Wine Education

Our aim is to introduce people to wine and to encourage its appreciation. We conduct a series of courses throughout the year. Contact us for a brochure.

We also have Wine Education Gift Vouchers available. Contact us to make an enquiry.

Introduction to Wine Tasting

The aim of this course is to show you how to taste wine like a professional (even if you're not).

This is a 2-hour event designed to introduce you to (or revisit) the absolute basics of wine tasting. Commencing with an introduction to the basics of identifying flavours, we look at fundamental taste and tactile sensations (such as acidity, alcohol, sugar and tannin), plus common faults, such as cork taint, volatile acidity and others, using an everyday white wine. Having seen what wine shouldn't be, we then look at some great examples of what it should - benchmark styles of white and red from key regions, and some hints and tips to enjoy your wine more, including the basics of food and wine matching. The course includes a platter of gourmet nibbles served with the benchmark wines.

With over a dozen wines tasted and discussed together, this course is excellent groundwork for a curious beginner and a great way for experienced tasters to recalibrate their palate. At the end of the course you will confidently be able to assess a wine for balance and structure while pointing out if there are any obvious faults present.
This course is written by Jeffrey Rohde, longstanding wine educator and one of only a handful of Certified Sommeliers in Australia.
All courses start at 7pm.
The cost is $60 per person.

Basic Wine Course

The Basic course is designed to give you the ability to thoroughly evaluate and appreciate each wine you taste, and give you a greater depth of knowledge on all the quality factors that can affect a bottle of wine.

The 4-night Basic course runs over 4 consecutive weeks for approximately 2 hours each night from 7pm onwards - throughout the year we offer a choice of Tuesday or Wednesday evening courses.

Concepts covered include: identifying and understanding the major wine styles (including the different grape varieties used), sparkling wine, fortified wines, vintages and regions. It also covers wine production from the vineyard to your glass, cellaring wine, detecting faults in wine, food and wine matching, plus wine service, cellaring and much more.

Over the four nights you will taste no less than 24 wines. The emphasis of our Basic course is on the diversity and quality of Australian wines, however there will be a range of imported wines to compare and contrast styles. The wines tasted vary in style and number, but will include at least 2 sparkling wines, 7 white wines, 9 red wines and 3 fortified wines. You will also be given a pack of everything you need to get started in serious wine tasting - six ISO tasting glasses, a corkscrew, wine tasting 'cheat sheet' and a six bottle carry bag. This is included in the price.

After completing the course, we expect you'll be able to talk confidently about wine and discuss the differences between regions, varieties and vintages. You will also have a greater understanding of how wine is made, why it is such a special drink and how to treat it to get the most out of each bottle.

Food served during the course:
While these courses are not meant to be wine dinners, you will enjoy small serves of food during each evening, selected with the relevant wines tasted on the night.
The cost is $300 per person.

Masterclasses

Please see our events page for more information on up-coming masterclasses and more specialised events.

home | secure data entry form | subscribe to our newsletter | privacy | we appreciate your comments