Pros/Cons of wine tasting classes

I’m fairly new to wine - and every day I learn something that makes me feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface. I started growing with weekend trips to Virginia wineries, then I feel like I really expanded my horizons with a summer weekend tasting adventure in the Willamette and a full week fall vacation to Sonoma.

I’ve been trying to build my knowledge through reading (my loverly Christmas gift being the World Atlas of Wine and recently buying the Wine Bible) as well as through classes. I did a fun, one-class “wine tasting” which went through the different primary grapes, then did a more robust 3-class series which focused on mostly on understanding the differences between new-vs old world styles of grapes/common blends. I greatly enjoyed the classes - as much from a kind of intellectual point of view (e.g. understanding why California Pinots taste different than Burgundy) as the actual process of trying to detect flavors and elements of winemaker style.

I know that to really build an understanding of my own personal likes/dislikes/typical styles and flavors, etc I have to drink, drink, drink. I find myself really enjoying the classroom environment - and the place that I’ve been taking classes is now offering a 4-class series aimed at improving wine tasting skills (they also offer WSET and Master of French and Italian wine and sommelier training classes). Right now though I’m wondering whether there’s a lot of benefit of being in a classroom for more - or whether that money is better spent at the wine store!

Other than the seemingly obvious “if you like it keep doing it” reasoning, I’m wondering whether anyone further along the wine appreciation spectrum than I am has any opinions on wine tasting classes, their pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks. This 4-class series isn’t cheap - but the WSET and Sommelier classes are considerably more and I can’t imagine they would be worth it for someone who never intends for this to be more than a lifetime educational hobby. Would love to hear people’s thoughts!

Welcome to the board Erika. I think it’s all good - books, classes, tastings, etc. It’s a life long journey. I would look for local groups to taste with. You will often find very knowledgeable and generous people that will be happy to teach and share. If you are really interested in learning, you shouldn’t limit yourself to just classes, or books. This board is a great place to start!

Tastings are invaluable, and I was in a once a month blind tasting group for well over a decade. Reading and travel are invaluable. Pinot Days, Gambero Rosso Tres Bichierre, ZAP, Rhone Rangers, not to mention all the trade/media tastings of German Riesling, Kiwi and Australian wines, Bordeaux UCG, on and on, wonderful. Formal classes came later for me later for me, culminating in the Court of Master Sommolier Intro.

One of our local retailers has regular classes, three or four weeks, one night a week, around a theme, e.g. the Rhone, or Burgundy, or ‘eclectic’ (i.e. unusual varietals) or the blind class. The blind class is the noble varietals from around the world, tasted blind and then trying to identify the source.

This has been a great way to learn about what you like and what you don’t like. They are not somm classes or anything formal, just about a dozen wines a night to compare and contrast. It’s become a social group as well, with disorganized ‘let’s go tasting this weekend’ events and group dinners at restaurants with no corkage fees.

I would recommend you find a really good wine bar and develop a relationship - most wine bars that I have run across are lacking, but there are a few stellar ones out there – not sure where you live – I really learned about wine by drinking, tasting, and being with it much more than a class - class is great if you want to climb up the ladder (set, CoMasters, etc) but since you do not want to take that road, I’d say the $400+ could be used in a better way.

It’s great if you can find a group of like minded peeps in your area, but also a good restaurant that has a good list, esp by the glass – believe me, if they have a Sommelier and you go and take interest, and build a relationship - it will be of value.

I love when people like that come into my place - we all love sharing the knowledge, and turning people on to new stuff.

I’d second Seth’s recommendation of looking out for like-minded people locally to form a tasting group.

Reading and formal education are good in part, but both have a tendency to tell you what to think (WSET is pretty even-handed / non-judgemental). A good tasting group wants to know what each other thinks and won’t try and impose right/wrong (but might just challenge us on occasions).

I wonder if something like Michael Schuster’s essential winetasting (or other similar books) might appeal. It’s aim is to give you the tools to better understand wine and express what you think of it. I really felt it help me start writing more useful tasting notes.

regards
Ian

For someone like myself and Erika, how do we find tasting groups in our area?

Charlie, the wine manager of a store I frequent, invited me to a group that meets every 2 or 3 weeks. It’s an informal dinner with a bunch of wine lovers - some ITB and others not. Everyone brings a bottle. As soon as it touches the table, it becomes community property. My wife and I have tried a tremendous variety of wines in just a handful of dinners. I might never have known of brands like Dominus and Hourglass if it weren’t for the ‘club’. We snap pictures of the bottles we like and Google them when we have a chance. No dues, just fun at a good steakhouse.

