the Dear Annie wine classes taught by Lauren Friel are popping up at Wild Child!

PALATE PROGRESS, vol. 2

From Lauren:

Of the hundreds of classes I've taught, the most-listed reason folks lack confidence when it comes to wine is their perceived inability to identify what they're tasting. This stems from an unfortunate (and inaccurate!) assumption that there's a right and wrong answer when it comes to tasting notes—an old-school and problematic way of thinking that only succeeds in keeping wine mostly in the hands of white western European descendents, and a big part of what I work to break down in every class I teach.

PALATE PROGRESS is a new series I'm developing to get us—and our taste buds—out of our comfort zones and into a full, experiential appreciation of wine. Each class is designed to take us deeper into our sense memory, expanding and exploring our understanding of our own palates. We'll go on forest walks, visit florists, and invite new ways of thinking to help us dive deep into the science and lore of scent, enabling us to develop our own dynamic, inclusive vocabulary.

The class will go like this:

We'll hang out for an hour, during which time attendees will be blindfolded. During the hour, you'll be presented with an array of real-life versions of traditional wine tasting notes. There's no prize for guessing correctly, but attendees are often surprised by what sticks out and what gets lost. We'll begin to ask the question: When we say a wine smells like currants, are we being truthful? Where does language fail us here, and what might a more successful vocabulary look like? How can we begin to develop this together? We'll then taste through 3 wines together in an effort to utilize the new tools we've discovered.

Class includes 3 tasting pours and many smells, and ample time for Q+A.

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DATE: Thursday 3/28/24

TIME: 6-7pm

TICKETS INCLUDE: one-hour class + 3 tasting pours

*NOTE: This is a one-hour class, held indoors at Wild Child.