REGISTRATION ADVISORY: Please read through the complete program description before registering. This program includes a wine tasting kit as part of its registration price that must be picked up from a local Washington, DC wine bar.
Spend a fascinating evening expanding your knowledge of wine as you travel the world with sommelier Erik Segelbaum in a series of delectable wine-tasting adventures. The immersive program includes a curated personal tasting kit to enhance the experience.
There's a reason that the native grape varieties of the Rhône Valley are propagated throughout the world. These highly coveted grapes produce some of the most sought-after wines imaginable. Nearly every wine producing country or region grows Rhône varieties and often with tremendous results. These warm-climate hardy grapes are becoming ever more important as climate change is causing winemakers to rethink the wines they can make and the varieties they grow. This in-depth exploration of some of the most prolific Rhône varieties from countries near and far is sure to surprise and delight. There might even be a blind tasting component where you'll learn how to identify whether a wine is grown in the Rhône or from parts unknown.
Wine Tasting Kit Information
- The cost includes a curated personal tasting kit with enough wine for one person to sample the full lineup of wines.
- Additional participants must register individually to receive their own tasting kit, which is an essential component of the workshop.
- Update: Kits are available during two scheduled pick-up times the day before the program and the day of the program, 11 a.m.–5 p.m., at the Shilling Canning Company (360 Water Street SE, Washington, DC; Metro: Navy Yard-Ballpark station, Green line).
- NOTE: Patrons will receive additional wine tasting kit pick-up information by email prior to the program.
- Due to state and federal laws, Smithsonian Associates cannot ship wine kits. However, SOMLYAY may be able to provide kits to participants outside the Washington, D.C., area (who must cover shipping costs). Please contact erik@thesomlyay.com for more information.
About Erik Segelbaum
Erik Segelbaum is a Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 Tastemaker for 2020 and Food & Wine magazine’s 2019 Sommelier of the Year. He holds the designation of Advanced Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, one of fewer than 600 specialists in the world who hold this level of certification. Segelbaum is the former corporate wine and beverage director for Starr Restaurants, a wine journalist and educator, and chief vinnovation officer of SOMLYAY hospitality and private events consultancy.
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