Wine Society
The Wine Society meets weekly to complete a course on wine which runs from September to Easter. By the end of it a student should be well on the way to choosing wines with confidence and enjoying them with greater understanding and discernment.
The first half of the course is devoted to the major grape varieties (cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, riesling, syrah etc.). Typical features of each grape, geography, differences in style, questions of food matching and value for money are key topics in each case. The second half introduces particular styles or regions such as Spanish reds, sparkling wines, aperitif wines or dessert wines. Each week, between a short lecture and a tasting of three or four examples (about one third of a glass of each), there is a short written test on last week's topic. Students who achieve a good standard are permitted to wear the Society tie. The cost of the whole course is about £40.