Who is this course aimed at?
Although we hate to admit it, those Frogs certainly know a thing or two when it comes to wine and food – sacre bleu! If you like the finer things in life, you will love our French Wine and Food Matching Workshop. No prior knowledge is required, but a sense for adventure and a voracious appetite are an advantage.

Our goal
Parlez-vous francais? Non? Neither do we. France is without doubt the world’s most famous and most complex wine growing country, with more than its fair share of fuss and nonsense. We will breakdown the intricacies of French wine into memorable, bite sized chunks, explained in plain English. We will take you on a whistle-stop tour of some of the world’s most famous vineyards matched to the regional cuisine – you will be in foodie heaven!

Course Content
Our French Wine and Food Matching Workshop is a gastronomic tour through France’s famous and lesser-known wine regions. No other country boasts such a culinary heritage: its wines and produce are the envy of the world.

France is one of the oldest as well as largest producers of wine in the world, with huge regional variation to match its cuisine. In this one-day workshop we will guide you through the wines and dishes of classic regions of Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire and Rhone. We will also introduce the exciting and often good-value wines from the Languedoc – Roussillon, Provence and South-West. Each region will be explained with reference to history, grapes, appellations, terroir, and wine-making methods.

We will discuss the fundamentals of food and wine matching in depth and show that although there are some matches made in heaven (such as Sauternes with foie gras), probably the best matches of all are local foods with local wines. We will guide you through the complexities of the appellations and will point you in the direction of good affordable French wines to drink and finer wines to lay-down as an investment. During the day we will pass on insider tips to help you navigate the pitfalls of buying French wine in shops and restaurants – and of course how to handle those snooty sommeliers!

The following subjects will be covered during the course of the day on a country and regional basis.

• Overview and history of French food and wine culture
• Key grape varieties
• Geography, climate and regions of France
• Viticulture and winemaking practices
• Wine classification system
• Wine and food matching
• A regional wine and food tour
• The future for France

11.00 - 11.15	Student introductions and summary of day’s activities
11.15 - 12.15	Systematic approach and wine & food matching principles (2 wines) glass of champagne and smoked salmon canapes) (1 wine)
12.15 - 13.30	Champagne, Loire, Alsace (3 wines)
13.15 - 14.30	Burgundy, Bordeaux (2 wines)
14.30 – 15.15	Rhone, South of France (2 wines)
15.15 – 15.45	Choosing from a wine list, wine, care and service, Other non-classic regions and choices (1 wine)
15.45 – 16.00	Future of France and Question Time