The gift that keeps on giving

November 25, 2006 5:47 AM

Can you recommend a good introductory wine appreciation course in Toronto?

I'd like to give my wife (and myself) an introductory wine appreciation course for xmas. Can you recommend something good in the Toronto area?

We're in Durham, and we would definitely prefer something close to us. Anything in Toronto would be OK too.

We know next to nothing about wine. She like Whites, I like Reds so a course with broad coverage would be preferred.

Are the LCBO courses any good?

Also, please chime in if you know of any good cooking courses in our area.

posted by Could it be, El Guapo ... to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

George Brown College offers an entire diploma program in wine - they run an excellent chef/hospitality school. But they also offer night classes for anyone. I know a number of people who have taken baking courses there and they love them. They also offer a four-course diploma program in Tea, of all things. More in-depth then the LCBO courses I would expect.
posted by GuyZero at 1:38 PM on November 25, 2006

Ricki's Kitchen. Ricki is a friend, although I've never done one of her classes, I know for certain she is a great cook and teacher!
posted by Chuckles at 4:47 PM on November 25, 2006

I'd be careful about George Brown. I just took a Catering Management course there and it was dreadful. However, perhaps you'd have better luck with a hands on type course rather than a "theory" course. My course was so awful, I think more than half the students gave up on it. I didn't bother attending the last 4 (of 10) courses.

Also, I believe my teacher also teaches or helped develop the tea course.
posted by dobbs at 5:00 PM on November 25, 2006

Oh, and for cooking, I've taken courses at Dish Cooking Studio and enjoyed them, though I've not taken cooking classes elsewhere so have nothing to compare them to.
posted by dobbs at 5:02 PM on November 25, 2006

I have Tony Aspler's contact info--he'd absolutely know which course(s) to take. My email is in my profile.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 6:44 PM on November 25, 2006

I took the introductory wine course at George Brown a few years ago and really enjoyed it, but be aware that any course is really only as good as the instructor who delivers the material. I had friends who enrolled in the course after I took it based on my rave reviews but they had a different instructor and were so disappointed by the instruction that they ended up dropping out.

I highly recommend Michel Acquarone if he is still teaching the class. He is very passionate about wine and he emphasized the importance of wine/food pairings and how each enhances the other. My class with him was on Friday evenings and we'd start off with a lecture on the relevant wine region/process and then move on to the tastings -- an average of about 7 per night -- and before the end of each class, he'd make suggestions about what kind of food to bring to the next class to pair with the wines we'd be tasting. All in all, it was a great way to start the weekend off.
posted by phoenixc at 8:58 PM on November 26, 2006

Don't know if you're still checking, but the Toronto Star compiles an annual guide on cooking courses in the GTA that you can peruse here.
posted by phoenixc at 10:46 AM on November 29, 2006 [1 favorite]