MASTERCLASS: Drinking French, The Story of San Francisco Slow Food {WEST HARTFORD}

An evening of classic French wines, food, history, and the Bay Area philosophy that helped change the way America drinks and eats.

'I have always loved French wine, but, I confess that it was not until I was first dating my wife Allie, a San Francisco Bay native, that I came to learn why and how to drink these wines as the American I am... only then could I string together ideas and passions for handmade food, simple delicious flavors, and our now devotion to eating and drinking well inspired by the American Slow Food Movement pioneers of wine merchant Kermit Lynch, chef-owner of Chez Panisse Alice Waters, and their small but mighty group of friends.' - Jacob

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Join us around the Farmtable at our West Hartford wine shop for an evening devoted to the wines of France through the lens of one of America’s most influential and distinctive wine importers: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant.

Long before “natural wine” became a category, Kermit Lynch was championing something much more enduring: traditional farming, conscientious winemaking, old vineyards, native places, and wines made with a sense of history. Founded in Berkeley in 1972, Lynch’s portfolio helped introduce generations of American wine drinkers to small, family-run domaines whose wines spoke more clearly of their origins than of fashion.

For this masterclass, we’ll pour a thoughtful lineup of French wines from the Kermit Lynch portfolio, moving through classic regions and appellations while exploring the growers, places, and traditions behind each bottle.

The story also runs through the Bay Area. Lynch’s approach to wine developed alongside a broader Northern California food culture that placed a premium on seasonality, locality, craftsmanship, and pleasure. The same spirit that animated the early Slow Food movement and the cooking of Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, a longtime personal friend of Kermit, himself. With a deep respect for ingredients, producers, place, and traditional ways of doing things, we find a natural parallel in the wines Lynch chose to share with America.

This is a tasting about terroir, tradition, and the people who preserve them: wines that reward attention without demanding fuss, and a philosophy of food and wine that remains remarkably relevant today.

Along the way, we’ll discuss the growers themselves, the evolution of French wine in America, and why Kermit Lynch’s remarkably curated portfolio continues to serve as a kind of roadmap for understanding traditional French wine.

Come thirsty, curious, and hungry for a little wine history.

THE POUR LIST WILL BE A DELICIOUS SURPRISE.  21+ ID IS REQUIRED!