French Frolics At Grand Old Ho...

French frolics at Grand Old House

Interest in wine has escalated dramatically in recent years in Cayman, reflecting a worldwide trend. The Sunrise Rotary club recently developed its own wine club, and their monthly meetings to enjoy and learn more about great wines have grown in popularity over the months, with the club's biggest turnout at the recent French Floric event at Grand Old House.

Each wine evening is hosted by a different wine importer amd for this particular event Iain McKenzie, from Vino Veritas, led the tour of the French vineyards, with a tasting of four French wines from his company's portfolio.

Iain described the importance of this particular wine producing country on the wine industry as a whole, "In the wine world France is the home of wine. Although the second largest wine producing country in the world (Italy is the first), the quality of wine that France produces as a whole second to none."

He continued, "There are a great deal of countries which try and copy what the French have always produced, but France still remains number one."

To accompany the wine selection Grand Old House produced a menu straight out of the region: lobster bisque, coq au vin, with lashings of French dipping bread and a dessert that comprised a selection of petit fours - a selection of white and milk chocolate truffles and juicy strawberries dipped in milk and white chocolate.

Geoff Mathews, from Rotary Sunrise and chief organiser of the eve says, "To celebrate the evening, many of the male members sported moustaches, skilfully applied by Maree Martin who is an attorney when she is not painting moustaches. Almost 100 Sunrise Rotarians, their partners and guests enjoyed a great evening of fun, fine food and fine wine."

The Wines

Guests were greeted by a glass of chilled Champagne 'Tradition' Brut Michel Fallet NV. Iain explained that this Champagne is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes in small quantities from Michel Fallet's winery based in Drachy, Charly-sure-Marne. Iain also confirmed that Cayman was the first market to which this producer has ever exported overseas. He said that this was an unusual event in itself, as producers of this size would normally first export to the biggest consumer of champagne in the world - the UK.

Iain describes the wine, "This is an unpretentious champagne. It's bright with fruity notes and a refreshing youthful palate and makes for extremely easy drinking."

Served with the lobster bisque was a Domaine de Mont-Auriol 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. Iain states, "This winery is new and up and coming and therefore is producing some great value-for-money wines right now."

Hailing from South-Western France, between Cap d'Agde and Beziers, the vineyards are situated in the curiously named 'Côtes de Thongue' region and face south towards the Mediterranean. A combination of the coastal proximity and the stony clay and limestone soils create a unique microclimate which keeps cool during summer and warm during winter.

Iain says, "This results in an incredibly zingy, crisp wine with the ubiquitous grassy Sauvignon Blanc notes and lots of citrus flavour." A Syrah Domaine Pierre Finon 2004 was served with the coq au vin (the chicken was served up by the Grand Old House chefs in traditional French fashion directly from huge pots at the side of the table). Iain explained that this particular winery was a real success story, having developed from a rustic farmhouse not long ago into a top quality Rhône producer. He explained that this wine came from the heart of the French Syrah-producing region and the result is a medium to full bodied wine that is "everything you would expect from the region."

Iain advised to look out for a wine that was "not overly big or chewy" but which displayed smoky aromas of dried fruit and white pepper, leading to a multi-layered palate of berry, earth and spice.

The evening was rounded off with a glass of Château Roumieu Sauterne 1999 dessert wine. The appellation of Sauternes is located south east of Bordeaux and is synonymous with the world's greatest dessert wines. Names from the region such as Château d'Yquem and Château Climens are famous for being some of the most expensive wines ever produced. Château Roumieu is owned by the Jean-Louis Trocard family who started making wine in 1620.

Iain describes the Sauternes, "This wine shows wonderful aromas as well as flavours of honey,candied fruit, vanilla and toasted oak. This wine has great aging potential."

Rotary Sunrise

Rotary Sunrise is the newest Rotary club in Grand Cayman. With 74 members, who are mostly young professionals, many are from Cayman as well as 15 other countries. They meet at Grand Old House for breakfast every Wednesday morning. Rotary Sunrise has recently donated $50,000 to the Cayman Islands Cancer Society to provide the hospital with cancer diagnostic equipment. Another project that has recently got underway is the giving of books to every new baby born in the three Cayman Islands a baby box containing a book and a toy to encourage parents to read to their children and help literacy. All the members help with fundraising and have fun helping others. Find out more information by contacting Rotarian Geoff Mathews 9469460 or cell 925 9200.

Rotary Sunrise senior members:

PRESIDENT Hendrick van Genderen

PRESIDENT ELECT Rosie Jamieson

VICE PRESIDENT Woody Foster

SECRETARY Andrea Bryan

TREASURER Paul Drake