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| WINE CLASSES |
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Wine Essentials
Ron Ciavolino
$445 • 6 sessions |
Fridays, May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; June 6, 7-9 PM
or Thursdays, May 8, 15, 22, 29; June 5, 12, 7-9 PM
or Mondays, June 2, 9, 16, 30; July 7, 14, 7-9 PM *
or Tuesdays, June 17; July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 7-9 PM *
or Saturdays, July 12, 19, 26; August 2, 9, 16, 7-9 PM
or Mondays, August 4, 11, 18, 25; September 8, 15, 7-9 PM *
or Thursdays, August 7, 14, 21, 28; September 11, 18, 7-9 PM *
or Fridays, September 5, 12, 19, 26; October 3, 10, 7-9 PM |
ICE®'s Wine Studies Director Ron Ciavolino uses grape varietals as a key to understanding the full wine spectrum, which will ensure that you'll retain and be able to apply the knowledge gained during the six evenings you'll spend with him. You'll receive in this class a thorough introduction to wine tasting, as you learn about wine components and taste some of the world's most celebrated wines. Limited to 32 students.
Week 1: An introduction to wine; how to taste and evaluate wine; the wines of the Loire valley
Week 2: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay: the king and queen of Burgundy
Week 3: The grapes of Bordeaux
Week 4: The major varietals of Italy
Week 5: The grapes of Spain and southern France
Week 6: The grapes of the West Coast of the United States: an embarrassment of riches
*Indicates course that skips one or more dates.
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Introduction to Wine
Ron Ciavolino |
$145 • 2 sessions |
Wednesdays, May 7-14, 7-9 PM
or Wednesdays, June 11-18, 7-9 PM
or Saturdays, June 21-28, 12-2 PM
or Wednesdays, July 9-16, 7-9 PM
or Thursdays, July 24-31, 7-9 PM
or Fridays, August 1-8, 7-9 PM
or Wednesdays, September 3-10, 7-9 PM |
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This class is tailored to the wine novice who wants a quick introduction to the world of the grape. You'll learn the distinctions among the grapes that fill today's most popular bottles; you'll also begin to taste wines critically, judging color, aroma, flavor and body. You'll discover the meaning of such wine concepts as dryness, acidity, fruitiness, tannins, varietals, vintages and more. Sommelier Ron Ciavolino will offer a primer on reading a wine label and wine list, offer suggestions on pairing wine with food and teach you the proper way to open a bottle of wine. After attending this class, you'll be able to order wine in bars, restaurants, and wine shops with confidence.
*Indicates course that skips one or more dates. |
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Glories of Bordeaux
Ron Ciavolino |
$85 • 1 session |
| Tuesday, May 13, 7-9 PM |
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| This course covers the extraordinary variety of wines that prevail in Bordeaux, from the great châteaux of the Médoc to the older and lesser-known varieties from smaller regions. You'll learn about wines from the areas in the west and south of Bordeaux that produce magnificent wines that sell at prices one-tenth those from their more illustrious neighbors.
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Really Great Wines for Under $15
Ron Ciavolino |
$75 • 1 session |
| Monday, May 19, 7-9 PM |
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| This course will address the needs of the everyday wine consumer who looks for a good, drinkable wine to go with dinner but doesn't want to break the bank. Our resident sommelier, Ron Ciavolino, will demonstrate that you can find many wines for $15 or less. Indeed, recently there have been amazing advances in vineyard management and winemaking techniques that have resulted in an explosion of attractive choices of surprising quality and interest in that price range. We can all toast to that!
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Wines by Style
W.R. Tish |
$70 • 1 session |
| Tuesday, May 27, 7-9 PM |
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| With so, so, SO many wines staring out from shelves these days, the most logical way to approach wine is to consider not merely grapes and regions of origin, but rather the wine's style. Some wines are light, some are heavy; some sharp with acidity, some rough with tannin; some have wood, some don't. The goal of this tasting will be to gauge what styles of wine appeal most to you. Noted wine writer and humorist W. R. Tish, of wineforall.com, will lead you through a range of diverse offerings that are sure to engage your senses as well has help you make sense of all that the blossoming wine world has to offer.
