Highlights from the 2021 festival.
Heartfelt thanks to everyone who made it such a special event! It was wonderful to be back in person! Thank you also to our title sponsor @Coravin #explorebythepour
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Sunday, November 15
At Home with Frasca Food and Wine
Reservations can be made online HERE. View menu by clicking HERE.
Frasca Food and Wine exclusive “At Home with Frasca Food and Wine” ~ A Burgundy-inspired menu with wine pairing.
Scheduled Pickup will be available in Boulder (at Frasca) on Sunday, November 15 from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. and Denver (at Tavernetta) from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Ordering Deadline: Friday, November 13 at 5:30 p.m. MST. Only 100 meals available.
Dinner for 2: $200.00 + tax & optional gratuity (includes a $25 donation to our charity partners).
Includes full menu & bottle of 2018 Didier Fornerol Côte de Nuits-Villages. This menu contains dairy and gluten. Please email reservations@frascafoodandwine.com or call (303) 442-6966 for more info.
Here’s the write-up from Frasca, including notes on the menu, the featured winemaker, and the wines.
Every fall, we have the great fortune of being a part of Boulder’s best wine event — the Boulder Burgundy Festival. Celebrating 10 years this year, the Boulder Burgundy Festival is pivoting (as we all are) to an entirely virtual format. We are honored to be a part of the festivities with a truly decadent At Home With.
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Boulder Burgundy Festival welcomes new partner LIV Sotheby’s International Realty Boulder.
The Boulder Burgundy Festival is pleased to welcome its new partner, LIV Sotheby’s International Realty Boulder.
We recently reached out to its vice president and managing broker Christina Davies (above) and asked her about her firm’s new partnership with the festival.
“I’ve been in real estate in the Boulder area for 15 years,” said Christina, “and so I already knew about the festival and I had heard really rave reviews from everyone who’s been involved with it. And I knew that it would be a really fun thing for our firm to do because I thought our brand and this festival would complement each other well. I thought it would be a nice way to get in touch with our community.”
LIV Sotheby’s International Realty is a collaborative partnership, backed by a world-class brand, passionate about helping people grow.
Learn more here.
Interview with Greg Lambrecht, inventor of the Coravin (the festival’s 2020 title sponsor)
Above: Greg Lambrecht, inventor of the Coravin, the 2020 festival’s title sponsor (image courtesy Coravin).
After it was first released to the public in 2013, the Coravin “wine preservation system” radically reshaped fine wine appreciation in the US.
The concept of the Coravin wine preservation system is as simple as it is brilliant: The device’s needle is inserted into the cork of a bottle, allowing users to “access” the wine without exposing it to oxygen (wine’s enemy). As a result, the wine can be enjoyed over the course of days, weeks, months, and even years without losing its vibrancy.
When you uncork a bottle of wine, the wine begins to aerate, causing the wine to evolve. That’s part of the beauty and magic of enjoying wine.
But if a bottle of wine is left open too long, the wine can begin to spoil. In some cases, an opened bottle can go bad after even just 24 hours of exposure to oxygen.
The advent of the Coravin wine preservation system changed all that. For the first time ever, wine shops can offer customers tastes of multiple wines without sacrificing the entire contents of the bottle. Restaurants can offer guests glasses of high-end and rare wines, instead of selling them the whole bottle.
For this year’s virtual version of the Boulder Burgundy Festival, event founder Brett Zimmerman has partnered with Coravin as the gathering’s first-ever title sponsor.
Because festival attendees will be tasting the wines at home (as opposed to a social setting where each guest would be served a single glass of each different type of wine), the Coravin wine preservation system makes it possible for attendees to enjoy the wines without compromising the entire contents of each bottle.
We recently spoke to Coravin inventor Greg Lambrecht to ask him about the new partnership and how the Coravin has changed wine appreciate in ways that no one could have expected. Lambrecht will be one of the featured speakers at the Domaine Comtes Lafon tasting and seminar with Dominque Lafon on Friday, November 6.
What led you to partner with Brett Zimmerman and the Boulder Burgundy Festival as the gathering’s first-ever title sponsor?
First of all, I love Burgundy. And I really like Brett. I met him a few years ago at a big wine event out in San Francisco and liked him from then on out.
