BURGUNDY WINE WEEK 2013 Tasting Celebration

reporter: Miguel Dominguez

Gabriella Fine Wines arranged on May 20th for Orsay Restaurant to be the place to go for the very privileged members of the wine trade and press, who were ever so lucky to taste a smallish, but superb selection of wines from the Burgundy region of France. The owners of many prestigious Burgundy wineries were sampling more than 35 wines from estates including Domaine Sylvain Loichet, Domaine Des Remparts, Domaine Fourrey, Domaine des Trois Tilleuls, Seigneurie De Posanges, Domaine Naudin, Varrault Maison, Veuve Ambal and Miss Vicky Wine.

The wineries in Burgundy came to New York City to celebrate Burgundy Wine Week 2013 from May 20th through 26th. The purpose was to introduce New Yorkers to some of the best Pinot Noir in the world, and Chardonnay from one of the most prestigious white wine producing areas. Burgundy red wines are mostly made from the Pinot Noir grape, while the white wines are made from the Chardonnay grape. This year 13 different vineyards in Burgundy were presented.

Table 1 had the sparkling wines—two Rosés from Paul de Coste vineyards, and three whites from
Veuve Ambal vineyards, their Blanc de Blancs Brute akin to going to Heaven in a state of
euphoria. It was unbelievably fruity without a hint of sweetness at all!

Burgundy has more appellations d’origine contrôlée (AOCs) than any other region in France, and is seen as the most terroir-conscious of the wine regions. Burgundy AOCs are classified from strictly delineated Grand Cru vineyards down to more non-specific regional appellations. This practice dates back to medieval times, when monasteries played a major part in developing the Burgundy wine industry.

Table 2 was showcasing the whites, one of them so light in taste it sent me on a second trip to Heaven.
I had to come back not just for seconds but for a third tasting of it, all the time wishing they would fill
my glass to the brim.

At almost $1,600 per case, Corton-Charlemagne
2010 was the high end of the whites

Having come rather recently into wine tasting opportunities on account of my blogging, I had long been the victim of two misconceptions: Burgundy wines are solely red (blame me for being a graphic designer and being so familiar with the color "Burgundy Red") and, just like Brandy, red wines need to be warmed by handling the goblet by the bowl (not so, the perfect temperature for red wines is the same as the one in the wine cellars, that's why the goblets should also be handled by the stem, just like white and sparkling wines.)

Also, a question I had unanswered since I could imbibe wines was...So why do they make such a fuzz about French wines? Now I'll never need to wonder again. Of all the wine tastings I've been enjoying, this was the one where I kept drinking all the samples and coming back for a second taste rather than spitting them out.

Live Jazz maintained the perfect atmosphere for the gathering