Learn More About French Wine With EDV

L’Ecole du Vin de France is all about the structured learning of French wines in a relaxed atmosphere which is interactive, informative and open minded and aims to give students an understanding of French wines, their regions of origin and how to drink and appreciate them properly.

The course, held over two weeks in two three hour sessions is targeted at wine lovers whom are not necessarily professionals but those who genuinely want to learn more about French wines. The current classes include a mix of local and expatriate students, of whom a major proportion of the expatriates are French themselves.

The school has been open since 2011 when it was brought here from France by founder Olivier Thienot, is currently holding classes in the French Chamber of Commerce in Central and according to Mr. Thienot “aims to provide services of superior quality in the fields of wine initiation and wine knowledge development to both enthusiasts and professional clients”.

Speaking to Marjolaine Roblette-Geres, chief educator and head tutor here in Hong Kong, Ms. Roblette-Geres told us that “it is our unique, interactive approach that gives our students the opportunity to understand and discover the world of French wines and participate in interactive workshops in an entertaining and dynamic environment”.

All classes are currently held in English but there is a Chinese class available to those who wish to do it in Cantonese. This class will be held by Cantonese educator Jennifer Luk and will follow the same syllabus with the same tasting wines on offer. Many of the wines tasted at the classes are brought especially to Hong Kong by Mr. Thienot himself and in the past have included Chateau d’Yquem, Chateau Pichon Longueville, Chateau Giscours and Chateau Sudiuraut. The wines available to taste during the classes generally range from three to twenty years of age.

Over the duration of the course, students will be able to taste 12 fine wines which includes 3 white wines, 1 champagne, 7 red wines and 1 sweet wine. The course, EDV1 is one of two courses that the school offers with the opportunity to take the more testing EDV2 available to Hong Kong students from Autumn 2013.

EDV1 is a class devoted to the basics of French wines and offers the appropriate knowledge on the wines including history, geography, grape variety and understanding labeling with the sensory class including wine aromas and wine tasting. There is also a section on food pairing and wine, something that is very popular here in Hong Kong and fast becoming an integral way of which we order both our food and wines in restaurants these days.

At the end of the two weeks there will be a 25 question multiple choice examination of which the pass mark is 80 per cent. At the end of the exam, students who pass will be honoured with a certificate pronouncing their passing of the EDV1 Diploma.

Classes are great value for money and only cost HK$1,900 for the six hour education with the next set of classes taking place on the 18^th and 25^th April 2013. So if you want to brush up on your French wine knowledge in a manner that does not make it sound too complicated then get enrolled at L’Ecole Du Van de France for their next set of classes and learn more about the wide range of French wines, how to drink them and how to pair them with that next dinner you are having with a loved one.

For more information you can contact L’Ecole du Vin de France on (+852) 3971 9147 or go to their website contact link http://www.ecoleduvin.asia/en/contact.htm to email them. Check out their website www.ecoleduvin.asia for more complete information and details of upcoming courses.