ABOUT

Bienvenue chez Cocoa & Grapes. My name is Brent McTavish. I am the owner and creator of Cocoa & Grapes and will be your Tasting Guide. I was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada and have also lived and worked in India, the United Kingdom and now France.

In 2008, while living in London, England, my husband and I bought an apartment in Carcassonne. It was meant to be a holiday apartment to share with friends and family. Each time we came for a visit we fell more and more in love with this quaint little town. After years of planning, in 2013 we moved here permanently, and I am very proud and happy to call Carcassonne home.

Since first discovering Carcassonne back in 2005, I’ve had a developing passion and curiosity for the many stories of Carcassonne and for the abundant and sumptuous wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon, now part of the new La Région Occitanie.

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In 2013 I "Passed with Merit" Level 3 - Advanced Wine Certificate from WSET London, England and in the same year was also awarded the highly regarded Sud de France Master-Level Certificate – Languedoc-Roussillon (SFMLC).

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The SFMLC advanced wine study program for trade, launched in 2012, was created jointly by the Occitanie (ex. Languedoc Roussillon) Regional Council, the Wine Scholar Guild (former French Wine Society) and lead instructor Matthew Stubbs, Master of Wine. The content and course of study has been endorsed by the Council of the Wines of Languedoc (CIVL, AOC Languedoc and IGP Sud de France), the Council of the Wines of Roussillon (CIVR), and Pays d’Oc IGP (InterOc).

As far as chocolate… well, what’s not to love about chocolate! I have always been a connoisseur of all things chocolate. After attending chocolate making courses and going on some chocolate tasting tours in London, I eventually decided to merge three of my favourite things into one exciting new venture et VOILÀ, the birth of Cocoa & Grapes began in 2014.

I look forward to meeting you, and sharing with you some of my favourite things.