Explore how technique, grape selection, and craftsmanship give each sparkling style its distinct voice in the glass.

Taste the evolution of a continent rewriting its wine story — from heritage vines to modern icons.

Educator: Chelsea Young

Learn to taste like a pro by comparing wines side by side. Expand your knowledge from grape to glass one sip at a time.

Theme: Sparkling Wine

Curious about taking your wine knowledge to the next level? In this free, no-pressure session, we’ll walk you through the certification programs offered at The Oenophile Institute, including WSET Levels 1–3, Wine Scholar Guild courses, and specialist programs.

Where smoke, spice, and a touch of sweetness meet — a tasting that feels like wrapping yourself in a flannel blanket by the fire.

Discover the world’s most misunderstood masterpieces — wines strengthened by spirit and steeped in centuries of tradition.

Special Guest Educator: Jordan Alexandria

Join industry expert David Kemmerer for an in-depth look at four of Portugal’s most important wine regions: Vinho Verde, Douro, Lisboa, and Alentejo. The class will explore the hallmark grape varieties of each region and the distinctive styles they produce — from the crisp, mineral-driven whites of Vinho Verde to the concentrated reds of the Douro, the coastal freshness of Lisboa, and the generous, structured wines of Alentejo.

Think you know Beaujolais? Time to meet the whole family. In this deep-dive tasting, we’ll explore all 10 crus of Beaujolais. From the light and floral to the dark, structured, and age-worthy. Same grape (Gamay), same general region, but wildly different expressions thanks to shifts in soil, slope, vintage, and microclimate.

Step into the shoes of a wine sleuth for an evening where every glass becomes a delicious mystery. Blind tasting isn’t just a party trick—it’s one of the most rewarding ways to understand and develop your palate. By exploring wine without any labels or expectations, you’ll learn to trust your senses and uncover the hidden clues that reveal what’s in the glass.

Sure, you know Chianti and Pinot Grigio — but Italy’s real treasures are hiding in plain sight. In this tasting, we’ll pour wines made from native grapes you’ve probably never met, each with its own story, personality, and sense of place. From mountain vineyards to sun-soaked islands, these wines prove that Italy’s most exciting bottles aren’t always the most famous.

Educator: Arushi Uppal

Some wines come with more than just tasting notes — they come with legends. In this spine-tingling class, we’ll pour wines tied to ghost stories, haunted vineyards, and eerie winery lore. As you taste, you’ll hear tales of phantom winemakers, cursed vintages, and historic cellars where not all the residents are living.

Join us for a hands-on class designed to help you identify and connect aromas found in wine. Through smelling fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, we'll explore how these "banker aromas" relate to specific grape varieties. With five or more wines available for tasting, you’ll gain practical experience while participating in an open community discussion. This is a fun and interactive way to enhance your wine knowledge and sensory skills!

Theme: Smells Like Fall to Me

South Africa is no longer a “New World” wine country—it’s a region defined by centuries-old vineyards, ancient soils, and a new generation of producers reshaping its global reputation. In this in-depth class, we’ll explore the full scope of South African wine

Educator: Kimberly Jones

The Northern Rhône isn’t just the spiritual home of Syrah — it’s also where Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne reach breathtaking heights. In honor of her birthday week, Chelsea is pulling bottles from her personal cellar to share the wines that made her fall in love with this region. Together, we’ll explore benchmark appellations and lesser known gems.

The Loire Valley is one of France’s most complex and diverse wine regions — a 600-mile stretch of vineyards producing everything from bone-dry whites to structured reds, and méthode traditionnelle sparklers. Yet many of its most distinctive styles fly under the radar outside of France.

Educator: Kimberly Jones

Join us for a hands-on class designed to help you identify and connect aromas found in wine. Through smelling fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, we'll explore how these "banker aromas" relate to specific grape varieties. With five or more wines available for tasting, you’ll gain practical experience while participating in an open community discussion. This is a fun and interactive way to enhance your wine knowledge and sensory skills!

Theme: Citrus and Tree Fruits

Love Burgundy but hate the price tag? Dreaming of Classified Bordeaux without the splurge? This class is your guide to drinking France’s boldest, most iconic wine styles — for way less. We’ll explore how to spot the best-value bottles from the same regions, often made by the same producers, but labeled under lesser-known appellations or declassified names

In this class, we’ll explore what makes volcanic terroirs so unique, how different types of volcanic rock influence vine stress and flavor, and why winemakers around the world seek out these sites. All while tasting through wines from iconic volcanic regions to uncover the common threads (and stunning diversity) of wines born from fire.

