• Professional Development
  • Medicine & Nursing
  • Arts & Crafts
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Personal Development

53 Educators providing WSET courses

The Oxford Wine School

the oxford wine school

Witney

The original Oxford Wine Company was founded in 1840 and traded from 125 High Street, Oxford until 1914. The name was revived in the early 1990s by Ted Sandbach, metamorphosing from ‘The Oxford Hamper Company through ‘The Oxford Wine and Hamper Company’ and finally becoming ‘The Oxford Wine Company’ in the Spring of 1992. Since then expansion has been rapid and the company now bears very little resemblance to its relatively humble origins in Ted’s garage! These days, The Oxford Wine Company is a multi-award winning local independent wine merchant with a national profile. The company has achieved a Top 10 spot in Harpers Wine & Spirit 50 Best Indies every year, and has won multiple prestigious awards such as ‘Small Chain of the Year’ in the Drinks Retailing Awards and ‘Regional Merchant of the Year’ in the International Wine Challenge. The Oxford Wine Company has three shops in Oxford: on the Botley Road, Turl Street (just around the corner from the original Oxford Wine Company site) and since 2020 on Little Clarendon Street. There is also a shop at the company’s headquarters in Standlake (just outside Witney). In addition to the retail shops we have a thriving wholesale arm, supplying a large range of restaurants, bars and other businesses throughout the South of England, and even have a sales arm in Wales. Our team are passionate about wine and have the qualifications to prove it. Seven of the company’s staff hold the Wine and Spirit Education Trust Diploma, and a further four are studying towards this industry benchmark qualification. One member of our staff is even working towards the Master of Wine, known as one of the world’s most difficult exams. We love to share our knowledge, and also run The Oxford Wine School, which is an accredited programme provide for the WSET, offering beginner to advanced level courses. These structured courses are complemented by our busy events calendar, comprising informal tastings, winemaker-led masterclasses as well as annual fairs and dinners. Most events take place in The Jericho Wine Rooms, a purpose-built tasting room above our Little Clarendon Street shop. Smaller, more intimate tastings take place in the historic and atmospheric cellar beneath our Turl Street Shop. The Oxford Wine Company stocks a range of over two thousand products, ranging from well-known classics to esoteric curiosities across wines, spirits and beers. Our team taste and travel extensively to make sure that each and every bottle on our shelves offers the best quality. We work hard to source wines that suit every palate and pocket. Combine this with the great service from each and every member of our team, and we think we’re onto a winning formula!

Amelia's Kitchen - cookery courses and accommodation in the Yorkshire Dales

amelia's kitchen - cookery courses and accommodation in the yorkshire dales

North Yorks

We are Ed and Amelia. After many years in Oxford, first studying (both of us), then working in archaeology labs (Ed), and running a fun and fabulous pop-up cookery school with the equally fun and fabulous Sophie Grigson (Amelia), we decided the time had come for a new adventure. So here we are. For Ed, it is more of a return to his roots, having grown up on a farm near Kirkby Lonsdale. For me (well, it is Amelia’s kitchen – I think you might guess that it is Amelia who does the social media!), it is a chance to put down some new roots, and thus far, I love it. So who are we? Ed is a chemist by academic background, a farmer by family background, and a curious mind and problem solver by nature. He now works for B4RN, mapping the route for super-fast broadband for the rural North. My history lies in the food, wine, and literature of Italy (specifically Renaissance five-act comedy and the food of Garfagnana, where I also make wine!). My formal food training was a Cordon Bleu diploma at Tante Marie, followed by a couple of years of restaurant work. To complement my food training (and because, let’s face it, I’m a learning addict) I also completed my WSET wine diploma. The highlight of the course was winning a prize for one exam, which involved being taken to Vinitaly in Verona by the lovely people at Liberty Wine. I was already hooked on Italian wine, but that just reinforced the habit!

Wine Education Service Limited

wine education service limited

Middlesex

What makes our wine tastings, wine courses and wine tasting events special? Over 10,000 Satisfied Customers Great Tutors An Unparalleled Range of Courses Small Classes Flexible Booking Impartial Advice Satisfied Customers We have been running wine tastings and wine tasting courses in London for over 25 years, in Manchester for over 15 in Aberdeen and Birmingham for over 10 and in Belfast for 4. Over this time, we have created a following of over 10,000 satisfied customers. And today, over 60% of new customers book for our wine tastings and wine tasting courses on the personal recommendation of a friend or colleague. Great Tutors Our tutors are at the top of their profession. All are qualified to WSET Diploma level and are members of the UK Association of Wine Educators, the professional body for those who make their living in whole or in part from teaching about wine. Many are also members of the elite Circle of Wine Writers. All travel widely to keep their wine knowledge up to date. Skilled communicators, they know how to make wine tasting and learning about wine fun. An Unparalleled Range of Courses We were the first in the UK to offer a comprehensive range of wine tastings, wine tasting courses and wine tasting events designed primarily to appeal to wine consumers rather than aspiring members of the wine trade. In addition to weekly wine tastings in London, we organise over 30 introductory wine tasting courses a year in London and other UK cities, over 20 intermediate and advanced wine tasting courses and, for those with hectic weekday schedules, wine tasting workshops on Saturdays, when lunch is an integral part of the day. Although wine consumers still make up the majority of our customers, our London wine tastings and intermediate and advanced wine courses are growing in appeal to people studying for their wine trade qualifications, especially WSET Diploma and the prestigious, but for many, elusive Master of Wine qualification. Small Classes We know of some wine course providers who pack 30 people or more into a class. We think that’s way too many. In a class of that size, learning is more difficult, participation is inhibited and you never get to know the other people in the room. We limit bookings for our introductory, intermediate and advanced wine tasting courses and our Saturday wine tasting workshops to 16 people – much more sociable, much more fun. Flexible Booking Many people who sign up for our wine tasting courses on weekday evenings lead busy lives, working under pressure and travelling on business, often at short notice. We understand the problem. If you have to miss a course session, you may either send a substitute or pick up that session on a subsequent course. Just let us know and we will make the arrangements. We make no charge for this and set no time limit! Impartial Advice Many wine tastings and wine tasting courses are run by wine merchants. Nothing wrong with that. It’s a great way to get potential customers into their stores and promote sales of their wines. We are not wine merchants. We don’t sell wine. We are not paid by any wine merchant to promote their wines. So, at our wine tastings and on our wine courses, you will never come under any pressure to buy wine. The wines we select for you to taste are intended to illustrate the main points of the wine course session or the theme of the wine tasting. We hope you will enjoy most of the wines we give you to taste but don’t necessarily expect you to enjoy them all. Your course tutor will help you to understand what makes a wine enjoyable. But he or she will also tell you if a wine is too young, too old, too acidic, too alcoholic or just plain faulty. Just imagine a wine merchant doing that! Wherever possible, we buy the wines we give you to taste from local retail outlets. We will tell you where we bought them and how much we paid. So, if you like a particular wine, you can shop for more with confidence and without difficulty.