The $25 Wine Class: Wine 101

Have you ever walked into a wine shop and felt intimidated by the hundreds of bottles before you because, though you have some idea of what you like, you don't really know how to find it, or what it should cost? Or, maybe you've been on a date at a restaurant, sweating buckets when the server hands you the 60 page wine list…and wondered what is the deal with red wine with fish anyway? Can it work?

It's true: wine is never ending. But there are certainly some fundamentals that will go a long way when it comes to figuring out what styles of wine you like. In Wine 101, instructor Paul Brady will walk you through tasting benchmark varietals from the Bordeaux and Burgundy regions of France, discuss flavor profiles of some of the more commonly found wines, touch on basic food pairings, and offer some tricks for picking out wine at shops. And hopefully you'll leave feeling a little more confident about selecting your own wines at restaurants without having to talk to that know-it-all sommelier. (Just kidding, we love sommeliers, and they can be your best friend when it comes to choosing a wine for you and your date, so we'll talk about that too!)

Instructor Bio: Paul Brady is a jazz guitarist with the group Hot Club of Detroit and joined the staff at Brooklyn Winery as a barback in April of last year. An "odd job," you ask? Far from it. Paul’s life of music and wine have co-existed since he was 18 and swept away by his parents to Paris, for his senior year of high school. There, his parents introduced him to the wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Rhone Valley. By the time he moved to NYC for grad school in Music History, Paul was obsessed with wine, so after working as an editor for music history textbooks, he started a music and wine blog, which eventually led to writing for Downbeat and Wine and Jazz Magazine. A stint through the Wine Spirit Education Trust program at New York's International Wine Center gave Paul the street cred he thought he needed to have a shot working front-of-house. So after buffing enough champagne flutes and maybe breaking a glass or five, the powers that be have allowed Paul to carry wine and food on a tray, and even to suggest wines—and food to go with said wines—to customers, and for our menu. He is thrilled to be teaching wine classes at Brooklyn Winery. Paul’s main interests remain the wines and historical vintages of France, but recently he has been inspired by wines from the rapidly up and coming AVAs of New York, Ontario, and his home state of Michigan.

About The $25 Wine Class

These classes are designed to help you learn about wine in a really fun, informal way that doesn’t take up a ton of your precious time. Watch our Calendar of Events for details on our next $25 Wine Class!