We all know France boasts some of the world’s best bottles of wine, but to an inexperienced wine drinker, a French wine list can seem intimidating. So step in, Thierry Givone, wine lover and founder of ‘Wine tasting in Paris’; one of the French capitals wine tasting schools.
I attended one of Thierry’s classes back in March and consequently feel way more confident navigating my way around a drinks menu or off license. An important skill to have I’m sure you’ll agree!
Located in the historic Latin Quarter, the wine school is only small but that makes the experience all the more personal and intimate. In our class there were just ten of us, from a whole host of backgrounds, some were holidaymakers, whereas others had just moved to Paris and needed more practise with a drinks list.
Throughout the afternoon, ‘students’ sample six different types of wine and take in a wealth of knowledge on the science behind the drink but also French regions too.
With so much information, the course could easily fall into the trap of being too formal, but thanks to Thierry’s charm, our lesson flew by and by the end, the atmosphere felt closer to a soiree than an educational lesson.
We kicked off the afternoon with a glass of champagne, because, when in Paris(!), and slowly worked our way through two whites and then three reds.
Importantly, before we even got to the tasting stage, Thierry gave us a lesson on how to sample and describe the aromas – which can I say, is much harder than one would expect!
Each wine we were served, was unsurprisingly delicious, with many of them having an interesting backstory on how the vineyard was established. There were also many anecdotes about rivalries between the French reasons – who knew wine could be so competitive?!
Out of all the wines we tried, my favourites were the Bourgogne Viré-Clessé quintaine, a rich bodied, buttery white wine boasting mango aromas and also the Bourgogne Mercurey Preimier Cru, a light red, packing lots of spice! It appears I need to take a trip to Bourgogne!
In short, an afternoon with Thierry was not only thoroughly enjoyable, but informative and a fabulous way to spend an afternoon in Paris.
As well as giving you a literal delicious taste of culture, it’s also wet my appetite to explore other French regions and given me confidence to order a tasty bottle, a win, win!
CONTACT:
Booking: Wine tasting classes start from €62 and can be booked via wine-tasting-in-paris.com.
Address: Wine Tasting In Paris, 14 rue des boulangers, 75005 PARIS, France
