Wine Sessions
$59.00 – $325.00
Learn more about wine at Jessica’s at Swift House Inn.
Jessica’s at Swift House Inn is happy to announce a series of wine education events to be held on alternating Wednesdays throughout the spring at the restaurant. Sessions will run from 6:00 to 7:30 and will be $59 per session (purchase the entire series for $325).
Join our sommelier, David Herren, for several guided tours of the world of wines. We will taste and sample the critical wines and grapes of the major wine producing areas of the world, as well as learning a bit about how the different grapes are expressed in the varying terroirs. We’ll begin learn to distinguish among the noble grape varietals, the basics of wine pairing, and we’ll answer many of your wine questions.
Sessions will include wine tastings and light accompanying “nibbles.” Restaurant dinner service will not be available. If you enjoy any of the wines and would like to take home a bottle, participants receive a 20% discount on their purchases.
To make reservations for any or all of these sessions, please call Swift House at 802-388-9925 and register your name or simply purchase the classes on this page. We encourage groups of friends to join together! We hope to keep the size of the sessions such that everyone will have plenty of time to ask any and all of their questions. If response is great enough, we will consider opening up even more sessions to accommodate the demand. Likewise, should registration for any particular session be insufficient, we reserve the right to cancel or reschedule.
Sessions
March 22 – The Noble Reds
Certain grape varieties have spread across the globe and their names are known to even the most neophyte of wine lovers: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc. What makes these grapes “noble” and why have they become so popular? Let's find out!
David Herren was personally invited by Cynthia Lohr, founding board member of the Paso Robles CAB Collective, to tour the vineyards of Paso Robles. He returns with fresh information about this vibrant and jammy grape.
We’ll look at the principal noble red varietals used in the world today and begin to learn to distinguish them in the glass. We’ll also look at how these grapes express themselves in differing ways as they have migrated around the globe.
April 5 – The Noble Whites
Just as there are very commonly known red grape varietals that have encircled the globe, a handful of white varietals have similarly gained acceptance world-wide: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling. In this session we’ll learn how these grapes have been used as they have migrated from their point of origin to dominate the global wine market.
April 19 – Introduction to Italian Wines
Italy has a very long history of producing wine beginning long before the Roman Empire began to expand, taking wine making with it. Most consumers know only the very basics of Italian wines but there is much more to know than Chianti—in fact there are over 1,900 grape varieties in use across the Italian peninsula! In this session we will survey the major wine producing regions within Italy, with special focus on some of the lesser known regions and grapes.
May 3 – The Wines of Spain
Spanish wines are frequently among the finest in the world and yet they remain a terrific value. Tradition has long been a very important aspect of the Spanish wine industry, yet recent decades have seen significant innovations and the introduction of very modern methods of production. Both new and old exist side by side, often in the same winery, each advising and improving the end product.
In this session we’ll look at the history of wine in Spain, the noble grapes of Spain and the primary regions within the Iberian Peninsula. Aging designations are of considerable importance in Spanish wines and we’ll learn the basics to understand these aging designations.
May 17 – Wines of the Southern Hemisphere
Wine is produced all around the world though some regions receive the bulk of attention. It may be surprising to learn that in fact, the oldest producing grape vine in the world is found in Australia! In this session we’ll focus on the world class wines being produced in the Southern Hemisphere nations of Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
May 31 – Bubbles & Dessert Wines
Who doesn’t love bubbles? While Champagne is the best known of them all, sparkling wines are produced in many different ways all around the world. In this session we’ll celebrate the arrival of summer by learning something of the principal methods used to produce sparkling wine and taste examples of these wines from around the globe. We’ll also take a look at some classic dessert wines and how they differ from grocery store sweet wines.
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