Grand Tour of France (Preston)

Finally get to grips with France! At this tasting we will decode French wines for you and give you the keys to understanding where they use the most common grape varieties. The next time you go shopping for French wine you will understand the regions and how this effects the flavours you will encounter inside the bottle.

We'll taste wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Chenin Blanc.

Bordeaux has for centuries been a global by-word for premium quality wine. It brings to mind the villages of Margaux, St Julien and St Emilion and their robust, complex and multi-faceted reds which evolve over decades in the bottle. We unwrap the mysteries which shroud these wines: is it the climate which makes these wines so special? The wine making practices? Or, the grapes themselves?

The Rhone Valley was wowing people with deep, smoky Syrah (the original French name for Shiraz) long before the Australians discovered it!

The Loire is often referred to as the 'garden of France' thanks to its lush, verdant countryside and produces some of the most delicious Sauvignon Blanc in the world, with a refreshing bite and vitality.

In Burgundy we find wines which have captured many a wine-lover's heart: Chablis, Meursault, Gevery-Chambertin, a veritable roll call of wine royalty! We will discover exactly what it is that makes these wines so special and learn how to pick up a bargain or two.