaurants, wine stores and charity events. Well shoot! I didn't talk it up to anyone so no one at my office ever knew what they could have had. The holiday party was perfectly fun minus wine. I thanked the woman that contacted me and I told her that I would continue to enviously peek in the windows at their events. She did mention to friend Sud de France on Facebook, they occasionally do have events open to the public.

Then out of the blue in January, she emailed me to invite me and a guest to a wine tasting the next week. I was so excited, you'd thought I'd won the lottery. Score! I immediately called Marlon to see if he wanted to go. Of course he did, who would turn down free wine? Our date night was set.

We arrived and checked in, they handed us a glass of wine. I was thrilled to be on the inside of the showroom looking out. I stood by the window so I could wave to my work peeps as they headed home. They all gave me a look like how did you get in there. Hehehe.

The speaker was Keith Beavers, owner of Alphabet City Wine Co. shop and In Vino Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar. He talked to us about his favorite AFFORDABLE wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. Affordable wine that's good, now you have my attention! This guy was great - funny, knowledgeable and approachable. He told us about each wine, where it came from, the soil, type of grapes, what notes we are tasting, food pairings and the average cost of a bottle. We could take notes on our handout as we tasted each wine. Some I like better than others. After the presentation, they put out all the wines so we could get a full glass of our favorites (or of all of them) and mingle.

We tasted four wines plus the one that we had when we arrived.  Here's the run-down:

Arrival wine:
Domaine Paul Mas - Arrogant Frog Chardonnay under $10

I always say I hate Chardonnay, I avoid it like the plague. I was given a glass of wine when we arrived and I didn't ask what it was; I just drank it. I asked after the tasting and guess what, it was Chardonnay and it was good!

1st wine:

2010 Domaine Felines Jourdan, Picpoul De Pinet, $11-$15

Tasting notes: A refreshing, light and lively wine redolent of white flowers and verdant fruits, apples and pears, with hints of white pepper on a fresh structure that ends with lip-smacking acidity, keeping you coming back for more.

My remarks: Tart, crisp, good for seafood

2nd wine:

2009 Les Vignes De Bila-Haut Red, Cote Du Roussillon Village, $17

Tasting notes:  This wine is fleshy, well-structured with the warm and savage of soils of the Roussillon area.  To drink within 2 years.

My remarks:  Earthy. Not my favorite.

3rd wine:

2010 Clos Bagatelle Cuvee Tradition, Saint Chinian, $15

Tasting notes:  The nose offers dark fruits and berries with hints of guarrigue, which follow through on the palate on a lovely frame that is well-structured and refreshing.

My remarks:  Spicy, good. Lamb.

4th wine:

2007 Chateau Chenaie Conviction, Faugeres, $18

Tasting Notes: A rich full-bodied wine with great structure and a long finish with sweet red fruit and pepper flavors.

My remarks: Smooth and spicy.

It was a great night. I had lots of calls the next day asking me how I got in and what was it like.  I'll be a little less envious when I peek in the window at their next event.


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