Wine Education Blog: From Curious to Confident Taster

Quick Start Guide:

New to wine? Start with "A beginner's guide to wine – never mind the bollocks" and "Guide – how to train your palate"
Exploring regions? Deep-dive into France, Italy, Spain, and 8 other countries with our complete regional guides
Want expert insights? Watch our Ourglass Tapes video series with industry legends
Building confidence? Read our practical guides for real-world wine selection and tasting techniques

Wine education blog

Ourglass Tapes: Pros & Punters

Exclusive interview series featuring:

Michael Sager (founder, Sager + Wilde) | 6 episodes - watch part 1 here
Amelia Singer (ex-host, The Wine Show) | 7 episodes - watch part 1 here
Tim Hayward (Food Writer, The Financial Times) | 3 episodes - watch part 1 here
Max Halley (founder, Max's Sandwich Shop) | 4 episodes - watch part 1 here

Global Wine Regions

Complete guides to the world's greatest wine regions: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Australia, Austria, South Africa, and the US of A

Learning Pathways

Newbie: Wine basics → Tasting techniques → Selection skills
Apprentice: Country guides → Appellations → Producer profiles
Master: Expert techniques → Vintage analysis → Industry insights

Ourglass Wine Education FAQ – Updated September 2025

Welcome to Britain’s fastest growing wine learning platform. Every answer draws directly on Ourglass articles, regional guides, cultural interviews, and tasting insights – structured so you can grow from curious beginner to confident expert. For wine lovers, not wine bores.

Book Consultation

Start with our foundational trilogy:

Also see: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Wine.

Keep a short journal, taste in flights, and revisit wines you once disliked. Guides include:

For fun context: How to Game Sauvignon Blanc.

Start simple:

Use the Wine Glossary as your reference.

Practical skills for UK homes:

Also: Charcuterie Pairing & Cheese & Wine Wheel.

Begin with Europe’s classics – France, Italy, Spain, and Germany – then branch into the USA and New World regions. Our complete guides:

Then explore Austria, Argentina, Australia, and South Africa.

Specific appellations: Barolo, Bordeaux, Beaujolais.

Vintage depth: Burgundy 2021, Burgundy 2023.

Yes. Explore our guides to the icons beginning with B:

NB: More to come so watch this space.

Explore both principles and practice:

For hosting: Dinner Party Wines and London’s Best BYOB Restaurants.

Confidence in real-world settings:

Value insight:

Yes. See our Burgundy deep dives:

Clarity through evidence:

Taste is the key to a better life. Taste Decoded, our flagship video and editorial series, explores how taste, judgement, and discernment shape experience. Guests like Michael Sager, Amelia Singer, Tim Hayward, and Max Halley, Mark Haisma, Jon King, and Oxford University's Prof. Charles Spence show how taste opens new worlds.

Also see: How Taste Works – Science of Wine & Memory.

Upcoming: Rankin on visual taste and Rory Sutherland on behavioural science.

Explore full interview films:

Yes – Ourglass looks sideways at culture as much as the glass: