Champagne Kick-Off party: Highlights from the festival’s bubbly event

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Here are a few highlights from last night’s Champagne Kick-Off party at the Kitchen Upstairs, the festival’s inaugural gathering.

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Guests were treated to spectacular flights of Krug, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, and Dom Pérignon, among other wines.

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And of course, the Kitchen staff did a phenomenal job with Champagne-friendly small bites. The service was as attentive as the menu was spot-on.

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What a great way to get the festival started and what a great group of guests this year!

Stay tuned for daily updates from this year’s events…

Last spots going fast… Boulder Burgundy Festival 2016 nearly sold-out!

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Above: Legacy Burgundy producer Étienne de Montille (above) and Master of Wine Jancis Robinson will be leading a seminar and tasting on the last day of the festival. Just a few spots for this exclusive event are available. Click here to register.

The Boulder Burgundy Festival 2016 is nearly completely sold-out.

A few spots are still available for Étienne de Montille and Jancis Robinson’s seminar and tasting on Sunday morning.

And there are still tickets available for the Grand Tasting on Sunday afternoon, the last event of the gathering.

It’s been a thrill for us to watch the interest in the festival grow each year. Thank you for your continued support!

Image via Cellarette.

#BBF16 nearly sold-out, just a few spots left (no joke)

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Tickets are still available for the following events but they are going fast (as of this posting, Friday, September 30):

Old and Rare Burgundy Seminar
with Master Sommeliers Jay Fletcher,
and Bobby Stuckey with Special Guest
Étienne de Montille
Friday, October 21

Étienne de Montille Dinner at Frasca Food and Wine
Saturday, October 22

Seminar and Tasting: “To stem or not to stem”
with Jancis Robinson MW and Étienne de Montille
Sunday, October 23

Grand Tasting
Sunday, October 23

A remarkable flight of wines with Étienne de Montille and Jancis Robinson MW 10/23

jancis robinson wine writer

Sunday, October 23
“To stem or not to stem?”
A conversation with Etienne de Montille from Domaine de Montille, and Special Guest Jancis Robinson, MW discussing winemaking techniques used in Burgundy with the wines of Domaine de Montille.

Master of Wine Jancis Robinson — one of the top wine writers in the world today —is the keynote speaker of this year’s Boulder Burgundy Festival. Wine critic for the Financial Times, editor of the landmark Oxford Companion to Wine and Wine Grapes (the world’s most comprehensive ampelographic survey), and a “member of the Royal Household Wine Committee” (in other words, a wine buyer for the Queen of England), Jancis is also the editor of Purple Pages, one of the top online resources for tasting notes and wine writing today. We are thrilled that she is joining us this year as our featured panelist.

Wines:

2014 Domaine de Montille, Nuits Saint Georges Les Saint Juliens 1er
2010 Domaine de Montille, Nuits Saint Georges Les Saint Juliens 1er

2008 Domaine de Montille, Beaune Les Perrière 1er
2008 Domaine de Montille, Beaune Les Grèves 1er

2011 Domaine de Montille, Volnay Mitans 1er (Magnum)
1999 Domaine de Montille, Volnay Mitans 1er

2005 Domaine de Montille, Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru
2009 Domaine de Montille, Corton Clos du Roi Grand Cru

St. Julien Hotel
12:00 am – 1:30 pm
$150 per person (65 tickets available)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

Étienne de Montille Dinner at Frasca Food and Wine

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Saturday, October 22
Burgundy Producer Dinner
with Etienne de Montille of Domaine de Montille
Benefits the Family Learning Center.

The cornerstone event of the festival, the Saturday-evening dinner with the festival’s guest winemaker always makes for a night to remember. This year, we will be joined by legacy winemaker and grape grower Étienne de Montille of Domaine de Montille, the son of Hubert de Montille and the current steward of this historic estate and producer of some of the greatest wines in the world. Last year’s performance will be tough to top but the Frasca Food and Wine chefs will surely deliver one of his show-stopping menus. Master of Wine Jancis Robinson will also be in attendance.

Wines:

Val de Mer Brut Nature Rosé
2013 Domaine de Montille, Meursault Perrières 1er
2001 Domaine de Montille, Puligny Montrachet Les Cailleret 1er (magnum)
2006 Domaine de Montille, Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru (magnum)
2005 Domaine de Montille, Beaune Grèves 1er
2002 Domaine de Montille, Volnay Taillepieds 1er
1999 Domaine de Montille, Pommard Rugiens 1er

Frasca Food and Wine
6:00 pm
$395 per person all-inclusive (67 seats available)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Image via Cellarette.

Paulée-Inspired Lunch 10/22

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Saturday, October 22
Paulée Inspired Lunch
With a team of the country’s top sommeliers
Featuring more than 50 wines from Burgundy.
Proceeds benefit Davis Phinney Foundation.

No event better captures the convivial spirit of the festival than the Paulée-Inspired Lunch at the Flagstaff House, where some of the world’s leading collectors of Burgundy wines from across the world gladly share their top bottles with guests. Over the years, this gathering has become one of the festival’s signature events and the wines are only rivaled by the sparkle of the wine glitterati in attendance. The team of sommeliers on the floor alone is worth the price of admission.

