How to Taste Wine: Like a Pro

Do you want to develop professional wine tasting skills?

Learning how to taste wine confidently begins with understanding what you’re sensing in the glass. This interactive workshop is designed for both beginners and curious wine drinkers who want to improve their tasting skills using a structured sensory approach.

The class includes two guided tasting flights of four wines each. In the first flight, participants will taste wines intentionally adjusted to highlight key structural components of wine—acidity, tannin, sugar, and oak—helping you recognize how these elements feel and function on your palate.

In the second flight, we’ll apply those skills while tasting four classic wine styles: dry white, dry red wine, dessert wine, and sparkling wine. Using the 5S method of wine tasting, participants will learn how to evaluate wines analytically and describe what they’re experiencing with greater confidence and clarity.

This workshop provides practical tools you can use immediately to better understand and enjoy wine!

Meet your Instructor – Karl Selzer!

Karl Selzer is an Adjunct Faculty in Enology at LMC and brings a unique and interdisciplinary path to the wine industry. Karl’s formal winemaking training came through UC Davis, and he has spent nearly the past decade working in Virginia. Karl has years of training and experience in sensory evaluation, and will help you become a PRO wine taster!