About Local Wine School

We are the UK's only network of independent Wine Schools. We believe that wine tasting is for everyone & offer a wide range of fun, friendly Wine Tastings & Courses at venues across the UK.

We value our independence highly - it is important to us that we don't sell wine, so can show you the best new & exciting wines available from your local wine merchants & retailers.

In 2000 Chris Powell founded the original Local Wine School in Newcastle upon Tyne. The concept was to offer informal, relaxed and fun wine courses, appealing to a wide range of customers from beginners to the more experienced - 'wine tasting for everyone'. The original Wine School still has an expanding & loyal local customer base.

Our local wine schools form strong links with local businesses , using local suppliers of wine & food, with local customers. We also use local restaurants, & promote local independent wine merchants where possible.

This approach has proved popular & successful across many locations nationwide. With a growing customer list, currently over 10,000 strong, Local Wine School is proud to be the fastest expanding network of wine schools in the country.

Our Range Of Courses

One Evening Wine Tastings
Short 4/5 week Wine Courses
Introductory 8/10 week World Wine Courses
Saturday Wine Courses (incl Champagne & Lunch)
Fine Wine Super Tastings
Food & Wine evenings
Private/Corporate Wine Events
WSET courses for Professionals

For full details of dates/prices & to book visit your nearest Wine School.

We teach people about wine by concentrating on the flavours and aromas of the wines. We focus on the taste profile of each wine explaining the characteristics of the grape variety, the climate, and the winemaking, and show you with maps and photos where they came from and how they are made. We explain why they taste like they do and ask and listen to what you think about the wines. No previous experience is required to enjoy wine tasting!

Our courses are flexible so if you have to miss a session you can just catch it on the next course, or use the credit to book a different evening.

The evenings are, above all, fun & entertaining with a relaxed atmosphere - no previous experience is required. The best & most enjoyable way to learn about wine is comparing the tastes of different wines side-by-side.

We also always focus on food & wine matches, and explain what type of foods would go with the chosen wines, and more importantly - why! We talk about aromas, tastes, and flavours rather than technical winemaking details.

Our guests come by themselves, in couples, and in larger groups, everybody is welcome. It is also a great way to meet people with the same interest in tasting & learning about wine.

Whilst all our tutors are WSET-qualified and have extensive experience of wine, they more importantly have an infectious enthusiasm for their subject and are able to communicate this to their audience without the use of confusing (& boring!) technical facts.

All our Evening Tastings (7pm - 9pm) include minimum 6 wines (12 wines & lunch on our Saturday Courses), a small amount of tasting food, comprehensive tasting notes on the selected wines, plus a tutored tasting - with Digital projection equipment & DVDs/Maps/Slides. Professional ISO tasting glasses are also provided.

We look forward to welcoming you to a Wine Tasting soon – do try one – we are sure you will enjoy it!

Chris Powell - founder of localwineschool.com