Congratulations to Steve Leslie for having passed the Champagne Master-Level Exam with honors!
About Steve Leslie:
''I am an enthusiastic amateur of champagne living in Perth Australia, having been awarded the Champagne Award in 1983 (an Australian award which recognizes wine amateurs and professionals for their knowledge and experience of champagne, resulting in an intensive two weeks study tour of Champagne). I visit Champagne every year, and lately have been guiding Australians for a week of enjoyment and discovery of the people, places, and wine and food of Champagne. Australia is now the sixth biggest export market for champagne, with Australians drinking over six million bottles last year.
Champagne has so many fascinating places, wonderfully charming and hospitable people, elegant and casual restaurants, and of course lovely wines, that it is possible to spend weeks exploring the intricacies of the region and champagne tastes.
I am fascinated by the characters and terroir of champagne, and have explored and tasted in all 17 Grand Cru villages of Champagne, and with many houses and growers, to better understand the aromas and flavors of each village, and how they contribute to both the multi-village assemblages of the Champagne houses, and the growers who display the terroir of their village in their wines.
In Perth I join other Champagne aficionados to run monthly events, where we taste a range of new and interesting champagnes, as well as annual Masterclasses of the intricacies and pleasure of champagne.
And of course we take every opportunity to enjoy champagne with friends and family, together with a few glasses of my other wine love, Burgundy.
The Master-Level Champagne program was a well-structured program with eminent speakers, which comprehensively encompassed the history, geography, technology and wines of Champagne. It helped me to gain a much more detailed understanding of many of the intricacies of Champagne, and particularly to better relate the terroir of Champagne to the wide variety of champagnes available. The structure of champagne production is fascinating, and the ongoing initiatives for the environment, and particularly the land and people who produce champagne, were eloquently conveyed within the course. It will greatly help me communicate champagne to other wine lovers, and at the same time make my own enjoyment of drinking champagne even more satisfying.''
