Taste Great Wines & Spirits From Around The World

Our tasting evenings are designed to appeal to people who appreciate fine wine and/or spirits.

They are relaxed and informal in style. The tutor will give some background information and then simply introduce each wine or spirit and encourage discussion. A tasting sheet and, where appropriate, maps will be provided but not detailed notes.

Unless otherwise indicated, tasting samples of 8 wines or 6 spirits will be tasted. There will be mineral water and water biscuits to refresh your palate between samples.

What else do I need?

You will need to bring 6 wine glasses to each session. If you really want to sharpen up your taste buds, a set of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) glasses used by the professionals is recommended (the tutor will have boxed sets of 6 crystal ISO tasting glasses for sale at £15).

Who are the principal course tutors?

The tastings will normally be introduced by Vivienne Franks, John Ducker, Pippa Hayward or Sandy Leckie. All have extensive lecturing experience, are members of The Association of Wine Educators and/or Circle of Wine Writers and travel widely to keep up-to-date.

Book Places

Here are details of the tastings we are organising in London over the next few months.  To book places at any of these, select the number you want from the little drop-down menu on the left, enter your personal details in the form at the foot of the page and click the submit button. A member of the Wine Education Service team will then send you confirmation and information about payment methods by email.

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  • Oct 2019

    £35.00Pinot Noir – Classic Grape • Monday, 21st October, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    Pinot Noir from around the world including two from Burgundy and leading examples from Australia, California, Germany, Chile, New Zealand, and S. Africa.

    Tutor: Pippa Hayward with Sandy Leckie.

    £0.00 – £35.00Cataluna – Spain's Mediterranean North-East • Thursday, 31st October, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    Not surprisingly, given the Catalan character, this region is one of the most adventurous and individualistic in Spain. We will taste a selection of wines from Costers del Segre, Montsant, Priorat, Terra Alta and Penedès.

    Tutor: Pippa Hayward and Sandy Leckie.

    Nov 2019

    £35.00Sherry & Tapas • Monday, 4th November, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    It’s ‘Sherry Week’ in the UK and to mark this, we are organising a tasting of Sherry in all its styles – Manzanilla, Fino, Amontilado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado – with olives, nuts, cheese and chorizo.

    Tutor: Pippa Hayward with Sandy Leckie.

    £40.00China • Thursday, 7th November, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    As you probably know, the Chinese are developing quite a taste for wine, importing much of what they drink from Europe. What you may not know is that China is now the world’s leading producer of wine grapes and is starting to produce more and more of its own wine. You don’t yet see much of this here yet, but this is about to change. The UK now has its first specialist importer and distributor of Chinese wines. Called Panda Fine Wine, it’s run by a Chinese husband and wife team whose aim is to bring to the UK some of the most interesting and distinctive wines that are emerging from China’s burgeoning industry.

    We have selected 8 wines from Panda’s list for this tasting – Rongzi Pinot Noir, Rongzi Cabernet Sauvignon, Martin Tempranillo, Bolongbao Blanc, Tiansai Chardonnay Reserve, Martin Dragon Eye Longyan, Cailonglin Silver Label and Jia Bei Lan.

    Tutor: Vivienne Franks with Malcolm Franks

    £40.00Italy – The Veneto • Monday, 11th November – Thursday, 21st November, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    The tiny cluster of regions at the southern tip of Lake Garda is home to a delicious array of wines. Some, like Valpollicella, offer a variety of styles from the same grape varieties. Our tasting will include an upmarket Prosecco, still whites from Lugana and Soave, a Bardolino, followed by Valpolicella, Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto.

    Tutor: Pippa Hayward with Sandy Leckie.

    £65.00Mature Red Bordeaux • Thursday, 21st November, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    We are on the hunt for the eight wines you will be tasting at our traditional, end-of-year, mature, red Bordeaux event. More details soon.

    Tutor: Vivienne Franks and Malcolm Franks.

    £40.00Southern Rhône • Monday, 25th November, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    The southern part of the Rhône valley produces some of the most accessible and best value wines of France. A representative selection of wines from top producers in Gigondas, Lirac, Tavel, Vacqueras, Châteauneuf du Pape, Muscat de Beaumes de Venise and, of course, Côtes du Rhône.

    Tutor: Sue Eames with Sandy Leckie

    Dec 2019

    £40.00New Zealand's Finest • Thursday, 5th December, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    The wines of New Zealand just get better and better. For purity of fruit and varietal expression they are hard to match. We will taste a selection of some of the country’s finest, including Ata Rangi, Cloudy Bay, Felton Road, Kumeu River, Pegasus Bay and Te Mata.

    Tutor: Pippa Hayward with Sandy Leckie.

    £50.00Fine Red & White Burgundy • Monday, 9th December, 19:30-21:30 in London – Holborn

    Another traditional end-of-year ‘special’, our Fine Burgundy event will, this time, feature four whites and four reds. The whites will include a top of the range Pouilly-Fuissé, a Grand Cru Chablis, a Meursault and a 1er Cru Puligny or Chassagne-Montrachet. The reds will include a Santenay, a 1er Cru Côte de Beaune, a 1er Cru Gevrey-Chambertin and a 1er Cru Nuits St-Georges. We expect to be able to publish the final line-up in late September.

    Tutor: Pippa Hayward with Sandy Leckie.














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Nov 2019

Dec 2019

  • New Zealand's Finest in London – Holborn

    Thursday, 5th December

    £40.00

    The wines of New Zealand just get better and better. For purity of fruit and varietal expression they are hard to match. We will taste a selection of some of the country’s finest, including Ata Rangi, Cloudy Bay, Felton Road, Kumeu River, Pegasus Bay and Te Mata.

    Tutor: Pippa Hayward with Sandy Leckie.

    Full details and booking >

  • Fine Red & White Burgundy in London – Holborn

    Monday, 9th December

    £50.00

    Another traditional end-of-year ‘special’, our Fine Burgundy event will, this time, feature four whites and four reds. The whites will include a top of the range Pouilly-Fuissé, a Grand Cru Chablis, a Meursault and a 1er Cru Puligny or Chassagne-Montrachet. The reds will include a Santenay, a 1er Cru Côte de Beaune, a 1er Cru Gevrey-Chambertin and a 1er Cru Nuits St-Georges. We expect to be able to publish the final line-up in late September.

    Tutor: Pippa Hayward with Sandy Leckie.

    Full details and booking >

Feb 2020

Mar 2020

Apr 2020

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