By Jamie Drummond for Wines of Jura, a “Certified Good Food Fighter”

Save the Date for the special Toronto Jura Wines Tasting : Friday April 20, 2012

After the tremendous success of last year’s event at Toronto’s Spoke Club, Save the Date for the second Annual Grand Tasting – Passion Jura in Toronto!

Last year we were overwhelmed by the response from the city’s Sommeliers and Restaurateurs to these wines, with many telling us that it had been the tasting of the year for them.

The Jura producers themselves were so happy with the positive feedback received that day that they were determined to hold a bigger and better event this year.

With this in mind we have moved venues to the spacious three floor penthouse suite of the Soho Metropolitan hotel, where we will be presenting a staggering 25 Jura producers.

For many years I have been so utterly fascinated by the various wine styles of Jura, that intriguing little region snuggled in between Burgundy and Switzerland. Perhaps this love affair is born from the fact that Jura produces such unique wines, wines whose distinctive flavour profiles and intriguing complexities tend to lie far outwith the taste spectrum of the average wine drinker.

In fact, in years past, when serving such wines by-the-glass at the Jamie Kennedy Wine bar, I was always sure to add the caveat “Warning: Not for the feint of palate!” to the wine’s listing, thus saving much returned wine. You see the wines of Jura are not something that everyone “gets”, particularly if one is unfamiliar with their “eccentricities”… but me, I am simply GREEDY for the pleasures they bring.

With this in mind, I was delighted to be approached by Wines of Jura once again with regards to assisting with the organisation of an exclusive tasting of Jura wines from 25 different Jura producers, who will be pouring white, red, crémant, vin jaune, vin de paille, and macvin.

Utilising Pinot Noir, Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau, and Chardonnay, I believe that Jura produces some of the most interesting and challenging wines in the wine world today, and this trade tasting is surely a splendid way to become acquainted with them.

It takes a very particular style of establishment/Sommelier to present and pair these wines successfully… and also a very particular style of wine agent to be able to successfully carry such wines in their portfolio.

With this in mind I am seeking out Sommeliers and Agents who would “get” these these truly eye-opening and mind-expanding wines of Jura that will be shown on Friday April the 20th

Almost all of these wines are currently unrepresented in Ontario, despite having a healthy following in Quebec… so it will be interesting to see which wines you think could work in the Ontario market.

Save the Date for the special Toronto Jura Wines Tasting : Friday April 20, 2012

The Penthouse of  The SoHo Metropolitan Hotel & Residences

318 Wellington Street West M5V 3T4

1:00 PM to 5:00 PM : Walk-around tasting

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TASTING IS FOR TRADE ONLY and is not open to the public.

There will be no admission without an official invitation.

For an official invitation please email Vincent Lafortune at  lafortune@llpx.ca giving your full trade credentials.

We look forward to seeing you there!