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Wines of the New World
Ron Ciavolino |
$70 • 1 session |
| Wednesday, May 28, 7-9 PM |
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| In the last 100 years, thousands of spectacular new vineyard sites have developed in Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa and even our own Pacific Northwest. The story of the development of those vineyards is a fascinating one, and many of the wines they have given birth to are indeed astonishing. Experience for yourself the magnificent new world wines –from sparkling to dessert – our resident sommelier and Director of Wine Studies, Ron Ciavolino has selected.
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Introduction to the Wine Regions of Italy
Ron Ciavolino |
$90 • 1 session |
| Saturday, June 14, 7-9 PM |
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| This course, conducted by ICE's resident sommelier Ron Ciavolino, will familiarize you with the essentials of Italian wine, including the effect of geography on wine production and the Italian wine classification system. You'll discover some little known, but truly marvelous Italian wines and learn how to pair them with food. You will emerge from this class with enough knowledge and confidence to stand undaunted before the Italian section of a wine list or wine shop.
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Experiencing Cabernet in a Different Way 
Costas Mouzouras |
$90 • 1 session |
| Wednesday, June 18, 7-9 PM |
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| Join Costas Mouzouras of Gotham Wines, the acclaimed Upper West Side wine store, for a fun and challenging evening that will forever change how you taste Cabernet. You will begin with an interactive game of "capturing the flavor," as Costas gives you the necessary information to help you identify the upcoming wines. You will then break up in teams and taste eight Cabernets. Each team will work independently when tasting the wines, coming up with descriptive notes and guessing or assessing information such as type of aging container, country and/or region of origin, and the age of the wine. You'll then compare notes with the other participants. You'll be surprised at your ability – or inability – to recall what you have learned!
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West Coast Wines
Ron Ciavolino |
$75 • 1 session |
| Friday, June 27, 7-9 PM |
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| Each year the wine regions of the West Coast - California, Oregon and Washington - acquire ever-greater status among wine lovers throughout the world. This course will explore the reasons for the area's spectacular success. Students will be introduced to the geography and climate of the various wine regions and also to the innovators who have made it all possible. Students will tast and analyze representative wines so that they will be able to choose appropriate wines with confidence. You'll taste a selection of red, whilte, sparkling, rosé, port and dessert wines.
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Really Great Wines for Under $15 and Over $50
Ron Ciavolino |
$75 • 1 session |
| Wednesday, July 2, 7-9 PM |
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| Does a high price really imply high quality? Resident sommelier Ron Ciavolino will examine this and other questions about the cost of wine in this fascinating class. You'll taste a selection of terrific wines on the lower end of the price scale, as well as some fabulous wines from the higher end, and you may even find that you most enjoy the more affordable wines.
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Sangiovese Wines, From Tuscany and Beyond
Ron Ciavolino |
$70 • 1 session |
| Thursday, July 3, 7-9 PM |
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| In this class you'll taste a wide range of wines made from the famous Sangiovese grape. Naturally, there will be plenty of Italian wines on hand – from Chianti to Brunello – since this grape is the dominant variety in Tuscany. But you'll also get the chance to compare and contrast these with other Sangiovese wines from California and yet another area of the world that may surprise.
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Summer Treasures of the Mediterranean
Ron Ciavolino |
$65 • 1 session |
| Tuesday, August 5, 7-9 PM |
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| What constitutes a summer wine? Do some wines really taste better in the summer, and if so, why? Join sommelier Ron Ciavolino as he delves into this question and offers samples of his favorite warm weather vintages. Along the way he'll discuss suitable candidates for summer entertaining: reds, whites, champagnes and after-dinner wines. Many of the wines will be relatively unknown, and all will be refreshing surprises.
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Seductive Spanish Wines
Ron Ciavolino |
$70 • 1 session |
| Wednesday, August 13, 7-9 PM |
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| If there is one thing that today's wine authorities agree on it is the fact that Spain has been making wine for about 6,000 years now, surely a time span of sufficient length, to have gotten the process down pat and come up with some pretty hot wines! ICE's resident sommelier Ron Ciavolino will introduce his guests to the great wine regions of Spain, such as Rueda, the Sherry Region, Galicia, Ribera del Duero, Penedès, Rioja, and Priorato among others. The uniqueness of each region will be highlighted and, of course, representative wines will be offered.
