FOOD & WINE COURSES

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WINE EXPRESS COURSE

In one hour, you’ll learn the basics of wine in general and Italian wine in particular. Three Italian wines, selected to illustrate the class, are served – always with generosity! This is express wine education – best value for money! This is the perfect early afternoon activity between museum visits and city walks. Spend an hour in company of our wine prof and learn the basic techniques of tasting and the vocabulary you need to describe your wine. Tasting of 3 wines to illustrate the different wine making techniques:

A sparkling wine (Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut DOCG)
Traditional Tuscan red wine (Chianti Classico DOCG)
Dessert wine (Vin Santo DOC)

We will talk you through the processes that go behind making the different kinds of wines. We’ll taste together and talk about each individual wine to broaden your wine vocabulary and get good tasting techniques. We’ll also talk briefly about Tuscany’s main wine regions so you may have some Tuscan wine fundamentals to build further on during your stay in Florence or Tuscany. Remember that all of our classes are in English, so no need to bring the Italian phrasebook! Inclusions:

Wines: 3 wines from great wine producers
Paper to take notes
Riedel glassware for tasting
Drinking water
Access to bathroom (not big but functional!)
15th-century wine tasting room

WEC-110 | 1 hour | 0 credits

TUSCAN CLASSICS

This class will help you get a much better understanding of Tuscany’s wines. Six great Tuscan wines, carefully selected for quality, will be served – always with generosity. Join our popular 2 hour introductory class to the Tuscan Classics. During this class you will taste the most typical wines Tuscany has to offer. This class has been designed for anyone interested in getting to know / knowing more about Tuscan wines. You will leave the class knowing your way around the most important Tuscan wines and feeling more comfortable selecting wine at a restaurant and talking about them with friends. The wines that you will taste:

Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG
Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
Super Tuscan IGT (surprise!)
Vin Santo DOC

We’ll taste the wines together, learn about the grapes that go into them and why, how they were aged and how long you could keep these wines. You will be introduced to the Italian wine designation system and learn how that helps you to read the label and to know what wine you have in front of you at the wine shop. Remember that all of our classes are in English, so no need to bring the Italian phrasebook! All the wines you taste are for sale in our e-shop (you can use the computer at the school to order and ship back home) or in our wine shop in Siena (we don’t have the possibility of selling wines out of our Florence school). Inclusions:

Wines: 6 and from the best Tuscan wine producers
Our (beautiful) wine map of Tuscany
paper to take notes
Riedel glassware for tasting
Crackers and water to clean your palate between tastings
15th-century wine tasting room

TCW-120 | 2 hours | 0 credits

LEVEL 1 AWARD IN WINE

The WSET Foundation Certificate in wine and spirits, is a course of 6 hrs (+ 1 of examination), and introduces the candidates to the technique of tasting wine and spirits characteristics of the common, grape varieties used to produce wines. The qualification aims to provide the basic product knowledge and skill in the selling and/or service of wine to prepare a person for their job in retail and hospitality. Outline of program:

The main styles of wine
The WSET LEVEL 1
systematic approach to tasting
The characteristics of the common grape varieties
Service and retail wine
Health, safety and legal issues
The matching of food and wine

To gain the qualification the student will be required to finish with a multiple-choice paper of 30 questions. LOAIW-130 | 7 hours | 0 credits