Join us in our new monthly series as you learn about the wines of the world from one of the area's most knowledgeable sommeliers, Philippe Newlin of Wine.com. Hosted in our on premise winery, each session is a guided journey through tastes of 6 wines plus 6 nibbles crafted to enhance the wines of the evening.


Nov. 9: ‘B’EST COAST Reds

California as well as Oregon and Washington are now established as true world-class red regions. Amazing Cabernets, Merlots, Pinots are coming out of the West Coast to challenge the more classic regions’ offerings from Bordeaux to Burgundy. We will examine why these wines are so successful and we'll focus on the areas you need to know: Napa, Sonoma, the Central Coast, Oregon's Willamette Valley, and Eastern Washington State. These wines are not just fruitforward crowd pleasers, but also elegant and age-worthy classics.


Jan 11: WHITE BURGUNDY: The Higher Mountain of Chardonnay

If there is only one white you need to know it comes from here. Chardonnay's chosen place to grow, Burgundy turns out wines of such power, complexity and finesse that no one can deny that these wines rank second to none among fine whites. We'll look at the classics: Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne and their differences. You will walk away with the knowledge to impress even the most wine-savvy friend over a seafood dinner.

January 26: RED BURGUNDY: Catnip of the Upper Classes 

Move over Sideways, this is the Pinot Noir that sets the standard for growers around the world. The 'Golden Slope', or Cote d'Or, makes the most complex, refined and age-worthy wines going. The most complicated wine zone on earth made (almost) simple. We'll look at why it’s not only important to have a base knowledge of Burgundy’s different villages, but also of specific vineyards, and maybe most importantly (the real secret) of the better producers. We'll try wines from the famous villages of Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuit-St-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, Pommard, and Volnay. We'll also try some Vosne-Romanée, the silkiest and most expensive Pinot of them all. 

Feb. 8: PIEDMONT: HILLS OF GOLD

‘King of wines, wine of kings’, or so goes the saying when it comes to the greatest wine of Piedmont (of all of Italy?). Barolo and Barbaresco reign supreme, but the Piedmontese also need other wines to enjoy while waiting for these age worthy wines to mellow with the years. We will examine the spectrum from the Northeast of Italia: Moscato d’Asti, Gavi, Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo di Langhe. And of course we have to finish with the King and Queen: Barolo and Barbaresco. The only thing you will be left looking for are a fork and a knife!

March 7: HOT LATIN AMERICA

The hottest region on the planet right now, Latin America is at the top of its game and is benefitting from its great value-for-money offerings, but also its super-premium new Icons. We will look at the top categories from Argentina and Chile. Malbec, a French grape originally, has taken the US by storm now that the Argentines have learned to polish it for export markets. And Chile is full of happy surprises that go well beyond the Cabernets. Get ready to learn about the greatest values and the new classics.

March 28: PORTUGAL: EUROPE’S BEST KEP SECRET…

Everyone knows Portugal for its Port, but there is so much more. Portugal is the sharpest price competitor from Europe right now. We will look at a cross-section ranging from Vinho Verde, the great white of the North, to the dry wines of the Douro which compete now with Bordeaux, and everything in between. And we will do the Ports (Ruby, Tawny and Vintage). If some of the wines are made from grapes that are hard to pronounce, the prices and quality make up for that in spades!

April 8: SYRAH @ THE WORLD

In this session we will take one grape, possibly the fastest ascending red grape of them all, and look at its performance around the globe. By the end of the seminar you will have an excellent sense of your order of preference when it comes to Italy, Australia, the West Coast, the classic Rhône, and a few other unexpected locations. Moving up and down and around the planet never tasted so good..

May 9: BORDEAUX vs. NAPA THROWDOWN

Bordeaux, the French classic, is known for its supremely elegant and age-worthy wines made predominantly from the cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes. Napa is America’s favorite wine region, home to big, lush Cabs, Merlots and Bordeaux blends. In this session we will taste four pairs of wines, all ‘blind’ – which is to say we will not know which is the Bordeaux and which is the Napa in each set until after we’ve compared the wines. You may be surprised!