Champagne School at Flûte Gramercy

Join Flûte's experts every month to learn about champagne and sparkling wine by tasting a selection of wines side-by-side. All of the tastings are conducted classroom style, with detailed information presented on each wine, food pairings and time for questions. We keep the class sizes small to give participants the best possible experience, so reserve early. Also be sure to look at the whole year's calendar of classes as we change the theme, and the champagnes to be tasted, every month. No previous wine tasting experience necessary!
***Tickets may not be refunded for cancellations less than 48 hours prior to the event.***

Grower Champagnes and Spices
MAR 12, 6-7PM, $45 per person
Long dominated by big name brand wineries, the Champagne market has recently seen a resurgence of interest in small, independent houses. These houses are often family run, small production, and self-sufficient for their grape supply. If you are ready to venture outside the wine list "comfort zone," then join us for this tasting of three elegant, exciting wines by grower-producers. Not only will you get bonus points among your wine afficionado friends, but you will discover some great champagne values and help support hands-on artisinal winemaking. We will continue the adventure by pairing each champagne with a food featuring a particular spice.

Sparkling Wines of the World and Spring Rolls
APR 16, 6-7PM, $35 per person
Join us for a spring fling and celebrate Earth Day by tasting sparkling wines of the world! In this tasting, we stray from French champagne to taste sparkling wines made in other places. Almost every country that makes wine makes a sparkling wine these days, and the strict rules governing champagne production do not apply, so the results, while often elegant, are unexpected and eclectic. Our signature Vietnamese Fusion Spring Rolls are the perfect pairing for this global romp. Taking a spring break from our usual format, this tasting will be social, with passed hors d'oeuvres and the opportunity to mingle, so bring some friends!

Vintage Champagnes and Sushi
MAY 14, 6-7PM, $65 per person
A vintage wine is one made of grapes from a single year's harvest so each bottle of vintage champagne is a time machine taking you back to the year its grapes were grown. Taste three examples and learn more about what sets a vintage champagne apart from a non-vintage champagne. This tasting that will cover both the difference in how a vintage champagne is made and in how it tastes. The refined character of many vintage champagnes make them an ideal match for the delicate flavors of sushi, our food pairing choice for this class.

Rosé Champagnes and Smoked Salmon
JUN 11, 6-7PM, $65 per person
Rosés are an increasingly popular style of champagne, and an important niche to explore if you are a fan of bubbly. Not to be confused with the sticky-sweet still rosés of the 1970's or even the light summer wines of the south of France, rosé champagne is sophisticated and carefully crafted. At its best it combines the yeasty complexity of French champagne with a supple fruitiness coming from an emphasis on red wine grapes in the blend. Each champagne house has its own approach to this delightful wine style, and we will be tasting three side-by-side in this very popular Champagne School class. To add to the fun, we will also be tasting three types of smoked salmon from Petrossian Paris. The smoky richness of the salmon provides a delicious counterpoint to the champagne.

Biodynamic Champagnes and Fresh Fruit
JUL 16, 6-7PM, $55 per person
Grape growing is an ancient form of agriculture, and growers around the world are sensitive to the need to maintain a balance with nature. However, growers in the Champagne region are actually forbidden by French regulations from taking the shortcuts used by growers and wine makers in other parts of the world. Still, some have gone even further to produce champagnes made from grapes grown organically and/or biodynamically, bringing what you taste in the flute even closer to what mother nature intended. This fresh approach to wine making inspired us to pair each of the the three wines will will taste with a fresh fruit.

Blanc de Blancs Champagnes and Parmesan
SEP 10, 6-7PM, $55 per person
"Blanc de blancs" means "white from whites" and is the name for champagnes made only of Chardonnay, one of the three grapes allowed in champagne production. Chardonnay plays a starring role in some of the most sophisticated and luxurious champagnes produced, so it is an important grape to know as you expand your knowledge of champagne. This tasting is a must for fans of Chardonnay wines who want to learn more about what this versatile grape can do. It's also ideal for those of you who think "dry, buttery, mineral-tinged with notes of brioche" is the description of a champagne you could love. For this tasting, we have paired each wine with a Parmesan cheese, which we find to be an ideal match for Blanc de Blancs champagnes.

Extra Brut (dry) Champagnes and Oysters
OCT 15, 6-7PM, $75 per person
Celebrate the crisp, cool days of autumn with crisp, cool Extra Brut champagnes. With little or no sugar added during the wine making process, these champagnes allow the character of the grapes to show through. This wine style was unheard of in the early days of champagne making when sugar was considered necessary to balance the wine. Now, modern grape growing and wine making techniques give champagne makers the ability to strip their product down to its pure, bare essence. A bit austere, yes, but the perfect match for the clean, oceanic taste of fresh oysters. Whether champagne and oysters fulfill their reputation as aphrodisiacs will be for you to judge.

Gourmet Champagnes and Foie Gras
NOV 12, 6-7PM, $85 per person
There is an unofficial class of champagnes that are a little bit more refined than your typical Non-Vintage, maybe because of a stricter selection of grapes or a bit more aging. We call these "gourmet champagnes" because their added complexity makes them ideal wines for dining. That's right - champagnes that can be enjoyed throughout a meal! We will pair the champagnes with foie gras prepared three ways to highlight how they stand up to and enhance full-flavored cuisine.

Prestige Cuvee Champagnes and Petrossian Caviars
DEC 17, 6-7PM, $99 per person
A 'Prestige Cuvée' is a champagne at the very top of a producer's range. It is the highest quality, the most refined - and the most expensive - champagne that the house offers. What makes these champagnes so special? Since there are no official guidelines for designating a Prestige Cuvée as there are for other categories of French champagne, this question can only be answered by understanding a champagne house's wine making philosophy and tasting the end result of the wine maker's best effort. This tasting will feature Louis Roederer Cristal and Krug Grande Cuvée. The decadence does not end there, as we will pair these defining Prestige Cuvée champagnes with caviars from Petrossian Paris.