When the event brief for a Champagne & Sparkling Masterclass hosted by Ned Goodwin MW (Master of Wine AKA The Sparkling Brut) landed on my desk, not gonna lie, my interests were peaked. You see friends, not only does Ned look a bit like Robert Downey Jr #swoon he has got some pretty amazing credentials under his belt as well.
He worked as a Sommelier at Veritas restaurant in Manhattan, New York City and for those that don’t know, Veritas boasts one of the best wine lists in the world. He is an educator, show judge, consultant, has his own Japanese TV wine show, is a host and wine writer too & not half bad on the eyes either. #mightberepeatingmyself
The Sparkling Brut has featured in the New York Times, WINART, The Japan Times and Elle, he has been on CNN and has written for Wine Business International and Qantas Inflight too. And if all that isn’t cool enough, he is one of only five Masters of Wine in Asia, and the first in Japan. #boom
Who would have thought I’d share this decadent drinking session with someone who really knew their bubbles huh. But there Ned & I were all cozied up in the private dining room with 18 other lucky gals.
Chef Daren’s incredible food was action packed as usual paired beautifully with every new bottle opened but once Ned hits go, he was off to a sparkling start that held us all captive right to the end. We adventured around the world via the 9 different glasses of bubbles experiencing ‘drink without think’ lower end of the market wines to the creamy complex high end wines.
We were all spellbound & listened eagerly as he shared his extensive knowledge from the double-fermentation process of Chardonnay grapes, to the importance of the AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) designation, which ensures that only sparkling white wine made in the Champagne region of northern France can be labelled as such. He even shared stories about Dom Perignon’s initial efforts to remove the bubbles from his wine. #whatthe
Ned referred to himself as a GEEK ~ GEEK ~ GEEK with a sneaky cool streak. But in my humble opinion anyone that has Astroboy holding a bottle of champagne tattooed on his arm is WAY cool. #thesparklingbrut
I’d love to know, have you ever done a champagne or wine masterclass? And have you ever met someone that looks very similar to a famous person? If yes, who?