The spring season is here in full swing and it is around this time many nice new vintages come available in the favorite wine shops. It is in the last quarter of the previous year that bottling and corking takes place in earnest and the subsequent spring coincides with increased interest in wine tasting and food pairing hours at the Smith’s School of English Wine Tasting Classes in Kotoen. It’s great fun and a very practical application for English in a travel situation, especially for older people eager to travel to Europe.
Food and wine are understandably a major draw for trips to Europe, especially France, Germany and Italy, but now most every of Europe’s 48-or-so countries has a well-developed wine industry. Countries like Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria are promoting their wines, and given the relative low production costs and favorable exchange rates, wines from these countries represent incredible value. Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Poland are getting into the Eis Wein game as well as new vintages and varieties from sunny Mediterranean areas like Spain and Cyprus.
No good wine is complete as a stand-alone apertif if you’re hungry, and food pairing is one of the easiest and most fun activities. Cheese from France and Switzerland are needed of course, but also various kinds of sausage, pate and smoked ham from Germany and Spain are great with full-bodied reds. Whatever you prefer, a reasonable, low-cost solution is available. Never has wine been so affordable as it is today!
Martin Werner Zander, Smith’s Partner
マーティン・ワーナー・ザンダー
Owner, Smith’s School Franchise Kotoen
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