LOCK, STOCK AND WINE BARREL

Maybe the perception that appreciating wine is elitist or difficult to understand needs to be smashed in 2018.

Because it’s none of these things. A little knowledge about wine is actually easy to build.

Visiting the numerous wine shows around the country offers the opportunity to rub shoulders with winemakers and experience their work not only analytically, but also in an interactive and fun way.

Get your hands on a copy of Platters SA Wine Guide for information on different types of wine rated in categories. Page through the guide and you’re also likely to see that not all wines require you to have a wine fridge and a cellar. Some are easy-drinking and some have aging potential without making a dent in your wallet.

When you start to combine this sort of information it becomes so much easier to pick up a floral nose here, a chocolate note there. Eventually descriptions like dark berries, vanilla, tobacco and citrus all start to fall in place.

If you’re a little more serious about getting to grips with wine, the Private Hotel School, regarded as one of the country’s most sought-after hotel schools, is offering the chance to win a full-day wine course at its campuses in Stellenbosch and its new school in Johannesburg.

The masterclasses take place on February 17 in Stellenbosch and March 24 in Rosebank. Attendants will learn all they need to know for their next wine-tasting excursion.

These sort of training sessions are a terrific way to really pour yourself a deep glass of information you can build on in the future.

If you’re even more serious about wine and food in general, many schools, like the Private Hotel School, offers enrichment courses that gives prosepctive students insight into a fascinating industry. For more on the Private Hotel School visit privatehotelschool.co.za