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 – limited to 14 students – will taste 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.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
“Wine, Cheese And The Pursuit Of Happiness” is a Level 1 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 cheese pairing concepts.
PROGRAM FORMAT
2 hour classroom program
6 wines + 6 cheeses tasted
PROGRAM SYLLABUS
TASTING LIST (tentative – subject to change)
2017 Fili Millesimato Prosecco (Veneto, northeast Italy)
Maplebrook Ricotta Fresca (Cow’s milk, Bennington, VT, USA)
2016 Summersday White | Chenin Blanc + Viognier blend (Lodi, south-central California, USA)
Montchèvre Chèvre (Goat’s milk, Wisconsin, USA)
2015 Le Prince de Courthézon “Prestige” Côtes du Rhône | Grenache + Syrah + Mourvedre blend (Courthézon, southern Rhône Valley, France)
Arc de Triomphe Double-Crème Brie (Cow’s milk, Seine-et-Marne, north-central France )
2015 Principe Strozzi “Selvascura” Toscana IGT | Sangiovese + Merlot + Cabernet Sauvignon blend (Bolgheri, Livorno, southern Tuscany, central Italy)
Grana Padano (Cow’s milk, Emilia-Romagna, north-central Italy)
2010 Pagos de Tahola Rioja Reserva | Tempranillo + Graciano blend (Rioja, north-central Spain)
Manchego (Sheep’s milk, La Mancha, central Spain)
2016 Aluado Alicante Bouschet | 100% Alicante Bouschet (Lisbon, central Portugal)
Great Hill Blue (Cow’s milk blue, Marion, Massachusetts, USA)
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.
YOUR EDUCATOR
JONATHON ALSOP is founder & executive director of the Boston Wine School, author of The Wine Lover’s Devotional and In Vino Veritas, and a commentator for National Public Radio on WGBH | Boston Public Radio and Under The Radar.
He began writing about wine, food and travel in 1988 and emerged as a wine expert through his syndicated wine column. He has contributed numerous articles to the Associated Press, Frequent Flyer Magazine, La Vie Claire, Beverage Business Magazine, Mobil Travel Guides, Fodor’s Travel Guides, Boston Globe, and many others.
Jonathon founded the Boston Wine School in 2000 where he teaches wine and food classes in a dedicated 100% snob-free zone. His new book Wine Life: A Collection Of Verses will be published in 2020.
VENUE
SOLERA – A SHRINE TO WINE is a neighborhood specialty wine store nestled in the heart of Roslindale Square (Boston). The store, now in its 18th year is warmly decorated in green and deep purple resembling the colors of the grapes and filled with rack after rack of “offbeat wines”, pretty much everything a modern wine geek seeks out and loves, at more than reasonable prices.
With nearly 500 bottle selections from across the globe, unlike the monster chain stores and supermarkets, Solera takes a back seat to none and offers a stellar sampling of the world’s best and some unusual vineyards with average prices from 10 to 20 dollars or more, if your budget allows. Since wine education, and customer service are vital to our business, individual attention to the customer is the reason why the press has designated the Solera staff as “well versed grape-talkers”. When you want to smarten up on your wine there is no better place to do just that than in this little gem of a store, where wine is constantly being discussed with purpose and a smile!
