For three days this fall—October 18-20—Boulder will be the place to be for wine lovers from around the world as winemakers, wine professionals, collectors and enthusiasts will all converge in town for the annual Boulder Burgundy Festival.
Entering its 14th year, the festival is put on by Brett Zimmerman, the founder of the festival, Master Sommelier, and owner of Boulder Wine Merchant. For him, it’s a chance to share special wine with ever-wider audiences.
“Burgundy is just a different animal than some of the wine regions around the world,” explains Brett. “So, it’s about creating more awareness, creating more education, and even getting a little more mileage out of certain bottles. If 50 people can taste a bottle that we only get six of, for me, that's a win.”
Attendees will get the chance to taste these rare and up-and-coming wines all throughout the weekend. This year, events include a marquee winemaker dinner at Frasca, a lunch at Corrida and a seminar and grand tasting on the last day, where participants will have the opportunity to taste more than 200 wines from Burgundy.
“The ultimate goal is education and excitement for the region,” explains Brett. “Burgundy is very much a region that relies on discovery to find the next thing. It only takes a little bit of time for a wine to go from being kind of unknown to not accessible by anybody, from a price or quantity perspective. So we are always looking for who's the next husband, wife, sister, brother, making some of those wines and jumping onto that bandwagon to ride it as long as we can until those wines are also not accessible.”
In addition to introducing a wider group of wine lovers to Burgundy and fostering community within the wine community near and far, the Boulder Burgundy Festival is a non-profit organization that raises money for community causes and wine education. Brett explains the various causes tend to revolve around “local education, kids and illness.” In years past, the causes supported by the event have included There with Care, Impact on Education, The Growe Foundation and Sophie’s Neighborhood, among others.
“It’s inspiring when you are able to generate resources for local charities,” emphasizes Brett. “It’s enough to make a meaningful contribution that can really impact people. I think that's a big reason behind the event, and that sets it apart from some of the other for-profit events around the country.”
Tickets are sold a la cart to each event, and often sell out fast, so watch BoulderBurgundyFestival.com and @BoulderBurgundy on Instagram for announcements about ticket sales, or join Boulder Wine Merchant’s mailing list at BoulderWine.com.