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SAINT-EMILION WINES: TRY THE MUSICAL TASTING
ALL SUMMER, THE MAISON DES VINS DE SAINT-EMILION OFFERS TASTING INITIATIONS.
All summer, the Maison des Vins de Saint-Emilion offers tasting initiations. Until August 28th, discover the merlot, the mosaic of terroirs and the four appellations of Saint-Emilion. If wine tasting is a technical exercise, it is above all a pleasure for the senses. To renew the genre, try the musical tasting.
THE MUSICAL TASTING, AN ADDITIONAL PLEASURE FOR THE SENSES
A musical tasting is the art of combining a music with a wine. The Saint-Emilion vineyards have become specialists in this exercise. Each year, the musical tasting is one of the highlights of the Saint-Emilion Jazz Festival. In July 2016, trumpeter Stéphane Belmondo took part in the game at Château Cheval Blanc. In 2015, pianist Éric Legnini had interpreted Saint-Emilion Grands Crus Classés.
“We are biased. When we play a song, the feeling is not the same from one person to another. For wine, we sometimes have true favorites and the person that tastes might not share it. The musical tasting is a very personal exercise but it is a real pleasure”.
Éric Legnini, jazz pianist.
MUSICAL TASTING, THE USER MANUAL
For a musical tasting, select three or four wine from the Saint-Emilion appellations. Choose wines with different personalities. If you know the work of winemakers well, you can give some tips to your guests before beginning the tasting. There are two options available to you. Either you have musician friends and they can work on some improvisations. Or you ask a participant to select the most appropriate music. And while the pairings succeed, you have to lend an ear, to feel the Saint-Emilion wines with your five senses.
“I think we focus on wine differently. It remains the same wine, but the senses that we devote to understanding it are awakened by hearing. You take in everything that the musicians want to tell you, allowing you to reveal the feelings that a wine can arouse. Beautiful music adds to the pleasure of tasting”. Arnaud Laforcade, Chief Financial Officer, Château Cheval Blanc.
Do you like the Saint-Emilion wines? Come learn more about them at the Summer Sessions of the École du Vin de la Maison du Vin de Saint-Emilion. The price is 25 euros per person.