Loire Wines: Muscadet and Cabernet Franc, Virtual Event
Presented by
IWAGY
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 6:30 pm
Please join us on Tuesday, April 27, 2021for a free virtual tasting, via Zoom, of a delicious and interesting pair of French wines from the Loire Valley. The wines are made from two "Under-the-Radar" Loire wine grapes: Melon de Bourgogne and Cabernet Franc.
The presentation will be given by Tim Free, founder of It Was A Good Year, Inc.
The Loire River is the longest in France, traversing an incredible 600-mile path from the mountainous highlands of the Massif Central through pastoral lowlands before eventually emptying into the Atlantic near the city of Nantes. Much of its course is a dreamy landscape. Along the way it flows through an historic region of grand Chateaux built by French nobility, mostly in the Renaissance period, and much agricultural land. It also passes through some great wine country, mostly known for white wines, but becoming better-known for very likeable and food-friendly reds made from the grape Cabernet Franc, which has proven itself in this coolish climate.
During the evening we will discuss and taste two wines, including a white Muscadet and a red Cabernet Franc from a group of AOCs of the Central Loire.
Muscadet is made from the grape known as Melon de Bourgogne (aka just "Melon") - its vines were brought from eastern France to the western Loire for its cold-hardiness. Muscadet wines are crisp and dry and are often, in France, the chosen whites to accompany oysters and other shellfish.
Cabernet Franc has become so successful here that it is the dominant cultivar used for a cluster of 4 different central-Loire AOCs: Chinon, Bourgueil, Saint Nicholas de Bourgueil, and Saumur-Champigny (also, in some bottlings, Anjou-Villages). These Cabernet Franc wines have a savory style with medium to light body. Cabernet Franc is one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon.
As a side note, many Loire vineyardists farm either organically or biodynamically. So the timing of this event is appropriately close on the heels of Earth Day, April 22.
How we'll conduct the presentation:
During the presentation, which will start at 6:30PM sharp and last until about 7:30PM, all participants will be muted except for the host and presenter. During breaks scheduled at points where a wine is to be tasted, participants with questions can raise their hands and will be "un-muted" one at a time by the host. Try to keep your questions/comments brief in consideration of other participants who may also have questions.
After the conclusion of the presentation, there will be extra scheduled time on the Club's Zoom e-space (ending at 8 PM) when participants can join small randomly-assigned 'Zoom breakout rooms' to socialize or discuss the wines, presentation, food, etc.
How to participate
It's a free event for IWAGY members. All you'll need to purchase is a bottle of Muscadet, and another of one of the Cabernet Franc Loire Valley red wines. These Cabernet Franc wines mostly sell for under $25 per bottle; Muscadets are easy to find at well under $20. We will send you a listing of wines available locally in a separate e-mail. Also in this e-mail we'll include some recipes to help, if you wish, in your preparation of some mostly regionally-inspired foods to accompany the wines.
All wine types show some variation, but we've chosen these two as having more consistency from winery-to-winery, appellation-to-appellation, and year-to-year than many other types.
To RSVP just e-mail Tim at timothybfree@gmail.com if you want to receive the Zoom link to join us [or call Tim at (845)-896-6361]. You can invite other members or friends to join you.
For "home-theater viewing" (viewers distant from monitor), please notify us when you RSVP: we would be happy to send you a copy of the PowerPoint presentation before the event, if requested.
Remember: Zoom tasting on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 6:30PM
We plan to send out an e-mail with the Zoom link about 3 days in advance of the event.
You can invite other members/friends to join you. Some recipes, if you wish to use them, are linked below. They can be used to help you prepare some foods to accompany the wines:
eggplant-tomatotartine.pdf
rec-basicroastpheasant-cf.pdf
rec-braisedchickenmushroomsauce-cf.pdf
rec-carmoniongoatcheesetartlets.pdf
rec-moulesravigote-m.pdf
rec-mushroom-stuffedpuffs.pdf
rec-porktloinescabeche-cf.pdf
rec-sicilianfishstew-pescatarian.pdf
Note that all wine types show some variation, but we've chosen these two as having more consistency from winery-to-winery and year-to-year than many other types from the Loire (or elsewhere).
