Champagne and Sparkling Wine at Newcastle Wine School

As a fizz lover it seemed an opportunity not to be missed attending this event. This evening was in collaboration with Guest Wines, a husband and wife duo with a passion for all things wine related. Kelvyn was our host and captain of what can only be described as a cruise through the adventurous world of sparkling wine.

There was a good mix of amateur wine enthusiasts and those with a little more knowledge. The evening was tutored but there was enough time to explore the wines on your own and interact with the other guests. Kelvyn introduced a blind tasting element which was fun and I felt rather smug after identifying them all correctly! It was quite challenging though and you had to work for your wine.

We tasted an excellent range of wines from Oeil de Perdix Rose Champagne to, perhaps the most interesting which was Quartet Anderson Valley Brut from the Roederer Estates in California. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir it had the brioche flavours that reminded me of Champagne.

My friend Elaine accompanied me and enjoyed it just as much as I did, despite our different levels of knowledge (although Elaine can sniff out a Cava from ten paces). We had great fun at the end when blind tasting two sparkling wines. One was Pol Roger Extra Cuvee Reserve 2004 and the other Nyetimber Classis Cuvee 2009.

Surprisingly the majority preferred the Nyetimber and I managed to spark a bit of a Twitter debate later on between the two houses.

I have to say all the wines we tasted were superb and I wouldn’t hesitate to book another course. The school also run daytime courses with lunch, masterclasses and even beer tasting. A very enjoyable evening and we even managed to squeeze in another wine at Bonbar down the road.

Jennifer Palmer

www.newcastlewineschool.com
www.guestwines.com