For the Christmas festivities, the Maison du Vin de Blaye offers two introductions to wine-tasting, focusing on Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux wines. Led by sommelier Cédric Groussard, the sessions are both instructive and enjoyable.

For all those wanting to find out about Blaye wines, two wine-tasting courses focusing on Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux wines will be taking place over the festive season. In the weekend before Christmas, just at aperitif time, Cédric Groussard, sommelier at the Maison du Vin in the Citadel, will be leading a wine-tasting session for us amateur oenologists. “It’s something that often comes up in conversation at the shop. Local people who have visitors during the festive season want to give their families an introduction to wine-tasting, focusing on Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux wines, and ask me to organise courses”, says Cédric Groussard. An old hand at wine-tasting workshops during the summer, he took the plunge. The sessions begin with a presentation of the Bordeaux appellation as a whole, then of Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux wines. “I talk about our terroir, our region”, notes the sommelier. The Blaye vineyard covers over 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) in 42 communes around Blaye. He goes on to talk about the different grape varieties (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc for red wines, Sauvignon, Semillon and Muscadelle for whites) and about how the wines are made.

Using the senses

After laying the foundations, he goes on to the alchemy that makes a Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux wine remarkable. How do you recognise one? “I have devised a game to develop people’s sense of smell”, explains the Maison du Vin de Blaye’s sommelier. Participants are given little phials containing various aromas: grapefruit, blackcurrant, oak, etc. But before sniffing the wine, you also have to observe it. To prolong the pleasure, there is nothing to be gained from being hasty: of course you taste a wine with your palate, but before that with your eyes and your nose. “Sight and smell necessarily come before tasting as such”, insists the expert.

Recognising wines

During the introduction to wine-tasting organised for the festive season at the Maison du Vin de Blaye one white wine and two reds will be tasted. They include both traditional wines, not matured in oak, and wines which have spent time in oak barrels. “I believe that after taking my course, customers know what Blaye wines are like”, affirms the expert. And the advice of the Maison du Vin de Blaye’s sommelier applies to all wines. “I help people to use their nose, to distinguish between a young wine with fresh fruit aromas and flavours, and an older wine with notes of humus; it is valid for all wines, because the basis is the same.” The sommelier ends his course with a few words about food and wine pairings, to whet the appetite for all those festive meals to come!

As with the courses organised in July and August and during the Blaye Spring Wine Festival in April, 15 to 20 people can attend the introductions to wine-tasting at the Maison du Vin de Blaye. They take place on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 December 2012 from 11.00am to noon and cost €8 per person. And if two of you sign up, you get a free sommelier apron!

Find the dates of the introductions to wine-tasting on our calendar: http://www.vin-blaye.com/en/audacious/our-calendar