Laura Maniec, M.W.

Laura Maniec, M.W.

An invitation to a night of “Golf and Gamay” certainly stands out in New York City, where industry wine tastings are a dime a dozen daily and there are no golf courses. Sopexa USA organized the evening on behalf of Inter Beaujolais at Chelsea Piers-Pier 59, a very cool “golf club” for city folks who want to practice their putts.

Now, I can honestly say my wine knowledge is better than my golf swing, but on I put on my game face for the sake of tasting some great Gamays. The Beaujolais Crus, all made from 100% Gamay grape, are considered the “gems” of the Beaujolais appellation. Each of the ten Crus is named after the village where the grapes are grown. Unlike Beaujolais Nouveau which is a fresh, flirty red wine bottled just six weeks after harvest, the Crus have a year of aging on them which makes them a bit more supple and finessed. Remember twins Patty Duke and “Kathy” from television’s “Patty Duke Show”? One twin was “rock and roll” and the other was “classical music.” That’s Nouveau and Cru.

Laura Maniec, M.W. and owner of CorkBuzz Studio in Greenwich Village, was our Beaujolais wine ”caddy” for the night. While attendees may not have left the event with a better golf swing, they did come away with a better knowledge of the geography of the Beaujolais region, its soil and how it all makes for the delightful nuances in the aromas and taste of Beaujolais Crus.

Laura guided our group through a brief tasting of three wines and discussed their “feminine” and “masculine” characteristics with feminine being “subtle” and masculine more “complex.”

Here are a few wine notes from my Gamay game card and their feminine counterparts:

Georges Descombes Régnié 2009 – A combination of funk and finesse- the rocker chic wine with a pedigree. (suggested retail price: $20.99)

Damien Coquelet Chiroubles 2010 – Great body, lots of fruit and flirtacious on the palate – The sorority sister who is the life of the party. (suggested retail price $18.99)

Georges Duboeuf Juliénas Château des Capitains ($18.99) – Complex and intense nose with violet and black currant aromas with slight hints of truffle. Powerful, full-bodied and rich, Love it now or lay it down, and it gets only better. The elegant women you want to marry.

When it comes to a fun approach to wine education, this event scored a hole in one.

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