Wine School

Logo: Wine Sense

Courses
Format, venue and dates
Course book
Costs
Enrolment
Tasting cases for distance learning
Sussex Academy of Food and Wine

Welcome to the Cooden Cellars Wine School, called Wine Sense, which is new for 2007 and has come about in response to the many requests we have had to provide courses in wine tasting and wine knowledge.

Courses

We offer a range of single module courses, such as Introduction to wine tasting (This will introduce a structured approach or methodology to wine tasting where you will learn how to taste wines, what to look for in them and how to evaluate them), Wines from around the world (where you will taste and compare/contrast grapes and wines from different countries) and Food and wine matching (where different dishes will be partnered by a selection of wines).

Format, venue and dates

All course modules will be held at the prestigious and state-of-the-art Culinary Arts Studio at Brighton University (Eastbourne campus), or at The Setting Sun Wine School in Kemptown, Brighton. Although they are designed to be relaxed, relatively informal sessions they will be structured to allow the best conditions for the tasting and enjoyment of the wines. Each module or session will last approximately two hours, from 7pm to 9/9.30pm in the evening. Dates will be advertised in our events calendar.

Course book

A 150-page book, The Art of Wine Enjoyment, has been written to accompany the modules by the course tutor, Ian Jarman. Although it is a work-in-progress and being continually updated it gives handy pointers on how to maximise the pleasure gained from wine by taking the time to appreciate them in the right way and it also lays the foundation for understanding the fundamental components of taste, the chemistry of flavour and the evaluation process whilst also examining basic wine origins and production methods that express themselves in the glass when tasting. Like the modules, the emphasis is on practised and regular sensory evaluation by tasting, sprinkled with sufficient wine knowledge to aid one’s enjoyment of wine in whatever circumstances you may find it.

Costs and enrolment

The cost of each module is £35 and includes all tuition and venue fees, tasting notes and hand-outs and wines tasted. The cost of the optional course book, The Art of Wine Enjoyment, which can be purchased separately is £20.

If you would like to book a module, please contact us and we would be delighted to discuss forthcoming sessions with you.

Tasting cases for distance learning

If you can’t get to one of our face-to-face courses a convenient alternative could be to learn about tasting wine in the comfort of your own home. In order to help you do this we suggest that you order the course book, The Art of Wine Enjoyment, and one or more of our tasting cases which are designed to follow the outline of The Basics course. The book will give you a complete overview of tasting, whilst the tasting cases which come complete with the necessary wines and tasting notes, will provide real examples for you to taste and evaluate in practice.

Sussex Academy of Food and Wine

We are very excited to announce for 2008 the launch of our Sussex Academy of Food and Wine, which is a collaboration between Cooden Cellars and Frith & Little Delicatessen of East Dean, to provide food and wine matching courses over the year, based on the different seasons.

Photo: Andy Firth

Chef Andy Frith, who will cook and present the food, has excellent experience having been a chef for 23 years and worked with the Roux brothers at 3 of their restaurants; Le Gamin, Le Poulbot and Le Gavroche. He is very knowledgeable and has a passion for communicating about food. His style is one of simplicity and quality, and this shows through in the produce he sells in his shop.

Photo: Ian Jarman

Ian Jarman, one of the partners of Cooden Cellars, who has tutored many wine courses as part of the Wine Sense Wine School, will select wines to match the food and will present and talk about them.

Course One: A Seasonal Winter Meal

At: The Culinary Arts Studio
Wednesday 23rd January 2008, 7.00pm to 9.30pm
Brighton University
Darley Road
Eastbourne
BN20 7UR

Photo: Culinary Arts Studio

All sessions will be based around a three course meal consisting of starter, main course and dessert with three wines to taste per course, plus an opening aperitif.

Other sessions planned are: