Private Wine Education & Experiences

THE perfect foundational class for wine lovers of all experience levels! You and your guests will have a blast learning professional blind wine tasting techniques at San Francisco Wine School! Let one of our industry leading instructors teach you how to talk about wine using a common language and identify varietals, region, and age based on sight, smell and taste alone. Discover what characteristics you like and don’t and become a more savvy consumer. Once you’ve got the hang of the techniques, test your new skills with a friendly competition if time allows. Add some welcome bubbles and bites or stay for a private dining experience after your event. This makes a fantastic social event or team building exercise and will surely be a hit with your group!

Learn about what it takes to make a great blend in this fun and competitive team setting! Your group will explore 4 different varietals, how they interact together when combined, and how to read and create a wine label. Then we’ll set them loose to create their own custom blends, name their wines, design their own labels and even create and perform their own commercials when time allows. Judging can be done by your instructor or by panel. Awards may be given for Best Blend, Best Label, and Best Commercial. Teams can enjoy the rest of the wine after class for happy hour as they share their team experiences with each other - a great time to add in some hors d'oeuvres.

In 1976, Steven Spurrier's world famous Judgment of Paris brought California into the forefront of the wine scene when a 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon won the blind French competition. In this fun and engaging tasting, our instructors will guide guests through a series of wine flights comparing the same varietals from California & France noticing differences in fruit, earth, wood & other aromas as well as other differentiating characteristics such as sugar, acid, tannin & alcohol. Blind tasting techniques will be discussed throughout the session and your group will have a blast judging which wine is which. Kick your event off right with some bubbles and bites when you arrive or stay for a private dining experience after your event. This makes a fantastic social event or team building exercise and will surely be a hit with your group!

We can help you host an engaging and interactive Judgment of Paris style Battle of the Grapes using many different varieties and regions! Compare the same varietal wine from different places. How about Italy vs California where you can choose from Pinot Grigio, Vermentino, Sangiovese, Barbera and others. The possibilities are endless! Your instructor will guide you through the history of the grapes and winemaking in those regions. Which wine is which? Which is the favorite? This is a very fun, hands-on way to enjoy tasting and learning together as a group!

Our 2020 Special Virtual Sips with Soul Charity Event featuring 23 Black Sommeliers and Black Owned Wineries was a huge hit! You too can experience this fun and engaging guided tasting experience! Let one of San Francisco Wine School Instructors lead you through a flight of wines featured in the event, while sharing the history and stories of each along with excerpted sommelier / winery owner presentations from the event itself! A portion your event fee will be donated to San Francisco's Museum of African Diaspora.