Last night marks the first night in the last six weeks that I did not have a wine class to teach, and truth be told, the evening seemed a little empty. Our Fall Wine Discovery series at Levity concluded Monday, November 26th. Our core group of tasters, along with a few drop in guests, gathered to taste some stellar wines, and review the key themes of the course. Over the six weeks of the class, I attempted to provide an introduction to wine appreciation, covering topics ranging from the basics of wine tasting, to the influences of the winemaking process, to the concept of terroir, to an overview of the wines of France, and the wines of Italy.

My goal with the course is to broaden the horizons and palates of the attendees. Over the past six weeks, we have tasted wines that nearly everyone is familiar with, such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The course explored nuanced aspects of these wines, such as when we demonstrated the effects of oak aging and malolactic fermentation on Chardonnay. The course provided overviews of familiar wine producing regions, such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Napa Valley, but in an effort to illustrate the vast number of wines and wine producing regions that consumers can access today, also highlighted more lesser-known wine producing regions and grape varietals, such as Ribolla Gialla, Saumur-Champigny, Savennieres, and Gamay, among others.