I want to promote what he’s doing because number one, I love the wines he sells and I love his knowledge and his passion.
He’s doing one of the regions that produces some of the most incredible and exciting wines that everybody treasures, struggles to understand, and struggles to copy. They’re really just so unique and so incredible. And it’s a great group of people that produce Burgundy wine. So I’ve got a tremendous passion for Burgundy.
I love how Brett thinks, I love his depth of knowledge, and I love how he tries to take what he loves and channel that into festivals and get people excited about what he loves.
What are some of the unexpected applications for Coravin that have surprised you?
The creativity of our consumers — whether they’re at home, at restaurants, in wine stores, in the wine trade, or in the wineries themselves.
People use Coravin to sample bottles to see if they’re ready to drink. People sample a bottle before they take it out to an event or a party or over to friends’ houses to make sure that it’s not corked and that the wine is drinking well.
Château Margaux (one of Bordeaux’s most celebrated “first growth” estates) was the first winery to start sampling wines before they sent them to events. They used to send a couple of bottles in case one was corked.
But I found out that a lot of wineries do this now. They’ll sample bottles to make sure they’re drinking well.
Château Margaux [also] uses it now for re-corking. Every 20 years or so they would need to re-cork the wines that they have in their library.
They used to pull the corks on a dozen wines or two dozen wines and then go through them to see which ones had gone bad. [Then they] grab the one that is drinking best and fill up the ullage [the amount of wine by which a bottle falls short of being full] in the others with the one that they think is drinking best.
The bottles used to be open for a half hour or 45 minutes. Now they use Coravin to sample all the bottles and find the ones that are not okay. And they’re just opening, refilling, and closing. So the bottles open for just a second or two — super cool use.
What was your Eureka Moment in creating the Coravin?
When I built the first prototype Coravin, it was called the “wine mosquito” because my three-year-old son named it.
[At home], we rarely drank wine. But I loved it. And I never had the “purpose” to open a bottle. I would never drink a bottle entirely on my own.
But I realized that what excites me is the variety of wine. It’s infinitely variable — there are 140,000 different bottlings every year, and each bottle changes as time goes on. So I wanted to learn fast.
[After years of developing the prototype], I finally managed to pour my first half glass of wine from a bottle. That same evening, I drank from five different bottles. Immediately. And it was a Tuesday! I tasted five different wines that I was saving to open up when somebody special came over, which is something that never happens [laughs].
I had all these wines that were too good to drink. I was never going to drink them. And in one evening, I tasted five of them. I was able to drink these wines that I would have otherwise not have touched.
In three days, to taste 15 different wines as a home consumer, I was like, “I’m never going back. This is how I’m going to drink wine.”
It’s the variety that makes Coravin — the opening of the potential variety — that makes Coravin what it is. Now I have a by-the-glass program in my house.
At this year’s festival, you’ll be speaking at the virtual tasting and seminar with Burgundy producer Dominique Lafon. Can you give us a preview of the event?
I am fanboy of white Burgundy producers. And his white Burgundies are just otherworldly.
I want to hear from him what, over the course of his career, what he has learned and the reasons why his wine is so unique and distinct from other wines that are grown nearby. To find out what portion of the beauty of his wine is him. And what portion of it is the land and the sunlight and the microclimate: How (and how drastically) do his decisions influence the incredible nature of his wines?
It’s a sort of nature vs. nurture thing. In the end, I’m a fan.
Festival founder Brett Zimmerman MS on this year’s virtual event, exclusive allocations, Coravin, and more…
As Brett explains in the video above, this year’s festival will be entirely virtual: He and his team, together with the festival’s title sponsor, Coravin, have been working to ensure that the online events will be as enjoyable and compelling as always.
Please see all events below, including links to reserve and select your wines.
Brett and Boulder Wine Merchant were able to obtain exclusive allocations of the wines this year. This means that festival attendees will be the first in the state to have the opportunity to purchase them.
The Boulder Wine Merchant is also offering a special promotion on Coravin systems:
Any combined Burgundy wine purchase over $2,000 will receive a Model 3 Coravin FREE! ($200 Value)
Any combined Burgundy wine purchase over $4,000 will receive a Model 6 Coravin FREE! ($400 Value)
Any combined Burgundy wine purchase over $5,000 will receive a Model 11 Coravin FREE! ($500 Value)
For those not familiar with the Coravin wine preservation system, they allow you to pour the wine from the bottle without removing the cork.
