Master Somellier Series at The Naples Wine Collection

The Naples Wine Collection

is a wine shop in North Naples, FL. They have a very interesting indoor space

and a good selection of wines. The owner and his wife had developed an interest in wine through their families, who were very much into wines. They are also involved with the Naples Winter Wine Festival, one of the largest charity wine festivals in North America, and the vintners affiliated with them. They have a number of events through their business. These range from tastings, dinners and educational functions. A recent educational event is their Master Sommelier Series, running weekly through April.

The Court of Master Sommeliers is an organization founded to improve standards of beverage service concentrating on food and wine paring. There are 4 certifications by exam through this organization, the highest being Master Sommelier. As this examination process is extremely difficult, there are only 200 and change of them worldwide.

Naples is fortunate to have expertise such as this available in the area and even more fortunate to learn about wine from one of them. The goal of these courses, apart from having fun, is to be able to look at most bottles of wine, know what it is and where it comes from.

The topic that evening was wines from France

specifically those from the Burgundy

and Bordeaux regions.

Wines from these regions can be differentiated from the shapes of the bottles

with those from Burgundy always having a lower “shoulder” than those from Bordeaux. Interestingly, the bottle of Bordeaux in this picture has Clos on the label. This means enclosed in French so one could expect this vineyard to be surrounded by a wall.

We learned a bit about the districts in these regions and the wines that come from them.

We also learned some useful information that would help us judge the quality of a wine by it’s appearance in a glass.

As grapes macerate after being harvested, chemicals from their skins contribute to the color and flavor of the finished product.

The greater amount of stain the wine leaves behind as it is swirled in a glass, the better the Extraction. Cleanliness of glassware was also emphasized. Who wants a wine glass that smells like soap?

The importance of proper Wine Storage was also addressed. Temperatures below 60-65 degrees F., humidity and darkness are all factors to consider should one want a great wine to stay great.

We were also made aware of a number of very good wine information resources. Kobrand, a wine and sprits importer, has an excellent series of Wine Education Tutorials.

All in all a very interesting and educational evening at Naples Wine Collection and another review on Forks.

Naples Wine Collection

2367 Vanderbilt Beach Rd. #810

Naples, FL 34109

(239)513-0095