Who would say no to the possibility of having a free pass to the wine tasting at the yearly presentation of Le Nuove Guide dell’Espresso at the Stazione Leopolda? Not me! The best lunch break of all must be to be able to enjoy a light lunch buffet in between wandering around the different stands and tasting interesting wines. A special thanks for this goes to Laura Maggi and Lorenzo Sieni of Fisar Firenze.
Yesterday I thus had my pass to the yearly event at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence. Having put aside work, told my clients I would be offline for the day doing important stuff, I headed towards the Stazione Leopolda at lunch time. Sometimes Florence gives you a nice feeling, sort of like living in a small town or village, because entering, I first met friends working at Regione Toscana, then heading towards the wine tasting section I soon met friends and aspiring sommeliers and fellow sommeliers from Fisar in a steady rhythm.
This time I had a sort of strategy, to try and remember to take a photo of most of the wines I tasted, as usually I otherwise often forget names of producers, wines, etc. So armed with a glass, my tablet and enthusiasm I started out the tasting tour. The first stop was at the stand with the 2002 Pommery Champagne Cuveé Louise.
Then followed, among others, Sole d’Agosto, Marco de Bartoli’s Bukkuram Passito di Pantelleria. This is a passito with a fruity and fresh flavour.
Then I started tasting my way through the stands where my fellow sommelier friends worked, thus also getting to the more full-bodied red wines. Among others, the 2005 Barbaresco Crichët Pajé from Roagna.
My fellow sommelier friends are really great and knowledgeable as well as stylish and elegant, while serving and describing the different wines. Myself I prefer keeping to my part of mixing language, translation, and wine tasting in organizing seminars, such as Words at the Winery, etc. 😉
Below some of my stylish friends…
To return the favour, do not forget to read Helen Farrell’s blog about the same event. http://helencfarrell.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/le-guide-de-lespresso-my-first-time/#comment-158
To get a full overview of the event.
That had to be a wonderful time!
true, a great dinner really, as always at Da Burde 🙂