Wines of The Loire Valley San Francisco Tasting

When I was invited to attend a Loire Valley Wines Spring to Loire Tasting in San Francisco I immediately was excited to taste this region’s wine which until the tasting,  I was not so familiar with. Not to mention the event was being held at The Cheese School San Francisco, another destination I had heard fabulous things about but had not yet had the chance to experience. Boy was I thrilled I attended this wine tasting as well as the informative Loire Valley Sparkling Wines panel.  See more of the fun below!

Loire Valley Wines

Loire Valley Wines

I love the gorgeous maps and the entire presentation the team did putting together this event.

I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that an old New York friend, Baylor helped put together the event so I got to see him a few years after my last trip to New York. I love how wine truly brings together old and new friends!

The Sparkling Wines for all occasions panel. I’m such a sucker for educational tastings and panels and found this very interesting. They discussed the various regions of the Loire and then we did a tasting of 5 different sparkling wines.  Since I had not really tasted many Loire Wines or not at least side by side I quickly learned the majority of Loire Sparkling Wines are made of 100% Chenin Blanc which was the first time I had tried Chenin Blanc Sparkling Wines. I found them a bit more acidic and tart than a Blanc de Blanc Sparkling (made of 100% Chardonnay) and learned I may be more of a Blanc de Blanc Sparkling wine gal…..

Loire Valley Wines

The beautifully set up room where the Sparkling Wine panel was held

Loire Valley Wines

As a food blogger I have to admit this was the most beautiful presentation and delicious food The Cheese School of San FranciscoI have ever had at a wine tasting. Seriously, I am not sure what I enjoyed more, the lovely Loire Wines or the amazing cheeses, vegetables and other delicious eats curated for this event. I will for sure be returning to the Cheese School of San Francisco.

Loire Valley Wines

Obsessed with this pear shaped cheese. And yes it tasted just as delicious at it looked!

Loire Valley Wines

Below I share some of the wines I tasted and really fell in love with during this tasting and seminar. I have to admit this was my first time trying a lot of Loire Wines side by side and I really enjoyed them. I felt that most of the white wines (as I didn’t get a chance to try many red wines) were extremely delicate, beautiful and well made. There were various degrees of acidity found in the Sauvignon Blanc wines and I seemed to lean more towards the lighter, less acidic style but still found great balance and structure in most of what I tried. I also loved learning more about their Sparkling Wines, most of which are made with Chenin Blanc grapes, a fact I was unaware of until this tasting. Thanks again for curating an amazing afternoon of wine tasting, wine education, delicious food and a great group of winemakers and distributors sharing their passion, amazing wines and time with guests.

Loire Valley Wines

Loire Valley Wines

Loire Valley Wines

Caught in the act tasting and taking notes.

 

The team fromPaul Buisse, Sean and Wine Owner Philippe. These wines were lovely, I tasted through them all and the 2015 Domaine Paul Buisse White Wine & Sauvignon Blanc and the Le Clos 2014 White Wine & Chenin Blanc were my favorites.  The wines were very light and delicate with a creamy taste and not overly tart and acidic.

These were a few more wines I tasted and adored. The Cremant De Loire Brut was one of my favorite Brut’s that I tasted and the Cremant De Loire Sparkling Rose was also beautiful. It was very light in taste, not overly saturated with Pinot Noir but also had a nice dry taste to it (my favorite style in a Sparkling Wine).

Loire Valley Wines

This was one of the last wines I tried and as they say, save the best for last. This was hands down my favorite Sparkling Wine, probably because it was super dry and a blend of 70% Chenin Blanc and 20% Chardonnay with just a touch of Cabernet Franc. It was heavenly!

All three of these wines were very lovely and unique in different ways.

Another favorite white wine I tasted and really enjoyed!

Thanks to The Loire Valley Wines and The Cheese School of San Francisco for hosting this incredible event. I really enjoyed learning more about Loire Wines and getting to taste so many fabulous wines. 

Select event pictures by Riki Feldman

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