I thought as a beginning wine drinker a class was great. I’m not sure once you’ve gotten more sophisticated it would be so valuable - then it’s more opportunities to taste a variety of wines.

Reasons I thought class was a very good starting point (or point to start learning for real):

  1. Opportunity to try a few varieties of wine
  2. Having an instructor describe the various key flavor components in a wine
  3. Having that person not do it as part of a sales pitch.

It varies from state to state, but most retail stores in the northeast are forbidden by law to charge for wine tastings. They are free to all who enter. Just like the wine bar recommendation, finding a good retailer who offers free weekly tastings is a no-cost way to taste and learn. Our in store tastings, especially with wine, are usually done by either the distributor salesperson or a winery marketing rep (many wineries have a presence in NY which is nice) so they are knowledgeable and motivated to talk to people who are interested in the products.

A tasting group is a great idea.

Focused instruction is great but for most reasonably intelligent people you can probably learn most of the information you need by reading, especially if this is just an interest/hobby for you.

I think one of the big pros of a wine tasting class is that you’re going to meet some people who are in the same position as you, and hopefully you’ll get together with them for tastings or wine dinners after the class is over.

Anyone have suggestions for wine tasting classes in Orange County CA?

MyY suggestion for someone getting into wine is to taste often and frequently.
I started by attending every free pouring at my local wine shops. After getting to know the staff of wine shops they started pouring me tastes on days there were not pouring wines. That led to more conversations and them telling me about trade events they attended/tastings at local restaurants, etc. I attended everything I could, always bringing my notepad and tasting glasses. I found tasting wines from the same glass eliminated some of the variables. (glass size/thickness, cleaning product residue, etc. Finding what I liked and almost more importantly what I didn’t like was important for me and my learning curve.
After ascertaining what you like/dont like is when I would suggest starting to attend paid classes and buying wines for down the road consumption. Keep in mind your tastes and preferences will more than likely shift and change so dont overbuy as you may wind up with a nice collection of wines you wont want to drink down the road (anyone want about 40 bottles of Aussie Shiraz AKA cough medicine???)

Make sure if you join a tasting club that you have a common goal (i.e. learning about wine). I got involved in one that I quickly realized was just an excuse to get together and drink. Nothing wrong with a socially oriented gathering, but in this case, every bottle was grocery store wine and very little learning could occur. I do believe you would be well served to only taste “moderate to higher priced” wines as the grocery store variety are mostly skewed too much for early consumption and the mass palate, and they all end up tasting a bit the same.

Too bad Wine Exchange got absorbed by Best Wines. Their tastings were the best. What now? Probably won’t overpay for a tasting at OC Wine Mart or Hi-Time. Guess I got spoiled.

Something from a more scientific view would be to participate in wine sensory evaluation. It most cases its a marriage of analytical chemistry and wine sensory profiles. Since you apparently live near Virginia you should know, some of the faculty at Virginia Tech have had lots of success publishing in the arena of peer reviewed wine research. I bet they have a sensory lab there and need panelists. Perhaps you would enjoy being a panelist on a consumer study.

Welcome, Erika.

The two books you mention are fantastic resources. The other one that might interest you is the Oxford Companion to Wine. It’s not cheap, but it is probably the best single source of wine information that exists.

I think the answer to your question really depends on how you appreciate wine and what you want to get out of this hobby. I work in the business, so my goals are different from yours, but they might not be THAT different. Or they might be. I’ve gained so much in terms of understanding and appreciation through taking WSET classes. They have been invaluable to me. Part of my motivation has been professional, but even as a wine enthusiast, I think WSET Intermediate, Advanced, and Diploma were all worthwhile. I wouldn’t have done Diploma if I weren’t in the business, but several people in my class were not, and at least a couple of them completed the program. They are extremely motivated people, and their appreciation of wine is very much related to knowledge and context. Yours doesn’t have to be, but the more knowledge and context you have, the deeper your appreciation can be. Think about art or music. One can enjoy those things without knowing much about them. But, those who bother to study those topics can develop a far greater understanding, and thus a greater appreciation of them. Wine is the same way. If you’re a nerdy type of person (I mean that in a good way) who likes to really delve into your interests, I think formal wine education is a great idea. If you’re more of a casual wine drinker and want to stay that way, I would say just develop a good relationship with a local merchant or three and call it good.

I will say that a lot of people teach wine classes who aren’t particularly good at teaching. Some of them aren’t even nearly as knowledgeable as they pretend to be. That’s why I think formal education is much more of a sure bet than just taking some classes. WSET seems very well run in general, and all of the WSET certified educators I’ve met are really good at what they do. Court of Master Sommeliers is really service based, and I don’t think it’s the right choice for people not in that side of the business.