#Winetwunch4

LEUVEN, BELGIUM ♦ Thursday,  July 5th 2011.  On a rainy summer night 25 wine lovers met in a dandy restaurant to taste 25 original wines, enjoy a delicious 4 course menu and have a superb eve…

Winetwunch? Winetwunch!

Still wondering where winetwunch stands for? Aha! You haven’t read all my posts yet, because I have elaborated already on it a few months ago on the occasion of winetwunch number 2.

Never mind, I gladly re-explain: winetwunch = wine + twitter + lunch. Given the fact that it is all about wine, tasting wine, intense tasting wine, the formula got quickly adjusted to wine + twitter + dinner. So for the purists, indeed, it should be: winetwinner!

In fact, the idea is simple yet genius:

1. You make a reservation in a top-notch restaurant that is open for the BYOW (bring your own wine) formula

2. You invite 25  twittering wine enthusiasts and ask them to bring a bottle of their favourite wine of the moment

3. A new winetwunch is born

Number 4, the fast and the furious

You had to be a fast bird to get a ticket for the 4th episode of the winetwunch, the event was sold out in less than 3 hours.

The venue was the neat restaurant “Het Land aan de Overkant”, hidden in a green area next to Leuven’s ringroad. And there was definitively something in the air when the 25 lucky birds gathered… fortunately it was not only the summer rain!

A selection

• The personal one: My own bottle was “le Marquis de Carabas”, a Chenin (80%) and Chardonnay (20%) blend from Domaine de la Garrelière in the Loire valley (Touraine). This biodynamic wine is characterised by low yields, hand harvest and maturation on the lees. It is dry, richly layered and textured, and terrifically spicy. Not for the shy at heart.
• The original one: Danielle brought a very original, IMHO rather atypical, gruner veltliner. Intense, racy dry white wine with impressions of  spices, yellow fruit and minerals. The concentrated, spicy taste lingers long.
  
• The underdog: The pinot blanc-auxerrois 2010 of domain Pietershof fromVoeren, the best Belgian white wine of 2012. Offered by Jens, of course. The wine is fresh, easy with lovely fruity aromatics. Nice, but unfortunately already completely sold out.
  
• The favourite one : An Austrian Triebaumer sauvignon blanc 2011, aged “sur lie”, presented by Wim. A seductive and typical sauvignon nose with asparagus, gooseberry and grassy notes. In the mouth elegant, full and refreshing.
  
• The surprise one: A mysterious cabernet franc and sauvignon blend from China. Grown at an altitude of 1000m. In the glass a deep purple wine with spicy, animal hints. This wine has power and a distinct acidity. Murky! Thanks, Ward.
  
• The rebel one:  Bart’s taste of the evening: Blanc Bien-Entendu Grande Trilogie 2010, of the “King of Chardonnay”, JM Guffens. This marvellous blend of 45% chardonnay, 35% rousanne en 20% viognier has a complex nose with vanilla, spicy aromas and a scent of aniseed. Its taste is silky, fresh and rich. I like this one!
  

Certainly the buzzword of the evening was “bio”. There were at least 8 bottles biologic, biodynamic or natural wine and the opinions were as diverse as the wines in our glass. Some loved it, some hated it and some found it very interesting!

Into the picture

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Should you have any doubt left, it was certainly great to have been participating to the event again. Thanks Filip and wine-accomplices for making this happen!