Nina Smith @ The Wine Wise Company

Why Learn about Wine?

Many people are interested in wine.  Some like to read about wine, some like to study wine, some like to talk about it endlessly....... but everyone interested in wine likes to drink it.

Drinking wine brings pleasure.  The pleasure comes in many guises - social pleasure,  sensual pleasure, relaxation pleasure.  It enhances a meal, an occasion and provides a central focus of celebration.  However, we all know that there is a dark side to the pleasures of alcoholic effect of wine.  Any alcohol taken in excess will have an impact on the drinker. 

These are well documented and many interventions are attempted with every passing generation.  Currently it is minimum alcohol prices, previously in America it was Prohibition.  Prior to that Gin houses of London had to be shut down and production allowed by only 9 producers as the population was so inebriated, productivity of the working population had sunk to lows never experienced before.

How do we strike a balance between the pleasure and pain?  We all have a responsibility to manage our alcohol consumption, yet so many of us seem to get the balance so wrong. 

In my opinion, one measure we can all take is to become more engaged in the alcohol we are purchasing.  It is estimated that over 70% of purchasers in the UK are guided by price in their purchases.  Offers and promotions not only entice us but guide us into buying something we do not know enough about.  How often have you bought a wine at half price assuming it is a superior quality as it 'used to be £12.99'.  Immediately we have made an assumption about how the wine will taste from the yellow ticket situated on the shelf below it. 

Have you ever about the marketing campaign behind this promotion?  Has a case of this wine been on a shelf in a corner of a remote store for 28 days gathering dust before being launched nationwide on the gondola ends of the supermarket by the pallet-load?  Yet many of us are happy to believe this wine is really worth more that we are paying for it.

How are you expected to know these tricks of the trade of a product which is so varied and confusing in the first place?  The answer is that you are not.

However, there is a growing trend of wine education which uncovers the complexities of the wine market.  By knowing the product, its provenance and how to taste it, you will enjoy wine in a completely new way.   This knowledge increases responsibility in consumption and reduces the potential to abuse.

The Wine WiseCompany offers a variety of courses for those wishing to understand more about the wine they drink.  On Saturday 13 October, we have a two hour introduction to wine called How To Taste Wine which will take you through the stages of tasting wine and the terminology used on a label.

We also offer formal Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) courses.  These are the globally recognised qualifications for both professionals and enthusiasts alike.   We have a WSET Level 2 coming up in November, taught over a period of 8 weeks on Thursday Evenings.  Please see the website www.thewinewisecompany.com

We also run a new program of courses aimed at the 18-24 year olds called Drink It:Taste It.  These aim to educate this age group through responsible wine and beer tastings to make smarter alcohol choices and therefore reduce the impact of alcohol in their lives.

For full details of these courses and more, please visit the website www.thewinewisecompany.com   You can also call Nina on 07804 494083 or e-mail nina@thewinewisecompany.com 

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