Baffled and confused by wine? Maybe a wine course is for you

Have you ever found yourself standing in a supermarket, baffled and confused by the wall of unknown wines? Or, worse, been handed a wine list crammed with unpronounceable names in a restaurant? Maybe you should try a wine course. Attending live tastings may be difficult over the coming months, but they can be great fun, as well as being a way to socialise and meet like-minded people. I know of one married couple who met at an Irish Times tasting.

At time of going to press, many companies are planning tastings and courses from late January onwards. If committing to a six-week wine course seems too much, Maureen O'Hara, who runs premierwinetraining.com, one of the leading providers of wine education, runs a renowned one-day course. You can buy vouchers, valid for five years, online.

Most educators will offer a similar service or if you want to avoid all crowds, many now offer online tastings and courses. If you have a group of interested friends, you could enjoy a private tasting curated to suit your tastes.

Some wine retailers run courses too. Searsons has Vino Cru, a subscription service with the option of tastings, and O’Briens, Neighbourhood Wines, and The Corkscrew in Dublin and O’Donovan’s in Cork all have options. La Cave on South Anne Street has been running successful wine courses and evenings for decades now.

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Readers may be familiar with Bridey's Wine Chats on Instagram and Facebook, which has been followed up with Virtual Vineyards, an online wine course. See virtualvineyards.ie. Winetastingireland.com, run by the knowledgeable Lynda Coogan, has courses on the topics of Back to Basics, and BYOB Virtual Wine Tasting.