Tuesday, October 21, 2014


My First Perfectly Paired Class

A little context-- I am the marketing intern at Quantum Leap and I am pretty new to wine.  I recently went to my first Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Perfectly Paired class and this blog post outlines my experience.

There aren’t many subjects as vast as wine-- now add cheese, chocolate, and the inexact art of pairings.   As a novice to wine, I was unsure how well I was going to get along in July’s Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate class.  But from the first step into the room, I knew this class was going to be fun and entertaining. 
Everyone sat at family-style long tables and the atmosphere was light and pleasant.  The whole evening felt like a dinner party hosted by very (very, very) informed hostesses—Jill, the co-owner of Quantum Leap, Tonda, owner of La Femme du Fromage, and Lisa Wilk, founder of Orlando Uncorked. 

They opened the class with excitement over the pairings that they created together.  And if they are excited by the pairings, then they must be good.

There were five pairings in all.  The class is set up so each item is explained individually—how the cheese is made, how the chocolate is developed, and where the wine is sourced and then the pairing is looked at as a whole—why does the wine add to the cheese and chocolate and vice versa.  Delicious and informative.

My favorite was the triple crème cheese paired with Quantum Leap’s new sparkling wine.  It was an easy pairing to love-- the cheese was luxuriously smooth and buttery and the wine added a delightful lightness.  The triple crème was followed by a white chocolate dipped strawberry from Peterbrook Chocolatiers, which brought out light strawberry notes in the sparkling wine. 

If you like learning about wine, cheese, and chocolate as much as you enjoy eating it, Perfectly Paired classes are definitely for you.


Stay tuned to the website calendar or Facebook page for the next Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate class!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Around the World with Quantum Leap: Veneto, Italy

Gorgo Winery, Veneto, Italy
"In wine, there is truth." 
 Pliny the Elder

Veneto, the 20th province of Italy, is world-renowned for its beautiful historic cities like Venice, Verona, and Padua, for brands like Benetton, Geox, De’Longhi, and, of course, for its wine. 

The region has a long history with human settlement going back 7,000 years. Around the second century BCE, the Romans established many of its cities, including Venice and Verona, and brought viticulture the region.  Veneto continued to grow and maintain a strong wine culture.  In 1885, the Veneto region established the first Italian school of vine growing.

Today, Veneto is the largest wine producing region in Italy.  High volume doesn’t take away from quality.  It’s also the largest producer of DOC wines.  DOC stands for denominazione di origine controllata, and is the second highest industry quality standard in Italy.  The Veneto region is typically known for the production of Soave, Bardolino, Valpolicella, Prosecco wine varietals, yet there are many other great varietals in the region.

Veneto is situated in the far northeastern section of the Italian boot.   Thanks to a coastline on the Adriatic Sea, it has a temperate climate with fairly hot summers and cool winters. A temperate climate is important as it allows the vines to have long, warm periods to finish growing and ripening.

Roberto and Roberta Bricolo, owners of Gorgo Winery
The Gorgo Winery, a partner of Quantum Leap and the producer of their Custoza, and Pinot Grigio, has been family owned for 41 years and is currently run by Roberto Bricolo and his daughter Roberta.  The winery sits on the far left of the Veneto region and is 30 minutes away from the city of Verona. This part of the Veneto region is known for its especially mild climate and fertile soil.  

Roberto and Roberta use a mix of traditional techniques and modern innovations in growing and ripening grapes. Sustainability is also important.  The grapes are grown sustainably by using smart water practices and only using natural fertilizers and pesticides. To read more about Gorgo Winery, please click here

Quantum Leap is proud to offer both red and white Veneto region wines.  We invite you to try our white Veneto region wines-- Garda, a white blend, and Gorgo Winery’s Pinot Grigio and Custoza, a white blend.  Or if you prefer to try a red Veneto region wine, our Panther’s Tale is a smooth and balanced blend of Corvina and Merlot from the Veneto region.

We look forward to seeing you at the winery soon!




















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Friday, March 21, 2014

Around the World with Quantum Leap: Stellenbosch, South Africa



“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” Marcus Garvey

As a négociant-style winery, our roots range from the states of Washington and California to the countries of Italy and South Africa. In this post, we’ll take you to the source of our merlot and cabernet sauvignon: the bright and warm city of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Let’s start with a little background on South African wines in general.  In terms of size, South Africa is the 7th largest wine producer in the world. The most planted grape variety is chenin blanc, followed by cabernet sauvignon, colombard, syrah, and sauvignon blanc.  Although wine is a 300-year-old industry in South Africa, it was largely ignored in the 20th century due to sanctions against apartheid.  Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the industry has had a rebirth and South African wines are widely considered to be some of the best in the world.   

Stellenbosch, South Africa is located about 50 km east of Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.  After Cape Town, it is the second Dutch settlement and it is the second oldest wine producing area in South Africa. Stellenbosch is a sub-region of the larger wine-growing area called the Costal Region.  As of 2012, Stellenbosch has 16.5% of South Africa’s wine grape vineyards and produces 8.3% of the wine in South Africa.

So, why is this area such a great place to grow wine?  Stellenbosch has the benefit of having a Mediterranean climate and a granite, sandstone, and shale soil combination that is a perfect for growing red wine vines. Even though Stellenbosch is 20 km from the ocean, the sea breeze does provide cool air in the summer and moderates the temperature of the area allowing the grapes to ripen at ideal rate.

If you can’t make a trip to picturesque Stellenbosch yourself, Quantum Leap is proud to bring a little of South Africa to Orlando and we invite you to try both our merlot and cabernet sauvignon.  Each are fabulous examples of the stellar wine that is coming from South Africa.