Terroirs & Signatures de Bourgogne 2011

By Murtaza Adamjee

On Tuesday, March 22, 2011, two members of the Women’s Post team had the privilege of attending Terroirs & Signatures de Bourgogne 2011, presented by the Burgundy Wine Board at the Art Gallery of Ontario. And although new to the world of wine tasting, any opportunity to drink, err sample, fine wine at noon was an opportunity worth skipping an afternoon of work for.

The event brought together prestigious producers and wine merchants, and gave guests the rare chance to taste a selection of more than 150 wines from the region.

­The floor consisted of 34 stations representing the beautiful diversity of the Burgundy region. We strolled through the masses of “mmm’s” and “ahhh’s” trying to learn more about the region shaped by history and nature for nearly 2000 years. Completely naïve to world of wine culture, we tried to assimilate with the crowds, picking up bits of information we could apply to our own sampling experience.

We were no wine experts, but left feeling a bit more informed and a bit more cultured - possibly the result of four glasses in 30 minutes.

I turned to Karolina, Women’s Post editorial intern, with an impish smile and said, “Don’t ever say I never took you anywhere fancy.”

By Karolina Bialkowska

Being part of the editorial staff at Women’s Post has its perks. I’ll admit, wine shows that start at noon seem to be more teases than treats, but I attend them with due diligence and take professional note of each event… whatever happens after my fourth glass is simply beyond my control. 

Originally operating under the belief that wine shows were stodgy, pretentious affairs *and some still are* I’ve grown to love them after visiting Terroirs & Signatures de Bourgogne 2011. You get to taste wines you may not be able to afford (and decide you prefer your $10 bottle of shiraz/malbec blend after all), learn wine culture, and best of all, there’s food. The food is of high quality, and I will say, it is enjoyable watching people around the food table - mostly because everyone pretends not to be eating. It’s a weird denial of evolution - we all eat people!

Not to mention, like everything else in life, the key is to not care what other people think. While some of the sommeliers and vineyard reps may be rude and hoity-toity, their jobs require them to serve you. So go, enjoy, imbibe, and make sure you talk to every snobby person you can spot.

Image courtesy stock.xchng