WINE EDUCATION SEMINARS
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
SEMINAR
11:30 AM
ROOM 1
11:30 AM
ROOM 1
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CHOCOLATE
Like fine wine, participants will appreciate the diversity of chocolates during thIS guided tasting demonstration. Join in our search for the perfect wine and chocolate pairing. Participants will meet some of the region's best chocolatiers as we pair their Valentine delicacies with Commonwealth wines. We'll also sample some exquisite Virginia dessert wines .
11:30 AM
ROOM 2
11:30 AM
ROOM 2
WINE APPRECIATION BASICS
This is an excellent course for beginners. Participants will learn wine tasting basics. We will focus on sampling and understanding the differences between popular white and red wines. We will also provide an overview of how to select wines to compliment foods. During this seminar, participants will learn taste and wine evaluation methods.
Price for the flight of wines used in this seminar is $10 per person. SIGN-UP to order tickets. Check in at the Washington Wine Academy booth to pick up your entry passes.
Saturday Seminar Leader - Tom Finigan, CSW, is the former Sommelier and Manager of Blue Ginger Restaurant, owned by James Beard winning Chef and TV host, Ming Tsai. A Certified Specialist of Wine with the Society of Wine Educators, Tom teaches the WSET Intermediate Certificate courses for the Washington Wine Academy
Sunday Seminar Leader - Kelly Magyarics has been offering interactive, educational wine tastings for private and corporate events for over seven years. Kelly is a frequent contributor to Wine Enthusiast, and her articles have also appeared in Imbibe, Washington Woman and PA Wine Spirits Quarterly. She also maintains a wine blog called "Kelly's Grape Times." Kelly can be reached through her website, www.trywine.net
1:30 PM
ROOM 1
1:30 PM
ROOM 1
HERBAL FUSION TEA CUISINE & THE PALATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH CONNOISSEUR
Come join us as we explore the use of Herbal Fusion Teas as a compliment to fine wines and Old-World cuisine. Experience the application of fine infusion teas in pairings, cooking, poaching, baking, and smoking an array of chef-prepared dishes. It's a tasting. It's an interactive "foodie" demo hosted by Green Alchemy Herb & Mercantile Co.. It's an opportunity to demystify the "Fusion Confusion".
1:30 PM
ROOM 2
1:30 PM
ROOM 2
TO BLEND OR NOT TO BLEND
Come into the laboratory for an exercise in wine crafting as we turn Virginia Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc into a distinctly Bordeaux-like blend. Learn what winemakers look for in their quest to create the perfect wine.
2:30 PM
ROOM 3
2:30 PM
ROOM 3
VIRGINIA VERSUS THE REST OF THE WORLD
Everyone's talking about Virginia's artisan wines these days. As Wine Spectator recently so eloquently proclaimed, "Virginia is America's most promising, emerging wine region".
The best Virginia wines compete favorably in the world-class market with great wines from other premier wine regions. In this seminar, you'll get to experience a unique series of blind tastings with top red and white wines from Virginia and the Rest of the World. This exercise is both competitive and fun! Led by two wine experts in the ring, this is a verbal and tasting fight…where you are the judge!
Flight Price for this seminar is $20 per person. SIGN-UP to order tickets. Check in at the Washington Wine Academy booth to pick up your entry passes.
Seminar Leaders:
Dave McIntyre is publisher of Dave McIntyre's WineLine on the Internet and wine columnist for Washingtonian magazine. His wine and food writings have appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, Foodservice Monthly, and Wine Enthusiast.
Tom Finigan, CSW, is the former Sommelier and Manager of Blue Ginger Restaurant, owned by James Beard winning Chef and TV host, Ming Tsai. A Certified Specialist of Wine with the Society of Wine Educators, Tom teaches the WSET Intermediate Certificate courses for the Washington Wine Academy.
4:00 PM
ROOM 1
4:00 PM
ROOM 1
WINE FUTURES AND HOW YOU GO ABOUT BUYING THEM
The month of March marks the beginning of the "en Primeur" tastings, when hordes of wine journalists, importers and merchants from all over the world descend on Bordeaux vineyards to get their first taste of the most recent vintage. What happens next is of prime importance to the entire wine industry, as it determines the prices that will be set for wines of the French chateaus and sets the stage for wine speculationfor many years to come. This practice is known as buying "futures". Futures have been a mainstay of the Bordeaux wine market for some time. The idea is that you buy wine from the current vintage just a few months after it has been harvested and vinified (while it’s still aging in barrels), gambling that it will increase in value later on. Learn about buying “Bordeaux Futures” and why some enthusiasts consider this an interesting method to diversify their investment portfolio.
4:00 PM
ROOM 2
4:00 PM
ROOM 2
WINEMAKING OVERVIEW
Learn the art/science of high-quality winemaking! We begin with grape characteristics and selection, then overview the entire winemaking process. participants learn about the four winemaking phases and the equipment utilized in each step of the process. Throughout the two-hour seminar, we provide fascinating tidbits about grapes, corks, barrels, bottles and wine storage that the casual wine drinker would find very interesting.
WWA BOOTH
WWA BOOTH
PRIVATE WINE TUTORING – A CORK CLUB EXCLUSIVE
Here’s your chance to get some private wine advice directly from some of the premier wine experts and columnists in the Washington area. You can sign up for 15 minutes with faculty of the Washington Wine Academy
Dave McIntyre Saturday 4-5pm
Tom Finigan Sunday 12-1pm
This is free and exclusive to members of the Washington Wine AcademyCORK Club. Send an e-mail with the time and speaker request, along with a summary of the topics you which to discuss.
ON THE SHOW FLOOR
ALL DAY
ON THE
SHOW
FLOOR
ALL DAY
THE VIRGINIA WINE SHOWCASE PEOPLE'S CHOICE TASTING
Enter to Win one of our coveted door prizes by participating in the Virginia Wine Showcase People's Choice Tasting. You'll experience the differences in winemaker styles as you participate as a judge in the Virginia Wine Showcase People's Choice Awards. This exercise will result in a prestigious new Virginia Wine Showcase People's Choice Award for those wines voted "Best in Class" by guests of the show.
Prizes for judging include: Valentine Dinners, Weekend Getaways, Jewelry, Wine Accessories, a 42" LCD TV and more!