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Great Wine Made Simple At Philly's Wine School

Cost: 84

GREAT WINE MADE SIMPLE • THE ESSENTIAL WINE ROADMAP

The Wine World. Finally, It All Makes Sense.

Thousands of wines. Hundreds of regions. One surprisingly simple way to make sense of it all.

The wine world can seem impossibly complicated. French labels name places instead of grapes. Italian wines have unfamiliar names. And two bottles made from the same grape can taste completely different. But underneath all that complexity is a remarkably understandable system. In this engaging, hands-on tasting, we’ll show you how to connect the essential wine grapes, classic regions, and flavor profiles into a practical framework that makes the whole world of wine finally click.

You’ll discover how to read wine labels, recognize the styles you enjoy, and choose new bottles with confidence. Whether you’re browsing a wine shop or deciphering a restaurant wine list, you’ll learn to find the wine you’re actually looking for, without needing to become a sommelier or spend a fortune.

01 / DISCOVER

Know the Essential Grapes

Learn the classic grapes and their signature flavors, and discover why the same variety can produce dramatically different wines.

02 / UNDERSTAND

Decode the Wine World

Discover how grapes, geography, and wine labels fit together, making unfamiliar bottles far easier to understand.

03 / ENJOY

Buy Wine with Confidence

Turn your new knowledge into a practical system for finding delicious wines at every price point.

Your Roadmap to the Wine World

Great wine becomes easier to understand when you recognize the connections between grape varieties, regions, and styles. We’ll explore the classic reference points that help make sense of wines from nearly anywhere on Earth.

01 / THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Bordeaux, Burgundy & the Loire

Discover why French wine labels emphasize geography rather than grape varieties. Learn how familiar grapes like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc connect to France’s legendary wine regions.

02 / THE ITALIAN CONNECTION

Tuscany & Beyond

Explore the relationship between Italian grapes and their famous regional wines. Discover how understanding Sangiovese can help unlock the world of Chianti, and why Italy’s indigenous varieties offer such remarkable diversity.

03 / THE SPANISH CONNECTION

Rioja & the Art of Aging

Discover how Tempranillo, oak aging, and traditional labeling terms help define Spain’s most recognizable wines. Learn why understanding a few key concepts can make Spanish wine labels far less mysterious.

04 / THE GERMAN CONNECTION

Riesling & the Language of Wine

From bone-dry to lusciously sweet, Riesling demonstrates how one grape can produce an extraordinary range of styles. Discover how acidity, sweetness, and climate shape the flavors in your glass.

05 / THE GLOBAL CONNECTION

The New World & Beyond

Learn how familiar grape varieties connect the wines of Europe with those of California, Chile, New Zealand, and other celebrated wine regions. Once you understand the classics, the rest of the wine world becomes much easier to explore.

These regional examples illustrate the concepts explored in class. Specific wines, grapes, regions, producers, and vintages may vary between tastings.

THE STORY BEHIND THIS CLASS

Inspired by a Legend in Wine Education

In 2000, Master Sommelier and bestselling author Andrea Immer Robinson published Great Wine Made Simple, a book that helped transform how a generation of Americans learned about wine.

The book appeared just months before the Wine School of Philadelphia opened its doors in 2001. It quickly became required reading for our earliest students, thanks to its wonderfully clear approach to understanding grapes, regions, and wine styles.

The connection became personal in 2004, when Andrea headlined a Wine School of Philadelphia lecture at the Food Network’s Great Big Food Show. She opened her presentation with a generous tribute to the school and its founder, Keith Wallace.

ANDREA IMMER ROBINSON • 2004

“You are lucky to have the Wine School of Philadelphia.”

From Andrea Immer Robinson’s remarks at the Food Network’s Great Big Food Show.

This class honors that educational philosophy: wine should be understandable, approachable, and genuinely enjoyable. Inspired by the spirit of Great Wine Made Simple, we’ve built a tasting that gives today’s students the same essential foundation, brought to life through guided comparisons and the experience of the Wine School’s instructors.

A Better Way to Understand Wine

Imagine picking up an unfamiliar bottle and recognizing its likely flavors before you open it. Imagine understanding the difference between a French appellation and an Italian DOCG, or knowing why the same grape tastes different when grown halfway around the world.

That’s the advantage of learning wine as a connected system rather than a collection of facts to memorize. With expert instruction, thoughtful tasting comparisons, and an intimate classroom setting, you’ll develop knowledge you can use every time you shop, order, or open a bottle.

YOUR WINE EDUCATION, SIMPLIFIED

Learn the System. Enjoy the World.

You don’t need to memorize thousands of wine names to become a confident wine drinker. You need a practical understanding of the grapes, regions, and styles that connect them. Great Wine Made Simple gives you that foundation, opening the door to better purchases, more adventurous discoveries, and a lifetime of enjoying great wine.

About the Wine School of Philadelphia

Founded in 2001 by winemaker and author Keith Wallace, the Wine School of Philadelphia offers public tasting classes and professional wine education in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse neighborhood. The school has earned two Best of Philly awards, including recognition for adult education, and a 2026 Philadelphia Inquirer Philly Favorites Silver award in the Trade School category. Classes take place at 109 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

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