Claude Thibaut
June 9th, from 6pm to 8pm at The Frenchman’s Corner, 129 E. Davis Street, Culpeper. An opportunity to meet Virginia wine-maker (by way of Champagne…yes, I mean France) Claude Thibaut of Thibaut-Janisson Winery. As you may already know, Claude is a renowned Master of Champagne, and as good fate has it, he has made his home in Central Virginia. So tell your friends and get your wine-loving selves there!
The Winemaker Wednesday series of complimentary tastings, which I cooked up with Jeffery Mitchell, owner of the wine & cheese shop portion of The Frenchman’s Corner, is a great casual way to meet the winemaker. Let’s face it, they aren’t hanging out in their tasting rooms…well very much anyway. And in the case of Claude, who doesn’t have a tasting room, this is a perfect opportunity to meet him and find out what goes into the making of his Sparkling wines.
The wine menu for the evening, paired with fine French cheeses, will be the Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay,
Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay
and Claude’s newest releases, Brut Rosé and Virginia Fizz. I wrote about Virginia Fizz in my article about Claude in the Spring issue of the Virginia Wine Gazette. But, don’t rely entirely on what I have to say, show up on June 9th and taste for yourself. Did I tell you that the TJ Blanc de Chardonnay was served at the Obama’s first State Dinner last November?! (oh, we just don’t tire of this story!) Well, it was, and Claude did not have to crash it. (Don’t get me started on the two Bozos who did crash.) The wine-powers-that-be in the State Department have chosen Claude’s Sparklings on a few occasions, when he was working for California wineries. But since they were not his own label….the Obama State Dinner makes it that much more special!
Here is the upcoming star-studded schedule of Winemaker Wednesdays!
| WED, JUNE 9TH | THIBAUT-JANISSON WINERY | CLAUDE THIBAUT |
| WED, JUNE 23RD | OLD HOUSE VINEYARDS | DAMIEN BLANCHON |
| WED, JULY 14TH | KESWICK VINEYARDS | STEPHEN BARNARD |
| WED, JULY 28TH | GADINO CELLARS | BILL GADINO |
| WED, AUG 11TH | CHESTER GAP CELLARS | BERND JUNG |
| WED, AUG 25TH | KING FAMILY VINEYARDS | MATTHIEU FINOT |
| WED, SEPT 15TH | BARBOURSVILLE VINEYARD | LUCA PASCHINA |
| WED, SEPT 29TH | TBA |
A nod of thanks to the winemakers who have participated thus far: Bree Ann Moore for Unicorn Winery, Gabriele Rausse for Gabriele Rausse Wines, Al Kellert for Gray Ghost Winery. And a big kudos to Jeffery Mitchell for making this commitment to promote Virginia wines and their winemakers!
See you there!
Cheers,
Anita
“No government could survive without champagne. In the throat of our diplomatic people [it] is like oil in the wheels of an engine.”
Joseph Dargent quote
