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Wine School
Welcome to the Cooden Cellars Wine School, called Wine Sense, which 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). Many of the latter will be run under the auspices of the Sussex Academy of Food and Wine which we launched in 2008 for this purpose and will be based at local restaurants or teaching kitchens where cookery demonstrations will be conducted by guest chefs as well as wines matched and tasted with the food.
Venuee, format and cost
Courses will be held at a number of venues in Sussex and each are designed to be relaxed and relatively informal sessions whilst also structured to allow the best conditions for the tasting and enjoyment of the wines. Each module or session will last approximately two hours, and usually run in the evening. Dates and venues will be advertised in our events calendar, but please contact us to find out more or if you are interested in hosting a course for a group of friends or colleagues.
The cost of each module will vary depending on venue, wines on taste and format, and will be advertised separately. The cost will include all tuition and venue fees, tasting notes and hand-outs as well as wines tasted.
If you would like to book a module, please contact us and we would be delighted to discuss forthcoming sessions with you.
Course book
A 150-page book, The Art of Wine Enjoyment, which can be purchased separately for £20, 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.
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 our courses. 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.
