Almost by definition, if you are starting out you will have little idea of quite what to look for, or what to expect from many names, many bottles, or indeed what constitutes a benchmark example. And of course, before you try a bottle, you will have little idea of the value and quality of its ‘performance’. But the quality of your learning experience from this Tasting Course will be all the better and clearer if you have touchstone examples to compare. In the United Kingdom, both Waitrose* (High Street shops, and mail order: www.waitrosecellar.com ) and The Wine Society** (mail order: www.thewinesociety.com) have a range of such yardstick wines, and for each tasting I recommend ideal bottles, with a direct URL link, which you can buy in order to ensure you have classic examples to illustrate your tastings.
There may occasionally be wines for which you need to search further afield, in which case I will endeavour to make suggestions there too.
*Waitrose: The wines for Tastings 1, 2, and 10 are already here. The full range will be available on the site from early June.
**The Wine Society: You have to be a member of The Society to purchase wine from them. The one-off cost of a lifetime share is £40, and you receive £20 off your first order. I would say it is worth way beyond every penny of the cost of that share purchase.
Enjoy!
