68 Wine Appreciation & Oenology courses

Passionate or interested about wine & want to learn more? Do you want to discover fascinating and delicious new wines & grape varieties? Do you want to taste a wide variety of wines and understand what makes them so different ? Do you want to know which wine to drink with what food? Then these are the courses for you and is a fascinating Introduction to the wonderful world of wine! It is also a great way to meet new friends who share your love of wine. This course also includes a delicious 2-course lunch with a glass of Champagne. 

The WSET Level 1 Award in Wines is the ideal starting point for anybody new to wine or those beginning a career in wine or hospitality. It lays the foundation for understanding wine, giving you confidence for food and wine pairing and an introduction to different wine styles. What the course covers: The basic skills and product knowledge required for the service and retail of wine The main types and styles of wine Common wine grapes and their characteristics How to make food and wine pairings How to store and serve wine How to taste and describe wine using the WSET Level 1 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine®(SAT) The WSET Level 1 Award in Wines has full accreditation from OfQual as part of the UK Government’s Qualifications & Credits Framework as a Level 1 Vocational Qualification. We recommend you read the course specification document before you sign up for the course. Course delivery The Level 1 Award in Wines online course covers the same syllabus as the classroom course and is delivered in LIVE virtual lessons by one of our certified wine educators The course includes 6 hours online tuition in 3 x 2 hour sessions Your tutor will provide a guided tasting of 6 wines with you on this course (for details of how to order the wines for your course see below) You will receive access to practice multiple-choice revision questions specific to this course You will be sent details of how to join your LIVE sessions when you book Please note a reliable broadband connection is essential for the completion of this online course as is basic computer skills. Examination To obtain the WSET Level 1 Award in Wines Qualification, you will need to successfully pass the exam. The exam is made up of 30 multiple-choice questions to be completed in 45 minutes. You must answer at least 70% correctly to pass the exam. The exam is taken online via a Remote Invigilation service. We will arrange a suitable time/date for you to take your exam when you are ready to do so. Please ensure you read the information HERE if you wish to take the exam online.  The course fee includes: Course study guide, posted to you at no extra charge LIVE virtual, interactive sessions taught by a Local Wine School WSET Certified Tutor Exclusive access to practice multiple choice questions Registration with WSET and all examination fees Remote Invigilation service *Please note there are some minimum system requirement (contact us for more information) Internationally recognised WSET qualification certificate and pin for those who pass the exam VAT at 20% (VAT receipt can be provided on request). Course Wines: It is recommended that 6 wines are tasted as part of this course, although this is optional and not essential to complete the course. Please note that the cost of wines is not included in the course fee above. Our wine experts have specially selected wines for this course aligned to demonstrate specific learning outcomes. They have even negotiated a specially discounted price only available to our online students. The price of the 6 bottle case around £75.95 including delivery. Details of how to order your case of wines will be provided when you book your place. Special Educational Needs Please make the school aware if you have a condition that may mean that you will qualify for additional help during the exam such as dyslexia. Important dates Registration deadline: please book at least 5 days before the start of the course, to allow time to send materials and order the tasting wines.

‘Both of these wines are [Grape X] from [Country Y] – so why is this one twice the price?’ It’s a question that we’re often asked, so for summer 2024, we’re putting on a trio of tastings to show what happens when you fork out some extra money. Each week, we’ll try four pairs of popular styles of wine, one bottle of we’ve bought for under £10, while the other has cost at least twice as much. And we’ll be trying each pair ‘blind’ – you’ll know what the wines are, but not which is in Glass 1 and which in Glass 2… We’ll have a chat about what it is in each case that makes one of the wines more expensive, then we’ll see which you prefer before revealing which is which. Do you have expensive tastes, or are you more at home with the cheap and cheerful? It’s a great opportunity to find out – and to taste some lovely wines!  The line-up for each week will be: Week 1 WHITES: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Italian Pinot Grigio REDS: Australian Shiraz, Red Bordeaux Week 2 WHITES: Loire Sauvignon Blanc, South African Chenin Blanc REDS: Rioja, New Zealand Pinot Noir Week 3 WHITES: White Burgundy, German Dry Riesling REDS: Red Rhône, Argentine Malbec Each week’s tasting will include 8 wines, and there’ll be some tasty cheese as accompaniment. The cost for each tasting is £37.50, but if you book for all three sessions, the price will be just £100, saving £12.50.

World Malbec Day is April 17th, although for some reason it’s actually called Malbec World Day. Meanwhile, May 6th is International Sauvignon Blanc Day. So how about a very special event between the two to celebrate these very special grapes? It’s a great opportunity to see how the “Old World” originals such as Sancerre and Cahors stack up against their “New World” counterparts such as New Zealand Sauvignon and Argentine Malbec. But it’s also a chance to see the success that winemakers are having with the two grapes in other parts of the world. Expect to see a range of styles too – in previous years, we’ve kicked off the day with a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, and finished with a fortified Malbec, for example. And we’ll have a dig through our cellars to see if we can find some rare older examples of both grapes We’ll taste 12 wines on the day (yes 6 of each!) with a break in the middle for a tasty two-course lunch. This is usually one of our most popular tastings, so do book soon to avoid disappointment

Join us as we taste a selection of fantastic wines of Spain that are the buzz-words in the wine industry at the moment, served alongside mouth-watering platters of tapas and spanish-style amuse-bouches.

Pairing food with wine should be easy and fun, yet so many people become stressed at the idea of make a wine faux pas. Yet the best part about pairing food with wine is the experimentation and delights at finding a pairing that YOU enjoy. 

The evening is aimed at demonstrating which wines go well with different types of food. Our detailed food and wine matching workshop will help you understand which wines to pair with a wide variety of meat, poultry, fish vegetarian dishes as well as desserts and cheese, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON CHRISTMAS since it is the time to be jolly! ;-)

You will have heard of Port and Stilton as a common combination so now is your chance to find out why this works. Besides, do you know of a better way to spend a cold December evening?! ;-)

The French arguably make the best sparkling wine in the world – Champagne, but their counterparts in the New World are catching up fast with their own versions ... England included, especially our very own country, Hampshire!  We will blind-taste 6 of the very best Hampshire sparkling wines, and decide for ourselves once and for all which one deserves to be our favourite! This is an opportunity to taste high quality sparkling wines coming from great locations around Hampshire.

The evening is aimed at demonstrating which wines go well with different types of food. Our detailed food and wine matching workshop will help you understand which wines to pair with a wide variety of meat, poultry, fish vegetarian dishes as well as desserts and cheese, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON CHRISTMAS since it is the time to be jolly! ;-)