A sample of the red wines that will be featured at the Paulée lunch:

2006 Domaine de Courcel, Pommard Grand Clos des Epenots 1er
1991 Camille Giroud, Vosne Romanée Les Suchots 1er
1998 Domaine Philippe Charlopin-Parizot, Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
1989 Frédéric Esmonin, Griotte Chambertin Grand Cru
1995 Hospices de Nuits Nuits St. Georges Saint Georges 1er ‘Cuvée Georges Faively’
2005 Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Volnay Santenots du Milieu 1er
1991 Domaine Daniel Rion, Vosne Romanée Les Chaumes 1er
1993 Domaine Philippe Charlopin-Parizot, Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru
1995 Domaine Robert Chevillon Nuits St. Georges Les Pruliers 1er
1999 Denis Mugneret & Fils, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru
1998 Louis Jadot Gevrey Chambertin Clos St. Jacques 1er
1996 Bouchard Père et Fils, Beaune Grèves 1er
1996 Maison Alex Gambal, Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru

Flagstaff House
11:00 am – 3:00 pm
$195 per person all-inclusive (120 seats available)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

#BBF2016 Best of Burgundy Dinner 10/21

how to pour burgundy wine

Friday, October 21
Best of Burgundy Dinner
Arcana Restaurant hosts a special Burgundy dinner with a selection of rare Burgundy wines.

One of the greatest things about the Boulder Burgundy Festival is that it offers its guests multiple opportunities to taste these extraordinary wines paired with great meals, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary. In its debut at the Boulder Burgundy Festival, Arcana is hosting one of the most anticipated gastronomic events at this year’s gathering. Master Sommelier and festival founder Brett Zimmerman is selecting the wines personally with input from a world-class team of fellow Sommeliers: Richard Betts, MS, Jay Fletcher, MS, Lynn Fletcher, and Carla Rzeszewski.  The selection of wines and service is sure to be a treat.

Benefits There with Care
Arcana Restaurant
6:00 pm
$295 per person all-inclusive (60 seats available)

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE

Old and Rare Burgundy Seminar 10/21

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Friday, October 21
Old and Rare Burgundy Seminar

Hosted by Master Sommeliers Jay Fletcher, and Bobby Stuckey
with Special Guest Étienne de Montille.
Benefits the Guild of Sommeliers.

The “Old and Rare” Burgundy seminar is one of the festival’s most unique events. It features a flight of truly once-in-a-lifetime wines (unicorn wines) culled from Guild of Sommelier’s deep-reaching cellar and a panel of Master Sommeliers including Bobby Stuckey, Richard Betts, and event moderator and Master Sommelier Jay Fletcher, who serves as the Guild’s Cellar Master. As Jay told the guests at last year’s gathering, “you really can’t put a price on some of these wines. They are so hard to come by.”

St. Julien Hotel
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
$295 per person (42 seats available)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

#BBF2016: Champagne Kickoff Party, Thursday, October 20

hiedsick champagne boulder

Thursday, October 20
Champagne Kickoff Party

Featuring the luxury Champagne Brands of LVMH including: Dom Perignon, Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, Krug, and Dom Ruinart.

The Champagne Kickoff Party is a great way to meet and mingle with other guests on the festival’s opening night. Live music and a Champagne-friendly spread add the convivial nature of the event. But the best part is getting to taste these wines with leading wine professionals and learning about emerging trends in Champagne. This year’s offering will include a wide selection of grower Champagnes, vintage-dated Champagnes, and a handful of rare and hard-to-fine wines sourced especially for the occasion.

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE.

Registration NOW OPEN for Boulder Burgundy Festival 2016

Event registration is now open! Click here to register.

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Now in its sixth year, the Boulder Burgundy Festival (October 20-23) is thrilled to welcome two of the wine world’s brightest stars: Legacy winemaker and vigneron Étienne de Montille of the Domaine de Montille (Volnay) and Master of Wine and Financial Times wine columnist Jancis Robinson.

One of the things that sets the Boulder Burgundy Festival apart from the many excellent wine events that take place across the U.S. each year is the gathering’s convivial spirit. From the Paulée-Inspired Lunch at Flagstaff House to the family-style seating at the Saturday evening producer dinner at Frasca Food & Wine (the festival’s signature event, where both Étienne and Jancis will be joining us), there is perhaps no better way to get to taste and interact with some of the leading names in food and wine today.

As in years past, we will also be joined by top sommeliers, including many Master Sommeliers, who fly in from all over North American to pour at festival events. Each volunteers her or his time inspired by professional camaraderie and a shared mission to educate our guests about the extraordinary wines presented at the festival.

And you also never know whom you might bump into, whether at Sunday’s Chablis Brunch or the Champagne Kickoff Party, the festival’s inaugural event on Thursday. Winemakers from Burgundy have been known to join in — even when they are not official presenters. They come in to see old friends, colleagues, and collectors and to enjoy the wines in Colorado’s beautiful alpine setting. Rumor has it that Financial Times restaurant critic and television personality Nicholas Lander (Jancis’ better half) will also be in attendance.

As the founder and organizer of the sixth annual Boulder Burgundy Festival, I am overjoyed to welcome you to this truly unique gathering of winemakers, wine professionals, and wine luminaries. Spots fill up quickly so please be sure to register at your earliest convenience to ensure availability.

Cheers,

Brett Zimmerman, MS