Invite & Details - Burgundy Wine Story & Tasting session

Wine - A story of a relationship between man and nature in Burgundy

The session is about the influence of monks in the development of vineyards in Burgundy and the traditional work in the vineyards of Burgundy around the year with some cultural and historical references. A brief introduction to the wine making process will also be given.

In Burgundy, the 100 Appellation d’Origine Controlee ( AOC ) wines for all life’s special moments is rooted in the terroir. The AOC is a quality label, guaranteeing the product’s characteristics, i.e. the terroir where it comes from, production methods, the history of the product and the producer’s expertise. The notion of the terroir is very wide which includes both natural factors and human factors. It is thanks to the richness of the Burgundy wine-growing area that it is made up of enormous patchwork of thousands of frequently small-sized plots called “climats”. Complexity is a major element in Burgundy cultural heritage, and the identity of each of her many wines depends on that wine’s particular characteristics. Each vineyard plot, secure behind its own fence or stone wall, is unique. Burgundy’s most famous monastic vineyard is the Clos de Vougeot (seen in picture), where the Cistercian monks first planted vine in the 12th century.

The 100 Burgundy appellations are divided into 4 levels of appellation : Regional appellations, village appellations, Premier cru appellations and Grand cru appellations. They are divided in to 5 wine-growing areas : Chablis-Grand Auxerrois, Cote de Nuits, Cote de Beaune, Cote Chalonnaise and Maconnais.


Burgundy is the native land of two prestigious varieties of grape, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Chardonnay is a golden white grape used for White wines and Pinot Noir is a black grape with white juice used for the legendary ruby red wines of Burgundy. Aligote and Gamay are other grape varieties used in certain appellations.

The session will be followed by a guided wine tasting of 2 or 3 wines from the Burgundy region of France – Bourgogne Blanc AOC, Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Beaune AOC and Cremant de Bourgogne AOC.

A special “ Gold Wine” will be uncorked at the end to celebrate the Valentine’s day !

A bottle of wine will be gifted to one participant in a lucky draw contest!

The session will be conducted by Dr. Bruno Monange and Mr Chinmaya Arjun Raja.

Dr.Bruno Monange is a medical doctor by profession and winemaker by passion. He has a small vineyard in Burgundy where he produces his own wine every year. He does all the vineyard related work all by himself in the traditional way.He is very knowledgeable about wines from the Burgundy region of France.He visits India frequently to offer his services to free medical camps organized by NGO’s in South India. His sessions are informative as he gives emphasis to the cultural and historical aspects of wine as well as the health benefits of drinking wine. He has been a witness to the developing interest in wines and wine making in India. He has conducted many wine appreciation sessions in Thiruvananthapuram, Bangalore and Chennai.

Mr Chinmaya Arjun Raja is a Chennai based businessman, wine enthusiast and President of Alliance Francaise of Madras. He is passionate about wines after having visited many wineries, interacted with many winemakers and attended tasting sessions all over France, Germany and Napa valley in the USA since the last 8 years. He has a wine consultancy called Diwine Raga and organizes wine appreciation and training sessions through a forum called Chennai Wine Club.
www.chennaiwineclub.com

Important Note : This session is a cultural and historical presentation on wines from Burgundy wine-growing region of France and about wine appreciation. Its open only to people above the legal drinking age. Moderate wine drinking is advised for health benefits. Wine has between 5% and 14% alcohol content. Abuse of alcohol is injurious to health.


Event on Saturday 14th Feb 2009 at 6 pm – AFM Auditorium

Please register at the reception before Friday the 13th of Feb 2009

Participation fee : Rs 300 for non members and
Rs 200 for members of Alliance Francaise of Madras
Priority to AFM members
For further information please contact Mr Chinmaya Raja : 9789059024

Gold Wine

They say wine is liquid gold and voila we now have a white wine called Gold Wine imported in India by Chennai based Wine Legend India Pvt Ltd. The CEO of the indian branch of Wine Legend ( based in New Jersey area USA ) Mr D K Raju has been trying to make a lot of efforts to distribute his wines in some main Indian Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and ofcourse Chennai. Gold Wine is a wine from the famous Jayson Woodbridge wines based in Napa.

GOLD wine is basically un-oaked, non-malolactic Chardonnay blended with other varietals like Viognier and Gewurstraminer with pure 24 carat gold flecks added in to the bottle. Woodbridge bottles and releases the Gold Wine twice a year which happens to be a new concept in the world of wines. The wine released in July is apparently from Australian grapes and the wine released in November is from californian grapes. The attractive glass bottles which are sourced from France is fired with 24 karat gold labels.

When i first tasted Gold Wine a few months back, was quite surprised that i couldnt feel the gold flecks inside my mouth. Its so fine and you dont realise you are having them inside. I did a few guided tasting sessions of a few wines including the Gold Wine for Wine Legend India at a few chennai hotels like Le Meridien and Courtyard Marriot. Mr D K Raju requested me to help them train a few hotel staff and let them know the basic wine making process and do a guided tasting of a few wines like Gold Wine, Pink Gold Wine and other Australian wines.

Gold Wine considered a good marketing idea for a wine. The wine comes in an attractive bottle and just shake the bottle against some bright light, you will see the gold flecks everywhere inside the bottle.

The company is branding it as a Celabration wine! Indians love gold and lets see if Gold Wine tries to capture the celebration market! Why not celebrate Diwali with Gold Wine ? It will also be an ideal gifting option for corporate houses or even big jewellery shops in Chennai to gift it to its best customers! I am imagining a chennai mami with her kanchivaram with pure gold zari borders adorned with gold jewellery holding a glass of Gold wine, gold flecks glittering ...

Champagne was a great marketing success story even a few hundred years back! A perfect celebration drink in any part of the world!


Gold wine is available in many hotels in Chennai like GRT Grand, GRT temple bay, Hotel Ceebros Raintree, Le meridien, Courtyard marriot etc and prices are between Rs 2500 and Rs 4000 per bottle depending upon the restaurant and hotel! Few restaurants have been giving Gold Wine as a welcome drink for some occasions.