Corkbuzz Online | Blind Tasting with Laura M Fiorvanti & Alex LaPratt, Master Sommeliers

May 2 2020 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Join Master Sommeliers Laura Fiorvanti & Alex LaPratt for a fun, interactive blind tasting. Required: you and a bottle of wine from your cellar. How it works: this is a reverse blind tasting. Each guest will choose a bottle for the discussion (and to drink!), cover your bottle, and don't let the class know what it is. Volunteer guest will go through the grid with their own wine, covering sight, nose, and palate, and Laura and other members of the class will "deduce" the conclusion from your description. Class log-in will be sent by 12 noon on the morning of the class. Follow-up notes are sent the following day.

About Alex LaPratt: 

Alexander has opened and owns two well-known and successful restaurants with his partner Leslie Affre. The first in 2013 Atrium DUMBO is Michelin recommended and is focused on market ingredients in DUMBO Brooklyn. The second, Beasts & Bottles Rotisserie & Grill, just celebrated its four year anniversary in Brooklyn Heights and is based around local farms and the rotisserie hearth in the half-open kitchen. His restaurant group is an example of wine excellence in Brooklyn and are currently the only restaurant in Brooklyn to obtain the Best Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator in 2017, 2018 & 2019. The partnership is also working on a larger Miami restaurant project in the Design District. Alexander strongly believes in passing on his broad knowledge of the industry gained through his many roles and is an adjunct professor for the prestigious International Culinary Center in New York City for their sommelier program in addition to his many consulting roles across the country. 

n 2010, Alexander took first place in the New York Ruinart Chardonnay Challenge, a blind tasting event bringing together many of the city’s top sommeliers. In April 2011 he earned the title of “Best Sommelier in America” at the American Sommelier Association competition and just one month later went on to finish 2nd overall in the Chaine des Rôtisseurs Best Young Sommelier National Finals. At the 2nd Annual, StarChefs Somm Slam LaPratt emerged victorious after enduring a three-day, real-time pairing competition against ten of the Nation's most renowned sommeliers. In addition, Wine & Spirits Magazine named Alexander “Best New Sommelier 2011” in their October issue and he represented the United States of America in the Best Sommelier of the World Competition in Tokyo Japan March 2013. Alexander then went on to become the 217th person to ever pass the coveted Master Sommelier exam in 2014. However, his love for the industry, dedication to hospitality, and the quest for knowledge clearly trump the status of the many accolades and competitions this sommelier has under his belt.