What to expect from a wine course

By Mark Adams

Mark is a professional winemaker, former winery owner, author and frequent speaker on wine.  He currently teaches wine classes throughout the United States.

Congratulations on choosing to take a course in wine. Many people want to learn about and enjoy wine but never take action.

Learning about wine can be very easy or very hard.  To be successful, I think you need to define your expectations.

Do you want to go to the extreme of learning how to make wine or be employed in the wine industry? If so, take a look at more traditional wine schools.  Most major cities will have some sort of community college program or in some cases a private for profit business that teaches this type of information.

These classes can be over a several week period and can cost thousands of dollars.

But for most people who simple want to learn more about wine or not feel left out when their spouse or friends are drinking wine, there are many, many options for you.

Wine shops and wine bars seem to be everywhere lately. Many of them offer weekly or monthly classes aimed at a variety of different topics. Take a look in your local paper for offerings or simply contact your local spot and see if they offer classes.

Prices can range from about $25 to $75 per class and up depending on the class and location.

The next option is to consider taking an online wine course. The technology is now available to watch video tutorials on your own computer at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home, as many times as you like.

Because the class can be recorded and show repeatedly, many times these types of classes will not only be much cheaper, but include much more information as well.

Classes like these can range from about $50 to $199

My video wine course is called the Really Fun Wine Course. It contains 45 fun and informative videos that combine 4 of my most popular classes. To check it out, click here.

Regardless of which option you choose, you should expect to leave the course in the very least, knowledgeable in wine word pronunciation, an understanding of wine varieties, how to taste wine, how to pair wine and food, and how to purchase wine.

Remember in all of these classes the goal is to learn enough about wine so you don’t feel left out or like you’re the only one in the room who doesn’t know anything about wine.

Once you go through these classes you should ultimately enjoy your wine even more.

One thing to look out for.  Be leary of teachers who are wine snobs. Personal pet peeve here, but here in the 21st century I don’t see any need for anybody who “knows wine” to look down on anybody else who doesn’t. If you can’t tell, I’m not a big fan of wine snobs.

Well, I hope that helps get you started on the road of wine.

If you would like to learn more about wine click here.