The 1855 classification of Bordeaux Grands Crus made official a hierarchy of fine wines for Napoleon III's Exposition Universelle, or World Fair. It ranked 60 prestigious Bordeaux Châteaux in the Médoc into First through Fifth Growth categories.

To this day the 1855 classification serves as a benchmark of Bordeaux fine wine for investors, collectors, and enthusiasts worldwide, underscoring its enduring relevance and historical significance.

Fast forward to this coming December 11th in North Park, San Diego, where our Bordeaux Éducateur Chris Hamilton will lead us on a modern-day examination of the enduring relevance, or not, of this most famous of wine classifications.

What is the role of terroir and the 1855 pecking order? Do "place" and the 1855 classifications mean what they used to mean?

How does the role of winemaking and other extrinsic factors influence taste, popularity and hierarchy in today's marketplace?

Across a series of flights intended to…