Gift Certificate for Boston Wine School

Perfect for the wine lover on your list!
Order your gift certificate online, download the gift card, and your shopping is complete.
Just order your Boston Wine School gift certificate and you’ll receive email instructions and a link to download your full color gift card.

BWS gift certificates are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. They are valid as of the date of purchase on your e-ticket and expire on the same date seven years from the date of purchase.
Gift certificates are good for all publicly listed classes & events at any Boston Wine School location.

BWSEd Level 1: Certificate in Wine | Boston Wine School @ VINOvations

Level 1 Certificate in Wine
Saturday + Sunday, November  17 + 18, 10am – 3pm
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Level 1 is an introductory course for beginners and enthusiasts. It assumes some exposure to wine but little or no formal wine knowledge. This program is appropriate for both consumers and professionals in all wine, food, hospitality and service industries.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Students will learn technical wine tasting, the major wine grapes, wine and food pairing basics, and fundamentals of wine style. The emphasis in Level 1 is on providing an overview of wine and wine tasting, plus an introduction to wine and food pairing concepts.
LEVEL 1 PROGRAM FORMAT

8 hours classroom program
20 – 24 wines tasted
Online multiple choice exam
1 hour
25 questions
Minimum passing score 75%

LEVEL 1 PROGRAM SYLLABUS

Seven “S” System Of Wine Tasting
The Big Four: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon
Understanding Wine Grapes: Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Rosé, Montepulciano, Syrah, Merlot
Fundamentals Of Wine And Food Pairing
Wine Styles: Old World Versus New World

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
Guests, students and certificate candidates must meet the legal minimum age for the retail purchase of alcoholic beverages in the country where the program is being held: 21 in the USA and China.
CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS

Multiple choice exam of 25 questions
Complete classroom program
Complete classroom wine tasting exercise

Come To Cheeses! (Class + Dinner) | Boston Wine School @ VINOvations

Wine and cheese are a naturally delicious combination. They’ve been together for 8,000 years that we know of, and our species has been busy figuring out ways to make both of them more and more delicious all the time. The match of wine and cheese is partly natural and automatic, but by applying ourselves, our tastes, our abilities to understand and choose, we can put together pairings that are many times greater than just the sum of the parts.

This class will experience six major wine and cheese combinations together that express the full range of how these foods match up: by style, by texture, by flavor, geography, even temperament.

TASTING CLASS MENU

PLEASE NOTE this menu is tentative and variable based on availability, inspiration, or whimsy.

Bubbling Over
2014 Roche Lacour Cremant Brut 60% Chardonnay, 25% Chenin Blanc, 10% Mauzac, 5% Pinot Noir (Limoux, southern France) Canapés of Ricotta Fresca

Sounds Delicious
2016 Mahau Sound Sauvignon Blanc 100% Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand) Westfield Farm Capri

Milk Made
2016 Pietro Disarti DOCG Roero Arneis 100% Arneis (Roero, Piedmont, northwest Italy) Robiola a due latti

Merlot, It’s Me
2010 The Forager “Rack and Roll” Merlot 100% Merlot (Napa Valley, northern California, USA) Aged Monterey Jack

The Reign Of Spain
2013 Altos de la Guardia Crianza Rioja 100% Tempranillo (Rioja, northern central Spain) Manchego

Kind Of Blue
2014 Le Chai au Quai, Le Grand Chai Haut-Medoc 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot (Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, southwestern France) Fourme d’Ambert

DINNER MENU

A Night In Italy

Timballo | Baked pasta with eggplant Spinaci alla fiorentina | Baked spinach Pollo Cristina | Chicken baked in wine & sage Insalata mista | Mixed green salad Citrus polenta cake with balsamic strawberries

2015 Strozzi Vernaccia di San Gimignano (San Gimignano, southern Tuscany) 2014 Collezione di Paolo Chianti Riserva (Rufina, central Tuscany)

BWSEd Level 2: Certificate in Wine and Wine Tasting | Boston Wine School @ VINOvations

TIME LINE

Level 2 Certificate in Wine Saturday + Sunday, July 14 + 15, 10am – 3pm

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Level 2 is a foundation course for beginners and enthusiasts. It assumes some exposure to wine but little or no formal wine knowledge. This program is appropriate for both consumers and professionals in all wine, food, hospitality and service industries.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

 

LEVEL 2 PROGRAM FORMAT

8 hours classroom program
20 – 24 wines tasted
Online multiple choice exam
1 hour
25 questions
Minimum passing score 75%

LEVEL 2 PROGRAM SYLLABUS

 

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
Guests, students and certificate candidates must meet the legal minimum age for the retail purchase of alcoholic beverages in the country where the  program is being held: 21 in the USA and China.

CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS

Multiple choice exam of 25 questions
Complete classroom program
Complete classroom wine tasting exercise

BWSEd Level 1: Certificate in Wine | Boston Wine School @ VINOvations

Level 1 Certificate in Wine
Saturday + Sunday, September 29 + 30, 10am – 3pm
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Level 1 is an introductory course for beginners and enthusiasts. It assumes some exposure to wine but little or no formal wine knowledge. This program is appropriate for both consumers and professionals in all wine, food, hospitality and service industries.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Students will learn technical wine tasting, the major wine grapes, wine and food pairing basics, and fundamentals of wine style. The emphasis in Level 1 is on providing an overview of wine and wine tasting, plus an introduction to wine and food pairing concepts.
LEVEL 1 PROGRAM FORMAT

8 hours classroom program
20 – 24 wines tasted
Online multiple choice exam
1 hour
25 questions
Minimum passing score 75%

LEVEL 1 PROGRAM SYLLABUS

Seven “S” System Of Wine Tasting
The Big Four: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon
Understanding Wine Grapes: Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Rosé, Montepulciano, Syrah, Merlot
Fundamentals Of Wine And Food Pairing
Wine Styles: Old World Versus New World

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
Guests, students and certificate candidates must meet the legal minimum age for the retail purchase of alcoholic beverages in the country where the program is being held: 21 in the USA and China.
CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS

Multiple choice exam of 25 questions
Complete classroom program
Complete classroom wine tasting exercise

Wine, Cheese, And The Pursuit Of Happiness (Class + Dinner) | Boston Wine School @ VINOvations

Wine and cheese are a naturally delicious combination. They’ve been together for 8,000 years that we know of, and our species has been busy figuring out ways to make both of them more and more delicious all the time. The match of wine and cheese is partly natural and automatic, but by applying ourselves, our tastes, our abilities to understand and choose, we can put together pairings that are many times greater than just the sum of the parts.

This class will experience six major wine and cheese combinations together that express the full range of how these foods match up: by style, by texture, by flavor, geography, even temperament.

TASTING CLASS MENU

PLEASE NOTE this menu is tentative and variable based on availability, inspiration, or whimsy.

Bubbling Over
2014 Roche Lacour Cremant Brut 60% Chardonnay, 25% Chenin Blanc, 10% Mauzac, 5% Pinot Noir (Limoux, southern France) Canapés of Ricotta Fresca

Sounds Delicious
2016 Mahau Sound Sauvignon Blanc 100% Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand) Westfield Farm Capri

Milk Made
2016 Pietro Disarti DOCG Roero Arneis 100% Arneis (Roero, Piedmont, northwest Italy) Robiola a due latti

Merlot, It’s Me
2010 The Forager “Rack and Roll” Merlot 100% Merlot (Napa Valley, northern California, USA) Aged Monterey Jack

The Reign Of Spain
2013 Altos de la Guardia Crianza Rioja 100% Tempranillo (Rioja, northern central Spain) Manchego

Kind Of Blue
2014 Le Chai au Quai, Le Grand Chai Haut-Medoc 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot (Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, southwestern France) Fourme d’Ambert

DINNER MENU

A Night In Italy

Timballo | Baked pasta with eggplant Spinaci alla fiorentina | Baked spinach Pollo Cristina | Chicken baked in wine & sage Insalata mista | Mixed green salad Citrus polenta cake with balsamic strawberries

2015 Strozzi Vernaccia di San Gimignano (San Gimignano, southern Tuscany) 2014 Collezione di Paolo Chianti Riserva (Rufina, central Tuscany)

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Southern Star Malbec: New world fruit, old world style | Boston Wine School Wine Club by Jonathon Alsop

Turn on the grill for this stylish barbecue-ready Malbec

By Jonathon Alsop | Boston Wine School Founder

18 April 2018

2016 Alma Andina Malbec Reserve (Mendoza, Argentina)

Inventive holidays like International Malbec Day give us the chance to look deep into the many Malbec based wines we teach with in wine class. Alma Andina – Soul of the Andes – hits the Boston Wine School trifecta: we use it in “Come To Cheeses” with Manchego, “Grape Expectations” and “Wine 101,” classes that represent the core of our curriculum.

As you can imagine, the world is full of tasty Malbec under $20, but the style of this Alma Andina is special. There’s plenty of dark brooding fruit flavors in the glass, tastes that will remind you of dates and figs and dried cherries.

But if you step out a little into the lake, the bottom drops off suddenly, and deep earthy subterranean flavors take over. I know I completely mixed my metaphors there, but this wine is worth it. If I’d tasted it blind, I’d have guessed French Malbec, a category that starts at $25 a bottle.

Argentina is a land in love with its carnivorous ways. It’s not unusual to have chicken, pork, beef, lamb and goat all in the course of the same meal, and you can tell this week’s wine was brought up in that same tradition. Don’t feel left out, vegans and vegetarians: the match here is with the grill and the char, something you can achieve completely, even meat free. I can definitely see myself working through a case of this Malbec once we start grilling again.

