Wine Club 27 November 2021

The last bell of term has rung and that’s it for the Spectator Wine School for another year. Conducted via Zoom over four successive Thursdays, the sellout course was expertly taught by Laura Taylor, marketing director of our partners Private Cellar. Truancy rates were almost nonexistent — but then three 75cl bottles of wine per pupil per class is quite an incentive. Our learners even got a commemorative edition of the late, great Michael Broadbent’s seminal Wine Tasting, published by the Académie du Vin Library, as a primer.

Each 90-minute session was devoted to one of four major grape varieties, namely Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, and thanks to Mrs Taylor’s genial, lightly worn expertise, we learned an enormous amount. Our students were a diligent, A-grade bunch and all passed with flying colours, receiving a graduation certificate signed by the headmaster (Mr Nelson) as proof. And who wouldn’t want one of those hanging on their loo wall? We tasted excellent wines during our studies and I felt it only fair that these bottles should be made available to the PTA and the wider Spectator readership while stocks last.