Wine Tasting Beginners Class

Our mornings were filled by a 3 hour wine tasting class for complete beginners. Class began 10.30 in the morning, and were held at BordoVino's city apartment. The whole experience was very laid back and bespoke. The staff were really friendly, the location was just like your friend's apartment, so the relaxed atmosphere made it very easy to take in all the information. Our handsome tutor Ceprian was very friendly and charming, which might have been the reason why my concentration was so good during those early mornings. He taught us in English and we were put at ease right away as he made sure he started slow and answered our every question. After class we were served lunch in their resident kitchen. The simple yet delicious food was prepared by a local cafe that was run by elderly women...so sweet! 

What we learnt:

- Wines from the four main regions of France...differentiating their different characteristics

- Wine and a brief history (used to be made by monks)

- Wine production from vines to bottle shapes

- Weather and it's effects... was it a good year? Bordeaux had been running behind with the rain and cold weather, but finally the heatwave has done wonders        for their wines! 

- How to smell, look, taste wine...

- Speciality wines.... little about port, dessert wines,champagnes etc

- Bordeaux wines... different regions on the Left Bank and Right Bank etc

- Wine pairings with food... we were highly recommended to try their local Arcachon oysters

• Wine blends and mixing...we got a chance to mix our own wines... mine was around 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon
• And probably most important... what the locals do, nightlife and general cool hangouts recommended by the lovely Ceprian...