New Year's Resolution - Learn More About Wine!

If your resolution for 2010 is to learn more about wine, join us as a "Frequent Flyer" in our 2010 Wine Passport Series. We asked 12 of our favorite Portland-based wine professionals to join us for this series and asked each to select the wine region they are most passionate about. Their interests spanned the globe from the dry-farmed vineyards of the Barossa Zone to the steep, schistous rock faces of the Douro Valley and included little-known regions such as British Columbia, Canada; Savoie, France; and Lombardy, Italy.

Join us for a single session ($50), or sign up for our "Frequent Flyer" Program and save on multiple registrations. Save 20% on a Platinum membership, $15% for a Gold membership, or 10% for a Silver membership.

See the entire schedule and get registered here: http://www.wineandspiritarchive.com/classes/winepassport2010.html

Happy New Year! Hope to see you in class soon!

Holiday Gifts for Wine Lovers

As Thanksgiving's roast turkeys become the weekend's turkey sandwiches, it's time to start thinking about the next holiday on the calendar . . .

Do you have a wine lover on your shopping list? A wine class or one of our packaged wine boxes make perfect gifts.

We offer flexible gift certificates available for specific classes, specific wine boxes, or pick any amount of your choice and allow your friend or loved one decide how they want to spend it.

Certificates are available by mail or by email.

Contact us to discuss the details or place your order online!

Happy Holidays!

WSA Brings the Wine Class to You!

The WSA is headed out of the classroom and into your home with our new "Wine Class in a Box" Program! Join us each month as we hand select our favorite wines to create a collection of portable "classes" that are delivered right to your door. Each six-bottle "class" is delivered in a carrying tote, complete with producer / wine style / regional information, maps, serving suggestions and WSA tasting notes. We also offer a monthly value case with 12 Bottles Under $12. It's like having your very own personal wine educator or sommelier in your kitchen or dining room!

September's "classes" include The "Heart of France:" Loire Valley Wines and Dr. Strangewine: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Unusual Grape Varieties.

Through September and October, we're offering free home delivery for all boxes, so now's the time to check it out!

Find out more or place your order here: http://www.wineandspiritarchive.com/classes/shop

WSA Tastes Gamay and Decides Oregon Does it Better!

Of all the Mix Magazine tastings we participated in, the Beaujolais tasting was probably the most disappointing. These light-bodied, summer-appropriate reds have crept up in price, but not in complexity. Much of what we tried was dull, uninteresting and not worth the price.

Enter Oregon gamay-based wines! Katherine Cole snuck a few of these into the tasting and they immediately stood out, offering multi-dimensional flavors of red fruit, baking spices and earthy notes, all backed by a fuller, richer body than what we find in Beaujolais. Hopefully, this a grape Willamette Valley winemakers will continue to experiment with!

You can read more about our Beaujolais tasting here.

Payment Plans Available for WSET Courses

Interested in taking a WSET Wine Certification Course this fall, but struggling to get the financing together? Payment plans continue to be available for these courses at no additional cost to students. Here's how they work: 1) we break the tuition costs into 2 to 4 monthly installments, 2) you make a monthly payment on either the 1st or 15th of the month, and 3) as soon as your first payment is received your course materials will be shipped out to you. The only requirement is that your final payment be received at least 2 weeks before the course's end date.

And for those of you who work in the wine industry, don't forget to ask your employers if they will help cover the cost of your training. Many are willing to cover or share tuition expenses!

Upcoming WSET Wine Courses

WSET Advanced Course, Portland, OR, Sept. 14 - Nov. 30

WSET Intermediate Course, Portland, OR, Oct. 14 - Dec. 9

WSET Intermediate Course, Seattle, WA, Nov. 7 - Nov. 8