Before easy travel and the internet shrank the world, the Grand Tour was considered a rite of passage and the final part of a gentleman’s or debutante’s education. It was a chance not just to see the world, but to experience other cultures and art that one would never have the chance to experience at home.  

Following our ‘First Course: Introduction to Wine’ and our ever-growing collection of ‘Second Course’ classes that take a deeper dive into grapes, regions, styles and topics of the winemaking world, we are introducing our own wine-centric take on the Grand Tour with our ‘Third Course: Grand Tour’ class. This series will take you on a ‘Grand Tour’ of benchmark wine regions. You will taste wines from some of the premier producers who have set the standard for wines within their region and have birthed winemaking styles that have often been imitated but rarely duplicated around the world. 

For this installment, Jeff Bramwell will guide you through some of Italy’s gems that fall under the radar compared to the peninsula’s best-known wines (Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, etc). As the Wine Director at Figulina (and formerly at Mothers & Sons in Durham), Jeff loves to educate, making sense of the sheer chaos that is Italian wine.  

From north to south from the Italian Piedmont to the slopes of Mount Etna, we’ll taste five hand-selected and distinctive wines. This is a rare opportunity to taste wines side by side that many consider the standards of their respective styles, and wines that have provided the blueprint for aspiring winemakers in many other parts of the world. Whether you’re looking to get an overview of the benchmark regions of Italy, or if you’re interested in sampling stunning wines that have set the standard for their varietals, with the ‘Third Course: The Grand Tour of Italy’ we are giving you an exciting and new opportunity to increase your knowledge and enjoyment of wine. Knowledge has never been so tasty!