Educator: Arushi Uppal

Step into the shoes of a wine sleuth for an evening where every glass becomes a delicious mystery. Blind tasting isn’t just a party trick—it’s one of the most rewarding ways to understand and develop your palate. By exploring wine without any labels or expectations, you’ll learn to trust your senses and uncover the hidden clues that reveal what’s in the glass.

Can your palate tell the difference between a $7 bottle and a $37 bottle? In this fun, judgment-free blind tasting, we’ll pit Trader Joe’s wines against comparable styles from well-known producers to explore where value ends and quality begins. You’ll taste side-by-side flights without knowing what’s in your glass until the final reveal.

Guest Educator: Sofia Yankelevitch

The Douro Valley is one of the world’s most dramatic wine regions, where steep, terraced vineyards produce everything from bright, mineral-driven whites to rich, age-worthy reds, along with the legendary Ports that put Portugal on the map.

In part two of our deep dive into the world’s most iconic blends, we shift the spotlight to the producers — the visionaries, rebels, and legacy houses who turned regional traditions into global empires. From the prestige-driven bubbles of Champagne to the sun-drenched gravitas of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the storied cellars of Rioja, the renegade Super Tuscans, and the liquid gold of Sauternes, this class unpacks the business behind the blend: how style, storytelling, and scale helped shape what we now consider the pinnacle of wine.

Tasting includes high-tier examples of each blend — bold, cellar-worthy, and built to impress.

Whether you're on the floor or just want to serve with more finesse, this hands-on class covers the gold standard of sommelier service — from presenting and opening bottles to pouring with precision and handling common service scenarios with confidence. Led by a 20+ year industry veteran with experience in Michelin-starred restaurants and elite private clubs, this workshop is your chance to learn directly from one of the best.

With Advanced Sommelier Jason Wilfore

Every decision a winemaker makes leaves a trace — if you know what to look (and smell) for. This class trains your palate to recognize key winemaking techniques by their structural and aromatic signatures. Through a guided tasting, we’ll explore the sensory clues of oak fermentation, carbonic maceration, oxidative aging, and lees contact. You’ll learn how to spot lifted esters, creamy textures, oxygen-driven development, and more — building your ability to reverse-engineer how a wine was made, just by tasting it.

Think all 98-point wines are created equal? Think again. In this revealing class, we’ll pull back the curtain on the world of wine scores — who gives them, how they’re awarded, what they cost (financially and politically), and whether they actually matter to your glass. From palate preferences of top critics to the influence of big brands, we’ll explore how scoring shapes the wine world — and where it falls short.

Love Brunello but hate the price tag? Dreaming of Amarone without the splurge? This class is your guide to drinking Italy’s boldest, most iconic wine styles — for way less. We’ll explore how to spot the best-value bottles from the same regions, often made by the same producers, but labeled under lesser-known or declassified names like Rosso di Montalcino, Langhe Nebbiolo, and more.

Some of the world’s most celebrated wines are built on balance — and that balance comes from blending. In this class, we’ll explore five legendary blends that have shaped wine history: the structure-driven reds of Rioja, the rule-breaking Super Tuscan revolution, the sun-soaked richness of Rhône’s GSM, the zesty elegance of Bordeaux Blanc, and the fine-tuned fizz of Champagne.

Tucked between Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, Slovenia is quietly producing some of the most compelling wines in Europe — and it’s time you got to know them. In this deep-dive masterclass led by Slovenian wine specialist Manjula, we’ll explore the country’s diverse wine regions, indigenous grape varieties, and cutting-edge natural and traditional winemaking styles.

Explore the nuanced world of Pinot Noir through the lens of the Côte d’Or’s most iconic villages. This class offers a focused tasting of both village-level and premier cru wines from five distinct communes, showcasing how variations in soil, slope, and microclimate shape the character of Burgundy’s most celebrated red grape. Through side-by-side comparisons, students will deepen their understanding of terroir expression, quality tiers, and the stylistic differences that make each site unique.

Educator: Chelsea Young

Forget memorizing pairing rules — in this interactive tasting, you’ll learn why certain wines work with certain foods by experiencing it yourself. We’ll taste six wine styles alongside small bites representing salt, acid, fat, sugar, heat, and umami, exploring how each element affects the way wine tastes in real time. You’ll leave with practical, foolproof pairing tips and a better understanding of how to make wine and food enhance each other — no sommelier certification required.

Educator: Kimberly Jones