ORDER NOW!
http://www.vinovations.us/alma-andina-malbec-reserve-2016/

REGULARLY $18.99

6-PACK 20% off + FREE shipping = $89 use code WINESDAY6

12-PACK 35% off + FREE shipping = $144 ($12 a bottle or $2.40 a glass!) use code WINESDAY12

HURRY! Sale ends Wednesday 25 April 2018

 

 

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Pinot To The People | Boston Wine School Wine Club by Jonathon Alsop

Pinot Envy Along The Sonoma Coast

By Jonathon Alsop | Boston Wine School Founder

11 April 2018

2013 DeLoach “Private Collection” Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, California, USA)

California makes more Pinot Noir than it grows, not by importing out-of-state wine, but by blending in other grapes. Technically, US wine only has to be 75% one grape type to be named for that grape on the label. In theory, your favorite bottle could be pure Pinot, or it could be three-quarters, or anything in between.

Truth is, you can often easily see this in the glass. Pinot Noir – the grape – is light red and thin skinned, and many classic Euro Pinot Noir is so light you can read your phone through a glass of it. When you crack open a California Pinot and it comes out dark red, almost opaque, that’s a sure sign the wine’s blended, often with a high-pigment grape like Petite Sirah.

This week’s special comes from our “Pinot To The People” class, and we use the DeLoach “Private Collection” for a lot of reasons – its bright cherry and cranberry fruit flavors, its slight earthiness and outdoorsy aromas – but mostly for its authenticity. The color is real life burgundy and the flavor is true-to-type Pinot Noir.

If you’re a fan of cool-climate Oregon Pinot, this is a great choice. It comes from the Sonoma Coast, way north and west of Sonoma Valley and much closer to the cold Pacific. The result is a slow-grown wine full of flavor and finesse.

2013 DeLoach “Private Collection” Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast, California, USA)

ORDER NOW! REGULARLY $28.99

6-PACK 20% off + FREE shipping = $139 use code WINESDAY6
12-PACK 35% off + FREE shipping = $225 ($19 a bottle or $3.80 a glass!) use code WINESDAY12

HURRY! Sale ends 18 April 2018

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Boston Wine School Wine Club by Jonathon Alsop | Zinfandel Dreams

Why We’re All Living In Zin

By Jonathon Alsop | Boston Wine School Founder

Wednesday, 4 April 2018

2014 Raymond Vineyards “The Inaugural R Collection” Zinfandel 
(St. Helena, Napa, California, USA)

Our “Signature Grapes” tasting class really gets fundamental by tasting the connection between certain wines and the places around the world they’ve made famous – and vice versa. Zinfandel fills this role in California wine. Cabernet and Chardonnay may be just as famous, but you only get this kind of Zinfandel one place, and that’s a unique geographic bond that you can taste in the bottle.

People ask me all the time what’s my favorite wine, and I’ve got a lot of favorites, but the truth is, it’s Zinfandel. I love California’s signature grape because it has a little bit of everything I love in a wine – fruit, spice, earthiness, black AND white pepper.

In the wine world, we call this balance, and if you balance flavors in some dynamic and tasty way, we call this style. On the spectrum of Zinfandel, this Raymond stakes out the fruit and juice range, and its style is alive, vivid, and California sunny. The color is dark candy-apple red, and the flavors will remind you first of ripe red plums and black raspberries, then almost behind the scenes, the wine smells like dried herbs, even a little like cocoa.

Best of all, this 2014 is young by Zinfandel standards. It possesses great youth and vitality right now, but I would be looking forward to drinking this in the 2020s too.

REGULARLY $21.99 – ORDER NOW!

6-PACK 20% off + FREE shipping = $99 use code WINESDAY6

12-PACK 35% off + FREE shipping = $169 ($14 a bottle or $2.80 a glass!) use code WINESDAY12

HURRY! Sale ends 11 April 2018

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Boston Wine School Wine Club by Jonathon Alsop | Blending For Power Wine

Cabernet + Zinfandel = Delicious

By Jonathon Alsop | Boston Wine School Founder

Wednesday, 28 March 2018

2016 The Ocean Howler Cabernet Sauvignon + Zinfandel
(Lodi, central California, USA)

This is one of those wines that really sets your expectations before you even get into the bottle.

First of all, the richly artistic label – evocative and powerful on its own – promises a powerful wine experience. And then the blend – Cabernet Sauvignon plus Zinfandel – is simultaneously new yet embarrassingly obvious too. As soon as I saw it, I had one of those “DUH!” moments. America loves Cabernet… America loves Zinfandel – what took us so long?

There are other blends out there that use Cab and Zin with other grapes, but so far this is the only pure Cabernet + Zinfandel blend I’ve ever encountered, and I plan to encounter it again and again! This is a $17 blend that tastes better than any $17 Cabernet or $17 Zinfandel on its own.

The Ocean Howler really represents the best of both worlds: the bright, juicy, fruity happiness of Zinfandel combined with Cabernet’s earthiness and weight. It’s not quite April yet, but I’m already thinking about barbecue season, and this blend would be delicious with anything smoky and meaty off the grill. At just $2.20 a glass, this is one of the tastiest under-the-radar wines I’ve come across in a long time.

REGULARLY $16.99 – ORDER NOW!

6-PACK 20% off + FREE shipping = $79 use code WINESDAY6

12-PACK 35% off + FREE shipping = $129 ($11 a bottle or $2.20 a glass!) use code WINESDAY12

HURRY! Sales ends 4 April 2018