San Francisco Wine School’s first satellite classes will be held in San Jose

Little Italy’s Enoteca La Storia plays host to the center’s Silicon Valley sommelier programs

You might call this class Silicon Valley Somms 101.

For the first time, the San Francisco Wine School will teach its sommelier curriculum outside of its education center.

The school is partnering with Enoteca La Storia, which will host the satellite classes at its restaurant and wine shop in San Jose’s Little Italy, CEO-founder-master sommelier David Glancy announced.

For the Silicon Valley restaurant industry, these “Somm Essentials” classes can help fill the void created by the impending closing of the International Culinary Center in Campbell, which trained sommeliers as well as chefs. Glancy had designed the somm curriculum when the school was known as the Professional Culinary Institute, certifying 400 sommeliers in the first five years of that program.

“This 11-week program is intended for people who are working in restaurants, wine or hospitality or trying to break into the business,” Glancy said, noting that it’s great preparation for those aiming to take the beginner or intermediate sommelier exams.

However, he said, the classes aren’t limited to serious somm candidates. “Consumers are welcome to peek behind the curtain and get a glimpse of the wine/hospitality business.”

As wine school COO Kristin Campbell noted, they can “cherry pick” from courses that include sessions on pairing wine with food, exploring the wines of cool, temperate and warm climates — even learning about the fermentation processes for beer and sake.

Besides the “Somm Essentials,” 10 workshops will be offered in 2019 at Enoteca, giving South Bay wine lovers of all knowledge levels an opportunity to taste — and learn about — varietals and specialty wine styles via two-hour courses with titles such as “Que Syrah Syrah” and “Riesling Rules.”

Enoteca co-owner Michael Guerra, himself a sommelier, has been holding tasting events for years for his restaurant-based wine clubs, first at the Los Gatos location and now also in San Jose. With the creation of this wine school partnership, he’s looking forward to creating a hub for wine professionals — and playing a bigger role in educating consumers about what’s in the glass in front of them.

“The more you know about the wine, the more you can appreciate the wine,” Guerra said. DETAILS >> “Somm Essentials” will get under way Feb. 10 and run on Sundays through May 5. ($125 per class, or $1,595 for the series). The “World Varietal” series ($85 per class) will be held on Wednesdays from March 6 through Sept. 6. And the “Wine Styles” series ($85 per class), which focuses on how sparkling, rosé, fortified and dessert wines are produced, is set for Wednesdays from Oct. 2 to Dec. 11. To register, go to www.sanfranciscowineschool.com.