Red, White & Bubbles! Champagne & More from Olivier Leflaive with Jean Soubeyrand

PacFAB's popular series of wine seminars returns Wednesday, October 23, when Jean Soubeyrand, President of Olivier Leflaive, an haute-couture wine estate and merchant in the heart of France's Burgundy winegrowing region, visits LA's Severance Wine Bar. Guests will enjoy an expert-led tasting of nine examples of Leflaive's celebrated "Grands Vins de Bourgogne" and a light dinner of savory appetizers, cheese fondue, and assorted flatbreads.

THE WINES

• Valentin-Leflaive Champagnes

  • Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs NV

  • Brut Rosé NV

• Olivier Leflaive Whites

  • Bourgogne Blanc "Les Sétilles" AC 2017

  • Puligny-Montrachet AC 2017

  • Puligny-Montrachet "Les Pucelles" (Domaine) 1er Cru 2017

  • Rully "Les Cloux" 1er Cru 2017

• Olivier Leflaive Reds

  • Bourgogne Rouge "Cuvée Margot" AC 2017

  • Volnay AC 2017

  • Pommard "Pézerolles" 1er Cru 2017

THE FOOD

• Appetizers

  • Mac & Cheese Bites, Fried Pickles & More

• Fondue

  • Cheese with Accoutrements

• Flatbreads

  • Assorted Selections

Admission is $55 for all National Food & Beverage Foundation (NatFAB), hospitality industry, Culinary Historians of Southern California, and SoCal wine and spirits club members; $65 for non-members; or $70 at the door (if available) and includes tax and gratuity. Space is strictly limited, and reservations are required. NatFAB membership is available to all at natfab.org/membership.

A portion of all proceeds supports NatFAB, home of PacFAB, The Museum of the American Cocktail, and Southern Food & Beverage Museum.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Jean Soubeyrand has served as President of Olivier Leflaive since 2008. Formerly a stock and currency trader–but always a wine lover–living abroad, Jean returned to France to be closer to family. He joined the team at Olivier Leflaive under the tutelage of his former father-in-law, Olivier himself. Their close relationship, Olivier’s 25+ years of experience in the industry, and a degree from the Lycée Viticole in Beaune made for Jean’s rapid rise to leadership of the company. To continue educating himself, Jean selects wines from around the globe and only blind pours wines when he is home. His tastes range from around France to Italy and even California.

ABOUT THE BRAND
The philosophy of Olivier Leflaive is to produce simply great wines. There are no secrets to this–everything starts in the vines with good grapes. Olivier, Franck, and their team are lucky to have strong relationships with some of the best winegrowers on the Côte, people who grow their vines with care and attention.

Although the quality of the harvest is key, vinification and aging also play a major role in bringing out the essence of each appellation. Franck Grux and Philippe Grillet make it their daily task to ensure the quality of the wines and respect for the terroir. As such, the estate’s approach is to treat each cuvée individually.

ABOUT THE VENUE
Severance is a wine and fondue bar located on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles and specializing in champagne punch, cheese and dessert fondue, and terroir-driven, esoteric wines from throughout the world.

Opened by Wine Director & Owner Evan Charest, Severance was created after Evan was laid off from his corporate job and used his severance pay to open the bar. Taking humor from his own time inside a bureaucratic minefield and his unfortunate Christmas-timed departure, Severance is an unexpectedly playful, darkly-themed approach to a classic wine bar.

The cuisine is distinctively Québécois with a selection of Montréal classics from Poutine and Tourtières to a Québec-Swiss hybrid of Cheese Fondues.