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Glories of Piedmont
Ron Ciavolino |
$90 • 1 session |
| Tuesday, August 19, 7-9 PM |
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| Serious red wine lovers are instantly aroused by the name Nebbiolo, the grape that produces the famous Barolos and Barbarescos of Italy's Piedmont region. Nebbiolo is part of the distinguished trinity of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sirah that produces the most elegant, complex and long-lasting reds of the world. This course will introduce you to the region, which has been called the Bordeaux of Italy, and explain why it holds its eminent position among the fabled wine zones of the world. But this survey extends far beyond the glories of Barolo and Barbaresco, for the region itself is the home of an incredible number of varietals, such as Cortese, Moscato Asti, Barbara, Brachetto, Dolcetto, and Freisa. Each of these grapes is a story in itself, which you will discover over the course of the evening. |
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Imperial Red Grape
Ron Ciavolino |
$95 • 1 session |
| Wednesday, August 20, 7-9 PM |
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| The overwhelming majority of the wines of the world are made to be consumed when released; they would not standup against aging of even the shortest duration. However, some red and white wines possess incredible qualities of aroma, flavor, and body that can only be revealed after long aging. This course will cover the upper reaches of the reds in this special category: the Barolos and Barbarescos of Piedmont, the great Grand Crus of Bordeaux, the reds of the Northern Rhône Valley, Brunello di Montalcino of Tuscany, Taurasi of Campania and the Amarones of the Veneto. During the course of the evening, ICE's house sommelier, Ron Ciavolino, will discuss the grapes that produce these incredible wines, along with the regions they come from and the artisans who create them. |
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Amarone, Prosecco, and More: Wines of the Veneto
Ron Ciavolino |
$80 • 1 session |
| Tuesday, August 26, 7-9 PM |
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| The heartland of Venetian winemaking is called the Veneto, a green, fertile, undulating countryside, reclining just behind the gilded city of Venice. Caressed by a soft generous climate, and dotted with exquisite Palladian villas and towns that could serve as opera sets, this generous garden has offered the region's winemakers all they could possibly desire in the way of raw materials for the last three millennia. They have responded to the glorious opportunities lavished onto them with some of the most celebrated wines on earth, including Prosecco, Soave, Bardolino, Valpolicella, Amarone, Recioto di Amarone, Torcolato, and many others. Join ICE's sommelier, Ron Ciavolino, for a festive evening in the Veneto and a tasting of these spectacular wines.
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Wines of the Italian South
Ron Ciavolino |
$75 • 1 session |
| Tuesday, September 2, 7-9 PM |
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| When traveling south of Rome, you soon cross the boundary called the Mezzogiorno, the line that separates the south of Italy from the north. You are now in an entirely new world – or actually a very old one – and everything here is different: climate, people, culture, cuisine, pace of life, and grapes. Here are found varietals that exist nowhere else in Italy, let alone Europe; grapes that are said to descend from the original vines carried over by ancient Greek settlers around the ninth century B.C. These vines barely survived into modern times; however, with advances in vineyard management and the advent of sophisticated winemaking equipment, they are being revived in the south. The great Aglianico, called the Cabernet Sauvignon of the ancient world, is once again being produced in Campania, along with Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo, the legendary whites of Antiquity. This course will introduce you to the great wines of the ancient Italian southern regions – wines that were drunk from Pythagoras to Constantine.
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The Mysteries of Burgundy
Ron Ciavolino |
$80 • 1 session |
| Saturday, September 6, 7-9 PM |
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| Burgundy has been the site of vine cultivation since the 3rd century. In this class, our wine director Ron Ciavolino will lead you through the rich history of the region's viniculture, and as he unravels the many local appellations, you will taste a range of the region's spectacular vintages. You will finish the class with a clear idea of why many of Burgundy's wines are considered the world's finest. |
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Comparison of Great Wine Regions of the World
Ron Ciavolino |
$90 • 1 session |
| Wednesday, September 17, 7-9 PM |
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| During the last fifty years, an extraordinary number of new wine regions have come into existence, and in almost every case they offer wines made with traditional European grapes that have been grown in their native regions for over 1,000 years. This course will address the question of how the new regions compare with the established ones. Does a Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia resemble one from a chateau in the Medoc? How does an Oregon Pinot Noir compare to one from Burgundy? More importantly, should they be similar? Do developing regions add new dimensions to European grapes, or do they detract? Wines from both old and new regions will be analyzed and discussed.
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