Surprisingly we arrived an hour early for our private tasting at Faiveley, so we explored the cute little town.
Tres belle
At Faiveley headquarters, we were greeted by Vincent, the handsome export director. Over the next 2 hours, he led us on a tour of the winery followed by a wine tasting.
Harvest was coming to an end, so luckily we were able to see some locals sorting/eating the grapes!
Vincent stressed the importance of sorting the grapes, to remove moldy or stray white grapes.
Students often work during harvest before their semester begins.
Fermentation tanks...we will forever be haunted by the smell of fermenting grapes
Vincent had to verify that it was safe for us to go into the cellar as the air is full of CO2 and could be dangerous.
Apparently it was safe enough
This was the only barrel of this particular wine, Musigny. Of the small production, only 9 bottles would be shipped the the US. They were already sold and out of our price range
On to the tasting ! Of the 2009 vintage, we tasted 5 reds, 4 whites, and received a plethora of advice from Vincent, both about wine and life.
He gave us some great recommendations for restaurants in Beaune and an excellent fromagerie. We also learned the following:
1) if you like wine, Burgundy is the Holy Grail
2) Marseille is not France. "you should go to Nice instead"
3) it is charming to try to speak French
4) oysters + sherry is a revelation
Au revouir Faiveley!
We were lucky enough to leave with a bottle of Nuit-Saint-Georges 1er Cru
In Beaune, at our hotel, La Villa Fleurie
Getting used to old fashioned keys...
Picnic complete with epoisse and our gift from Vincent!
After being spoiled with our fine wine tasting, Monika is officially a wine snob.
Till tomorrow, x
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Nuit St. Georges et Beaune
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