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“Wine University at Bussaco”

A series of wine education classes taught by Master Sommelier Scott Carney is getting started beginning on Wednesday 6th at Bussaco, Carney’s Park Slope restaurant and wine bar. You’ll be taken from fizzy bubbles through Burgundy and Germany and at the close of each class ($50 each), you’ll be given short Final Exam with the highest score will take home the summa cum laude “Bottle of Recognition,” a token of Bussaco University’s appreciation for scholastic excellence. Bussaco University is open to anyone over 21 years of age. Each class is limited to 16 students. To sign up, call at (718) 857-8828, ext. 1 (reservations) to enroll. 

Fizz Ed 101
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
7:00 pm-8:30 pm, $50
University academics say that it is always wise to keep a bottle of bubbly in the fridge; it’s the opposite of an accident waiting to happen. In this course, Master Sommelier ‘Coach’ Carney runs you through the calisthenics of the double fermentation; runs a gauntlet of terminology; asks “What is and is not champagne?”; and leads a series of elbow-raising, glass-swirling repetitions as you exercise your palate on the playing field of effervescence.

History 101
The Birth of Terroir: A History of Burgundy
Wednesday, May 20,2009     
7:00 pm-8:30 pm, $50
Master Sommelier Scott Carney tells the story of the good work of the Cistercian and Benedictine monks and the events that led to the wine across the road not being as good as the one you’re drinking. Acquaint yourself with bodacious Chardonnay and his fickle friend, Pinot Noir. Essay question on Napoleon’s famous quote: “Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin.”

German Philosophy 101
A Critique of Pure Riesling (Thx RG)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
7:00 pm-8:30 pm, $50
Master Sommelier Scott Carney wrestles with the meaning of Riesling and takes you to all corners of the Earth to explain it. Starting with the famous 17th century hocks of the Rheingau, venturing through the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and into Alsace, Austria and Australia too, we come to grips with the oft-used Riesling aphorism: “How many angels can stand on a pinhead?”

Bussaco is located at 833 Union Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues, (718) 857-8828.

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