Topic:	Six Regions of France in Six Glasses
Speaker:	Sommelier Alex Meaney, Managing Director of Wines2U.

 

The spectacular scenery and amazing variety of the French countryside is on full display each year through the Tour de France.  This month we propose our very own Tour de France, exploring the wonderful variety and world class quality of French wines.  Rather less energetic than a 14 day bike ride, we will be tasting fine wines at Verve, a bistro in tropical Gillman Village, under the guidance of Sommelier Alex Meaney and the fabulous Verve bistro and bar in Lock Road set in Singapore’s lush vegetation.

 

Our tour begins in the Champagne region in France’s north, enjoying (what else?!) a glass of Champagne from a family owned producer whose history of champagne production dates back to the mid-seventeenth century. 

 

From there, we travel in a southerly direction to Chablis, at the northern tip of Burgundy where we will enjoy a delicate, cool climate chardonnay.  We then travel westwards to the Loire Valley, as famous for its castles as it is for wine, to taste a flinty sauvignon-blanc from Pouilly Fumé.  A trip to France is incomplete without visiting Provence in the sunny South, and here we will sample a rosé from Côtes de Provence.

 

At this point we will switch to red wines, and we return to the Loire Valley to taste a lightweight yet juicy red from Chinon, the spiritual home of the Cabernet Franc grape. Chinon is a perfect red for the Singapore climate and has to be one of the world’s greatest food wines. However, the “piece de resistance” of the evening will be a smooth, silky Bordeaux, a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé no less, which is drinking beautifully now.

 

Alex Meaney has generously added a seventh region to the line-up.  After the tasting, guests are invited to enjoy a very quaffable red from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of South-West France.