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What's on the drawing board for 2001? According to the gurus of style embroidered jeans, fake nails and lilac cars are OUT. Paisley patterns, wallpaper and wine education are IN. Here Paula Tewksbury tells us all we ever wanted to know about the latter, but didn't like to ask..... The two girls sniggered in the corner as their glass of wine swirled widly leaving a large mark on the front of one of their skin-tight white T-shirts. The rather serious executive on the other side of the room was forgiven for thinking he was watching a wet T-shirt contest as a jug of water was used to combat the tell-tale stain. The middle aged lady in the front row, oblivious to the electrifying atmosphere, spat loudly into the metal spitoon. Wine appreciation classes ... that sounds too serious and stuffy; introduction to wine ... too simplistic. What we really have is a match-making session, between the sexes as well as the senses! According to some of our popular win educators, attendees fall into one of four distinct stereotypes and you can spot them by the sort of questions they ask. First there are the girls who go primarily to meet a nice, well educated man who wears a cravat and drives and MG. They always hunt in pairs. They ask fairly flippant questions because they don't want to appear to be too smart. Things like: "Well, what would YOU serve with that wine?" This helps prove to any eligible fellows that they're pretty hot in the kitchen! Then there are the guys who think they know everything. They ask the sort of questions that prove this to the assembled company, which of course includes any eligible, attractive young ladies that may be present. The third group are the professional short course goers. Their hobby is going to courses on hobbies. You know the sort. Last week they did an Outdoor Photography Course for Beginners and they're already signed up for Feng Shui Made Easy. They're easy to spot because sometimes they forget which class they're in an ask about a Shutter instead of a Shiraz. The last group are the young twentysomethings who've already been studying hard for the course. They may be a clerk in an insurance company but their dream is to get into the wine business. They're the ones that ask extremely serious questions about pH levels and whether the wine may have been cold filtered. Of course, all jokes aside, there are also plenty of "normal" people just like you and I! Wine education is becoming very important in Australia as more and more people are drinking better wines. You wouldn't place bets at the races before studying the form guide and I bet you'd read the tips on the sports pages before going to the football. The same goes for wine. The aim of most educated wine drinkers is to drink quality and variety in moderation. It is also the aim of wine educators to introduce new wine drinkers to variety and quality and to impart confidence and understanding on how to identify quality wine. Within Australian wine, there is no such thing as a bad wine. There are cork-tainted wines, ullaged wine bottles, and heat damaged wines. There are wines that are better than others and there are those that are better value than others. But we are lucky in Australia, we have sunshine and the highest level of vineyard and winery management, we don't see bad wine. The wine industry in Australia has undergone enormous change in the past five years and I believe we're in a honeymoon period. By 2005 we could see dramatic changes in price in the mid-market range. Now is the right time to do a wine course so you can pick up some winning wines before they are exported offshore. At a wine course you'll taste wines, usually with the label masked, and in groups of three or four. This gives you the oppourtunity to taste the difference between a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling and Verdelho and to define, in your own mind, what that difference is and make the decision as to which you prefer and why. You will do the same with red wines, sparkling, dessert wine and fortified wine. You don't need to have knowledge before attending a wine course. In fact, most people don't. A good course and educator allows the attendee to source as much information as suits them while tasting wine and a little food in a most enjoyable environment. Topics like cellaring, buying for investment, the physical aspects of tasting, wine judging, deciphering the label information and how wine is made, are all covered in a wine course. Geography is sometimes a problem for some people. I've had students who thought 'Liquorland' and 'Chardonnay' were wine growing regions in Australia and those that thought you added water to grapes to make wine, and food colouring to make red wine. I've been asked: "Is wine in green bottles better than wine in brown bottles?", "What percentage of blackcurrants is in a Cabernet Sauvignon?", "How do they get the flavour of peaches in Chardonnay - do they use peach essence?" and "For a chilled Chardonnay, how much ice should I use?" So whether you love short courses or just want to know about wine, you'll end up enjoying wine even more once you've sat in on a wine course. You'll end up knowing common wine names and wine styles and be able to select wines to suit various occasions and foods. You'll have the ability to taste wine and talk confidently about it. You may even meet your dream date... So why not book yourself into a wine course today?

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