Additionally, anyone registered for an event can also purchase a discounted Coravin system directly on the Coravin website. Use this code for a 10 percent discount: CCR06R0OLZ
Coravin founder and inventor Greg Lambrecht will be joining us this year for a special seminar featuring Domaine des Comtes Lafon (see below).
PLEASE NOTE: Attendees are not required to purchase wines in order attend events. And all events (except the Frasca at Home dinner) are FREE to anyone who would like to participate. Attendees have the option of making a donation to our charity partners. All donations will go directly to our partners.
Please check out the video above for Brett’s notes. And we look forward to “seeing” you at this year’s festival!
Boulder Burgundy Festival
Celebrating 10 years.
Friday, November 6
Winemaker Seminar: Domaine des Comtes Lafon
with Dominique Lafon
10:00 a.m. MST
Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 844 0391 9822
Passcode: 905915
To register, please choose one of the following donations to our charity partners:
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE WINES
(15% discount on mixed 12-bottle cases)
Coravin founder and inventor Greg Lambrecht will join importer Daniel Johnnes and Dominique Lafon to discuss the superb Burgundy wines of Domaine des Comtes Lafon and Domaine Dominique Lafon.
Friday, November 13
Nuits-Saint-Georges Seminar featuring the wines of Domaine Robert Chevillon
with Master Sommelier Brett Zimmerman and Lyle Railsback of Kermit Lynch
1:00 p.m. MST
Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 811 4922 4167
Passcode: 833198
To register, please choose one of the following donations to our charity partners:
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE WINES
(15% discount on mixed 12-bottle cases)
Master Sommelier Brett Zimmerman and Lyle Railsback of Kermit Lynch will walk guests through the storied Nuits-Saint-Georges appellation featuring the wines of Domaine Robert Chevillon.
Saturday, November 14
Winemaker Seminar: The Village of Vosne Romanée with Bertrand Leulliette featuring Domaine Anne Gros
1:00 p.m. MST
Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Meeting ID: 853 9174 3853
Passcode: 698376
To register, please choose one of the following donations to our charity partners:
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE WINES
(15% discount on mixed 12-bottle cases)
Master Sommelier Brett Zimmerman, Coravin founder and inventor Greg Lambrecht, and importer Bertrand Leulliette will host this special virtual seminar featuring some of the most celebrated wines of the Vosne Romanée.
Sunday, November 15
At Home with Frasca Food and Wine
Reservations can be made online HERE. View menu by clicking HERE.
Frasca Food and Wine exclusive “At Home with Frasca Food and Wine” ~ A Burgundy-inspired menu with wine pairing.
Scheduled Pickup will be available in Boulder (at Frasca) on Sunday, November 15 from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. and Denver (at Tavernetta) from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Ordering Deadline: Friday, November 13 at 5:30 p.m. MST. Only 100 meals available.
Dinner for 2: $200.00 + tax & optional gratuity (includes a $25 donation to our charity partners).
Includes full menu & bottle of 2018 Didier Fornerol Côte de Nuits-Villages. This menu contains dairy and gluten. Please email reservations@frascafoodandwine.com or call (303) 442-6966 for more info.
We recommend placing your orders before the event to enjoy the wines while engaging in the conversation.
Special pricing on Coravin wine preservation systems available!
Special thanks to our sponsors:
Welcome new partner Impact on Education
The Boulder Burgundy Festival welcomes new partner Impact on Education.
From the Impact on Education website:
OUR MISSION: Leverage community resources to increase student achievement, create opportunities, and build support for public education.
Founded in 1983, Impact on Education is the foundation supporting all Boulder Valley public schools. Our wide-ranging projects and programs drive innovation and foster excellence throughout BVSD, and impact over 31,000 local students and 4,000 educators each school year. Our program and support focus is on improving equity, including addressing economic and learning barriers that curtail success, promoting innovation in education, and fostering excellence in instruction.
