Our wide range of events caters for everyone, from the beginner to the connoisseur, but this event definitely fell into the category ‘for busy people’!

I love teaching about French wines. France makes the world’s most famous and widely-emulated wine styles, yet it can be complicated to get to grips with, since the grape variety is rarely mentioned on the label. You need a bit of background knowledge to know what style of wine you’re going to be getting. So tonight’s session was a big undertaking: all the classic wine regions of France in just two hours.

Nearly everyone attending the event was new to Berrys’ Wine School. Many had been bought the tasting as a Christmas gift, by a friend or relative who knew that they adored drinking wine and would like to improve their ability to navigate restaurant wine lists.

In order to fit everything in, we literally whizzed around the country in true whistlestop style, covering the bare essentials. Champagne featured first, followed by the popular Loire classic, Sancerre. After a crisply dry Alsace Riesling, an exquisite Puligny-Montrachet and a classy red Bordeaux to name but a few, we ended the evening on a sweet note with a sumptuous glass of Sauternes. Grape varieties, labelling terms, tastes to look out for – all were demystified this evening, with significant contribution from class members, lively debate and interesting questions thrown into the mix. A gorgeous line-up of cheeses as well as canapés prepared by our Head Chef Stewart Turner completed the evening and prompted some discussion on food and wine matching.

If you love drinking wine and have always meant to get round to learning a bit more, don’t miss out on the chance to do so in the company of fellow wine-lovers in the unique atmosphere of our historic cellars.

See our events calendar on our website.