Dessert & Sparkling Wine Reviews
Seven sparkling & dessert wines for your holiday splurges! For more, we strongly recommend signing up for a wine tasting class (we do in-person and virtual) or signing up for our …
Wine School
Phoodie.com Editor Joins Wine School Team
Back in 2011, the Wine School had moved from Fairmount to our Rittenhouse location. As part of the move, we brought in a new generation of wine instructors. This was the …
South American Wines
Where did you first discover the wines of South America? For me, it was years ago (2004, to be more or less precise) when the Wine School hosted a charity wine …
The Top Five Wines for Raw Oysters
The brine and sweet fragrant flesh of a shucked oyster is an essential tribute to the summer. The wines served alongside should reflect a bit of sunshine and refreshment, too. Here …
Drinking Nicolas Feuillatte’s Palmes d’Or with some Philly Racists
The Four Seasons In 2010, the Wine School ran a Champagne event at the old Four Seasons that featured a vertical tasting of Nicolas Feuillatte’s Palmes d’Or. Alas, I fear that …
Las Rocas de San Alejandro 2005 Garnacha, Catalyud
The Wine School is pouring a Garnacha these days that is flat-out charming me: The Las Rocas de San Alejandro 2005 from Catalyud, Spain. Not only is it fabulously fresh with …
A Career in Wine?
From Radio to WineIf you jumped back in time to 1996, you would find me pounding back espressos in a glass-enclosed office at a National Public Radio station. If it were …
Studert-Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr 2005 Riesling Kabinett, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
Anyone who’s been to a Wine School class knows that we’re big on that whole petrol-y thing that good riesling has. And this bottle possesses it in spades, and then some: …
Marnie Old, an embattled sommelier?
In the Daily News (many years ago) a much-talked-about gossip column pointed out that longtime Philly sommelier Marnie Old was battling a budding restaurateur. The owners of the Union Trust steakhouse …
Private Wine Events
In 2009, the Wine School started offering private wine events. This was the press release we sent announcing this new venture. This was a very successful program, which we still run …
Our First Center City Wine School
The Wine School of Philadelphia was initially located in the Fairmount neighborhood. Our first foray downtown was the second floor of a then-new restaurant. This is the press release announcing the …
Turkey Flat 2005 “Butcher’s Block Red,” Barossa
This classic Rhone-style blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Mourvedre is custom-made for dry-herb-rubbed lamb chops. Or, frankly, just for sipping on its own. There’s a reason Turkey Flat has long been …
Bestest Day Ever
Oh POOP, this is GREAT! I rolled into the school late today, expecting a rather boring day in the office. The usual: need to file a UC report to the state, …
The Top Ten Truths of Tuscan Tourism
The Wine School of Philadelphia took our show on the road the first week of June, converting the Villa Giusterna in Chianti into our Tuscan campus. Instead of boring everyone with …
A Sideways Blast into the Past
Just going through some old files on the wine school‘s web server when I found an old promo for a yet-to-be-released movie called Sideways. The school had been given about 20 …
Hot Hot Hot
I preach this to the Wine School’s students every chance I get, but since there are readers of the School’s blog who I haven’t yet had the chance to meet, it …