We exist for every student and every educator in the Boulder Valley School District. We are constantly evolving to meet the needs of our education community. We not only support and empower our district’s most at-risk students, but we raise the playing field for all students through innovative uses of technology and instructional tools that enable all of our students to become successful 21st century learners.
Image via the Impact on Education Facebook.
Welcome sponsor, Boulder Lifestyle Magazine!
The organizers of the Boulder Burgundy Festival welcome sponsor Boulder Lifestyle Magazine!
From the Boulder Lifestyle Magazine website:
Started in 2013, this monthly publication was created exclusively for and about the residents of Boulder, CO.
We would like to take this opportunity to introduce our vision for the magazine. Our mission is simple, we hope to play a small role in helping the community flourish, by producing a private magazine filled with news and special events that take place each and every month. On many levels we operate a little differently than your typical magazine. One of the most exciting facets of our publication is that it truly belongs to the community. Not only is Boulder Lifestyle exclusively for and about the residents, it is the true pulse of what’s happening and important to you.
Every month we will be highlighting different articles such as family spotlight, home of the month and a business spotlight. We will also inform you of the latest hot spots in the Boulder area. Special featured spotlights will include the history of Boulder, students of the month, hometown heroes, and how the community of Boulder “pays it forward”.
Welcome back, sponsor Audi Flatirons!
The organizers of the Boulder Burgundy Festival are thrilled to welcome back sponsor Audi Flatirons!
From the Audi Flatirons website:
Audi Flatirons is Colorado’s premier Audi dealership. We invite you to experience our brand new showroom in Broomfield, along with the latest from Audi. Our ultimate goal goes beyond just selling and servicing Audis. We are committed to building lasting relationships with our clients. We believe in the idea of delivering a truly exceptional customer service experience, from the first mile to the last.
For the third consecutive year, Audi Flatirons has been named to the exclusive Audi Magna Society. This distinction is awarded to a limited number of Audi dealers that achieve exceptional performance. To earn Magna Society recognition, dealers must demonstrate an exceptional level of customer service as well as strong business performance.
Image via the Audi Flatirons Facebook.
Welcome back, sponsor Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP!
Above, from left: George Berg (Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti managing and founding partner), Kathleen Alt (partner), Patrick Perrin (partner), and Brett Zimmerman (Boulder Wine Merchant).
The Boulder Burgundy Festival is thrilled to welcome back sponsor Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP, one of our most cherished partners and friends.
From the Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti website.
Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti LLP is a full service law firm offering a wide range of legal services to both corporate clients and individuals alike. Since our founding in 2001 with 5 attorneys, we have grown to 40 attorneys specializing in a variety of different practice areas. The attorneys at BHGR offer a depth of experience and expertise in the law related to business, construction, criminal defense, the environment and water, litigation, public entities, real estate, trusts and estates. In addition to our main Boulder office, we also have an office in Denver to better reach and serve our clients along the Front Range and across the country.
Although we may have grown in size, we continue to provide the same personalized attention that we always have in a relaxed atmosphere. We pride ourselves on having legal knowledge and experience that matches our more expensive Denver-based and national competitors, but unlike these larger firms we treat our clients like the neighbors, business professionals, and friends that they are. We also know that one size doesn’t fit all. So, we offer advice tailored to meet to our clients’ individualized legal needs and goals. We place a premium on building long standing client relationships and on achieving our clients’ goals in a timely and cost effective manner.
Image via the Berg Hill Greenleaf Ruscitti Facebook.
Welcome back, sponsor Jennifer Egbert Real Estate!
The organizers of the Boulder Burgundy Festival are thrilled to welcome back sponsor Jennifer Egbert and Jennifer Egbert Real Estate, one of the Boulder area’s premier realtors.
From the Jennifer Egbert Real Estate website:
Jennifer Egbert is an award-winning, top-producing Boulder Realtor with over eleven years of experience. Her commitment to her clients, enthusiasm and determination, drive her to be at the forefront of the real estate industry. Jennifer is a licensed residential agent that specializes in the Boulder, Colorado market. She is the leading expert in Boulder Luxury neighborhoods, the best builders, and most current market conditions. Her advantage is not only her expertise and unparalleled marketing but also her ability to guide her clients through the transaction with the least amount of stress and anxiety as possible.
Welcome back, Jennifer and team! We are looking forward to tasting with you!