Fun With Wine... 

 

Making Scents of Wine (1.5hr)

Introduction to the sensory evaluation of wine. Learn a systematic way to discover and evaluate wine using all of your senses. Eliminate the intimidation of wine industry jargon.
- Standard wine tasting terminology & methodology “The swish and spit ”
- The visual, the aroma (bouquet), the taste, the finish of a wine
- Introduction of the “The Smell Kit”

* Taste and evaluate 3 white wines and 3 red wines

Blend Your Own Bordeaux (1.5 hr)

Discover and try your hand at the art of blending individual wine varietals to achieve a whole wine greater than its components. Your own custom glass of Meritage cuvee will be your reward.

Wine 101- Everything you ever wanted to know about wine but were afraid to ask. (1.5 hr)

Let’s talk Wine!
Introduction to the World of Wine
- Discovering and developing your own personal World of Wine
The Who, What, When, Where and Why of Wine
- Wine etiquette
- Wine and Food pairing

*Taste and evaluate 3 wines.

Field Trip! (2.5 hr)

A walk and talk through a local vineyard then taste its wine. Experience the seasons of a vineyard first hand.

 Discovery Tasting (1.5 hr)

Break out of the A B C’s (Anything But Cabernet and Chardonnay) of wine. An adventure in being adventurous. Blind taste and discover some new and intriguing wines.
*Taste and evaluate 6 wines.

 California Dreamin’ (1.5 hrs)

“ The Judgment of Paris”. We reenact the blind wine tasting held in Paris in 1976 that pit California wines opposite the very best wines of Bordeaux. Guess who won both red and white wine of the year ??? You be the judge!
*Taste and evaluate 3 California wines and 3 French wines.

A Tasting Tour of California (1.5 hr)

A brief history of wine making and the different wine regions of California.
…What is an A.V.A. anyway?

Main Wine Regions of California

A) Northern California
- Sonoma
- Napa Valley
B) Central Coast
- Paso Robles
- Santa Barbara
- Malibu Mountains??? Whoda thought.
*Taste and evaluate 8 wines

A Brief History of Wine (1.5 hr)

10,000 years in 45 minutes! Wine is an enormous part of the history of Western Civilization and our heritage. Learn how history influenced wine and how wine influenced history.
*Taste 3 wines.

 Viva la France! (2hr)

An education in the world of French red wines. Discover all of the major wine regions, their wines and what makes them different. Learn what makes France the world leader in fine wine and why some French wines are some of the most expensive and most sought after wines in the world.

Main Wine Regions of France
The French A.O.C. regulation system
- Controlled Appellation of Origin.
A) Burgundy
- Inheritance Laws.
- Wine regions or appellations of Burgundy; Cote d’Or , Beaune, Beaujolais,
- Reading Burgundy wine labels

B) Bordeaux - 1855 Classification
- History with England
- Wine regions and Appellations of Bordeaux
- Reading Bordeaux wine labels

C) The Rhone
Northern Rhone VS Southern Rhone

D) The Languedoc , Roussillon and Provence

* Taste and evaluate 8 wines

A Tasting Tour of Italy (2hr)

An education in the world of Italian red wines. Learn about all of the major wine regions of Italy and their individual wines.

Main Wine Regions of Italy.
- The Italian D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. system
- Reading Italian wine labels.
A) Piedmont – grapes and wines of the area.

B) Tuscany – grapes and wines of the area.
“Super Tuscans”
C) Emilia Romagna , Veneto,
E) Wines areas outside of D.O.C. system (Sicily, Apulta etc…)

* Taste and evaluate 8 wines

Old World VS New World (2hr)

A blind tasting where you discover and compare the wines of the Old World (France and Italy) with wines of the New World (North America, Australia and South Africa.) For example, you will taste a California Meritage opposite a French Bordeaux. Both wines are blends of the same grapes but made in very different styles. Then you will taste a French Burgundy opposite an Oregon Pinot Noir. Both wines are made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes but in two very distinct and different styles. “Viva la difference!”

A) European wine influence into the “New World” …specifically California

Blind Tasting

White Burgundy ( Chablis) vs. California Chardonnay

Red Burgundy vs. Oregon Pinot Noir vs. S. African Pinotage


Red Bordeaux vs. California Meritage

French Rhone vs. Australian Shiraz vs. California Syrah

Italian Super Tuscan vs. California Sangiovese
*Taste and evaluate 9 wines.