These classes generally cover topics for people who  feel intimidated about shopping for wine, who are confused by all the different labels with the names of places and grapes they never heard of.   These beginner wine classes are developed to take the mystery out of your wine experience. In its most basic format, the classes guide you beginning with the grape at the vineyard to the final bottle of wine at your table. You are shown how to taste a wine, how to understand the different wine labels, and how to properly serve your wine. These classes are normally offered in a relaxed atmosphere so that a beginning wine lover doesn't feel intimidated and they usually offer a chance to give feedback, so no matter what experience level you are, everyone can find a benefit in one of the classes offered for people new to wine – even the more experienced wine lovers!

For us, there was a local wine store that offered these classes and we walked to the class.  We recommend you take a cab, because you are tasting the wine, not just looking at it.  Also check to see about any fees involved if you register and take one of the classes.

Additional classes taught at a more beginning level may include information on how to identify a wines key components, how experts score a wine, proper wine serving temperatures and how to identify wine styles.  you may also be interested in learning about comparing and contrasting Old World and New World wines as well as learning about the regions they were made from.  Please take a cab or other transit if you cannot walk to the class.

If you are interested in learning an appreciation of wines that are made from the most well known grapes and some of the lesser known grapes from around the world, or learning about the origin of grapes, then you may want to look into a varietal class.  If exotic wine names frightened you before then you won't be afraid after you take one of these classes that explains in a class, tasting, seminar type format the grapes and wines and growing regions and their significance of the world.  These classes teach you about diversity of flavors and their cultivation.  We found them to be an excellent resource and made some great friends too!

Once you master those things you may be interested in a class on Appellation.  In appellation classes you'll learn about wines from the world's growing regions and the classic wines produced from them. These wine regions are appellations and are recognized by the wine industry and countries from all over the world as producing wines with a distinct uniqueness and character.

If you were ever confused by labels of wines from around the world that often don't list the grape varietal name, Or, does list the varietal name, but not where the wine came from, then you will enjoy getting information from your local winery or wine shop on where to begin.  We started our trek with information online, but found the classes to expedite our learning, friendly and easy to participate in and made valuable connections to both people and new wine experiences.

Who hasn't had a stubborn cork!  If you are trying to get a cork out of a bottle that just will not cooperate then you may consider putting the bottle neck in hot water for ten seconds.  When the glass expands your cork becomes easier to remove.  Keep in mind that heat changes the flavour of wine-so no more than ten seconds and only the bottle neck!

Flavour and taste are completely dependent on the person, but in our experience, the meals that use foods that are cooked by grilling, roasting, broiling and baking are best cooked and served with oaked wines.  While meals that are steamed, poached, braised, or cooked in clear liquids work best with white wine or a red with a more subtle oak taste.  Again, I would emphasize to not become dependent on recipes and to explore your tastes.  Don't go cheap if you don't like the essence of cheap in your food, because although the alcohol is cooked away, the essence of the flavor of your wine choice stays.

If you have a light colored carpet and . . . oops . . . you spill your red wine on it then grab a bottle of white wine and pour it over the top of the red wine stain. The white against the red takes the red out. A professional carpet cleaner gave us that advice and it works!  It has to do with the acid content, which is why citrus based removers work.  Also, a mixture of lemon juice and white vinegar works too – but watch out that you don't only dab the stain so that the vinegar odor does not linger.

If you want your wine to chill faster, the freezer is not the place to store it.  Try adding 1/4-1/3 cup salt to the ice bucket.  You'll find that the cooling process speeds up by about fifty percent faster than water from your faucet.

Two to three weeks is almost too long to store a bottle of wine in the refrigerator.  After that period of time, it can begin to lose the flavor that makes it your favorite wine.  For champagne and sparkling wine, the time from opening to serving goes down to 24 hours, or overnight.  After 24 hours the bubbles go away – The 'fun' is gone!

Do you need to send a wine gift.  If you do then make a wine basket and include specialty foods, or wine related accessories like stoppers and corkscrews, crystal ice buckets, tongs, wine totes and bags, crystal glasses, as well as a plethora of other wine-related ideas available to you with a little online research!