Purple pager and writer on wine and travel Wink Lorch does her bit for Wine Relief, offering a delicious and educational evening centred on the beautiful and increasingly fashionable Savoie region. Wink's picture shows Jongieux and Marestel.
Over nearly two decades, I've been privileged to get to know the very best producers in the relatively unknown little wine region of Savoie. I've watched how this region has gone from one thought of as simply a producer of light fresh 'skiing wines' to one that is making a buzz both in the UK and on the other side of the pond, especially among lovers of unusual grape varieties and/or organic/biodynamic wines.
One of the producers I've known for many years is Michel Grisard of Domaine Prieuré St-Christophe, who makes mainly Mondeuse reds with some Roussette de Savoie (Altesse) whites, from grapes that have been farmed biodynamically for over a decade. Michel is one of only a tiny handful of Savoie producers who, since the mid 1980s, have made wines to age, and he has always been particularly generous with me in sharing older vintages to try.
My offer is to share with a group of up to 15 wine lovers a selection of at least 12 wines from Savoie, including a mini-vertical of Michel Grisard's Mondeuse. The wines will be accompanied by my insight and stories about the terroir, the grapes and the people of the region.
What you will be bidding for:
An evening at a venue of your choice in London or elsewhere in the UK by arrangement, hosted by me, Wink Lorch, and featuring a minimum of 12 of the best Savoie wines including a mini-vertical of Michel Grisard's Mondeuse going back to the 1980s.
Logistics of the evening
Gather your friends at a venue you provide, on a date by arrangement with me, preferably in May 2011 (weekends possible). Details to be arranged between us.
Logistics of bidding
Send me an email (wink@winklorch.com) with your offer of how much you will bid for the evening. I can assure you that 100% of the highest bid will be donated to Wine Relief.
Emails will be acknowledged within 24 hours of receipt and you will be notified if you are the highest bidder at the time, and kept informed if you are out-bid.
The highest bid at mid-day, UK time, on Red Nose Day Friday 18 March 2011 wins the tasting evening.
Minimum suggested bid: £500. Updates as to how the bidding is going will be given to the post on my blog winetravelmedia.com