Blind tasting wine is more than a parlor trick, or a way to impress your friends, it is the most effective way to develop your tasting skills.

Learn to identify grapes and regions by color, acidity, residual sugar, tannin, alcohol, winemaking techniques, flavor, and aroma. These skills will help you improve your ability to assess, judge, describe, and buy wine (for both consumers and wine professionals). We will blind taste 12 wines, each followed by a debriefing and group discussion. You will learn how to:

• Assess the main components of wine
• Recognize the main styles of wine
• Identify the most important wine grapes and blends
• Understand the impact of soil and climate on color, aroma, and flavor
• Recognize winemaking techniques
• Distinguish between typicity, quality and style
• Assess the components needed for extended aging
• Describe color, aroma, and flavor
• Make final quality assessments.

Participants may choose to attend in person at the Capital Wine School or virtually on Zoom.

In Person Participants

• Please note that the building in which we are located does not have an elevator, and there are several sets of stairs to navigate to get to our classrooms on the second floor.

Virtual Participants

• Virtual participants may pick their samples up at the Capital Wine School between 12pm – 5pm on January 22.
• Virtual participants who are unable to pick their samples up may request shipping for an additional fee. However, due to various factors we are unable to guarantee delivery by the event date. Participants who choose the shipping option and who do not receive their wines in time for the live session are encouraged to wait and taste their wines along with a recording of the class session.
• Requests for shipping must be received at least 7 days prior to class, and all registrations for virtual attendance must be received by close of business the Monday prior to the class.
• Additional information regarding curbside pickups will be emailed a day or two prior to class.
• You may review our policy regarding wine samples for virtual participants here.

To ensure a quality experience for all participants, each class or course requires a minimum number of registrations. If this minimum is not met, we may need to cancel the session. In such cases, registered students will be notified as soon as possible and provided with options for rescheduling or a full refund.

By purchasing your ticket(s), you agree to our payment, refund, cancellation, and reschedule policy.