WineInk: A classic preview

Both the weather and the calendar have turned a page around here, and as it is now May, this wine scribe’s thoughts are turning to the unofficial opening of the summer season.

In just a few weeks, the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen will make its annual return to our little mountain town for the 42^nd edition of what is nationally recognized as the premier culinary and wine event of its kind. This year, the Classic comes a little later than usual, thanks to a quirk in the calendar, falling on the weekend of June 20, rather than the traditional Father’s Day weekend.

When people ask me why The Aspen Times has a wine column, I explain that Aspen is one of the great wine towns in all of America. There is a plethora of serious sommeliers, the wine lists in many of the restaurants are world class, and there is a community of collectors who bring their share of wine gravitas (not to mention epic bottles) to the table, so to speak.

But I also always regard the presence of the Food and Wine Classic as being a key component in making Aspen such a significant destination for wine lovers. The event brings the world’s best wines and their makers here each summer.

The Classic is a homegrown event. The festival first debuted back in 1983 as the Aspen/Snowmass International Wine Festival with about 300 mostly local attendees. It has since become one of the longest running gatherings for food afficionados and wine connoisseurs in the country. The founders, Gary Plumley, then owner of the downtown Aspen wine shop Of Grape and Grain, and restaurateurs Bob and Ruth Kevan, who owned the French–inspired Chez Grandmere in Snowmass, could hardly have dreamed that their little event would become a summer staple that would be thriving 42 years on.

There is a lot to look forward to for wine lovers at each year’s Classic — from seeing old friends, to tasting the prodigious selection of wines in the Grand Tasting Pavilion, and, of course, the impromptu parties where great wines are poured. Personally, I look forward to attending  the seminars, which marry a combination of entertainment and education, delivered by the foremost authorities on wine. I inevitably learn something at each and every seminar.

Annually, Ray Isle, executive wine editor of Food & Wine Magazine, and his team convene a cadre of the most learned and enthusiastic people in the world of wine to host seminars in assorted hotel ballrooms and tasting tents around town. And this year is no exception. Isle, who will be presenting a pair of seminars himself (a celebration of “new” Bordeaux and his ever-popular “chips and wines”) has been at this for two decades now and always invites illuminating experts for the wine seminar attendees to enjoy.

This June, Aspen can look forward to sharing “Bubbles and Blockbusters” with Amanda McCrossin, a “Sake vs Wine Showdown” fronted by Monica Samuels, and Julia Coney keeping it cool with “Wines from Extreme Regions.” And that’s just the beginning.

Wine lovers always pack the presentations for the tag-team of Bobby Stuckey and Carlin Karr of  Boulder’s Frasca Hospitality Group. This year, they will be partnering on a pair of seminars including “The New Friuli: Italy’s Most Exciting White Wine Region” and “Terroir, Tradition & The Sea: The Great Island Wines of the World.” Oh, and they will be coming straight off the James Beard Foundation Awards in Chicago where Frasca Food and Wine is up for the title of “Outstanding Restaurant” on Monday, June 16.  

Seminar favorite Mark Oldman returns for his 19^th year at the Classic, bringing with him bottles of mythic proportions to a seminar titled “GO BIG: Superstar Magnums & Beyond.” Expect bottles that will require a team of sommeliers just to pour. In his second seminar, he will introduce attendees to the wines of “California Royalty: California’s Top Winemakers.” It will take you to the West Coast in a glass.

Also making a welcomed return as presenter (This will be her fourth year pouring at the Classic) is wine writer, educator, and author Wanda Mann. This year, she’ll be tackling a different kind of Cabernet than you might expect.

“Cabernet Sauvignon has dominated the red wine scene, but its parent grape, Cabernet Franc, has more than earned its close-up,” she explained. “My seminar, ‘Let’s Get Franc: The Other Great Cabernet,’ will feature delicious wines from different regions that showcase Cab Franc’s elegance and versatility. For example, I’ll be pouring Planeta Didacus from Sicily and Ovid Hexameter from Napa Valley.” 

Frankly it is a can’t-miss seminar.

And I always look forward to attending the presentations hosted by Little Nell wine alum Sabato Sagaria. Sagaria spent six years at the Nell, beginning in 2007 as the director of food and beverage, and in 2012, he became, as his official bio describes it, “the fifth bald Master Sommelier.” He comes back to his former home at the Little Nell to present a seminar alongside hospitality guru Gary Obligacion titled “Sips & Sausages: Top Wines to Pair with Brats, Boudin & Beyond.” It’s a meaty topic.

Right around 50 days to go before the Classic pours again. Cheers to that!