'Why September is the perfect time to get a lesson in good taste'

This may be the time to get your French, Spanish or Mandarin up to scratch, or to develop a new hobby such as painting or pottery, but one way to spark a new interest that will be fun, interesting and possibly increase your social circle is to start learning about wine.

There are many ways to increase your wine knowledge, from regular one-night-a-week courses to less formal, drop-in tastings and even study-at-home options.

You could even just decide to buy your wine differently and learn as you drink.

All of them will increase your tasting horizons in an enjoyable way. Here are a few options.

Wine Courses

The Yorkshire Wine School, run by Laura Kent, is the place to start looking for wine courses at all levels from informal tastings around a theme to structured examination courses which could be the starting point for a job in the wine trade.

Courses are run in Leeds, York and Harrogate and are suitable for wine enthusiasts or for those thinking of heading into the wine business.

There is an Introduction to Wine Tasting evening in Leeds on October 1 when you can practise how to sniff, swirl and slurp your way around a glass of wine and look like you know what you are doing.

There are regular wine and cheese pairing evenings and on October 7 there is a wine and crisp pairing evening when it is likely you will find a fabulous wine match with your favourite snacks.

This is also the place to start learning in a structured way with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) courses which start at level 1 covering the basics of wine and wine tasting.

Level 2 goes deeper into the subject with three full days of teaching, while Level 3 is an in-depth course of 7 full days covering wines around the world.

Yorkshire Wine School also offers specialist courses such as a weekend course in January which takes a deep dive into the Champagne region, its wines, methods and tastes.

This is a course authorised by the Comité Champagne, essentially for sommeliers and those in the retail part of the wine trade, but it offers a unique opportunity to learn more about this fabulous wine.

Check the website, www.localwineschool.com, and then click through to Yorkshire Wine School.

Wine Merchant tastings

We are fortunate in Yorkshire to have many independent wine merchants who hold regular tastings.

These can be as simple as having a few bottles open on the last Friday of the month as The Wright Wine Company in Skipton does or organised tastings on a regular basis.

I try to mention the regular tastings, but the best way to find out about them is to wander into your local independent merchant and ask to be put on their mailing list.

Most tastings sell out quickly, so the sooner you book, the more chance you have of getting a seat.

If you live in and around Otley, then David at Chez Vin runs a Wine Club when 12 people can sit down and taste eight wines with a short introduction of each wine.

This is definitely an informal tasting since you can bring your own cheese and nibbles which keeps costs down and usually ends up with everyone sharing whatever they brought.

Bon Coeur Fine Wines in Melsonby organises regular tastings and are currently offering an evening of port and pies on October 15 when local pies will be matched alongside Cockburn’s ports.

Harrogate Wines has an extensive tasting programme, running through autumn, featuring wines from Alsace, Chianti and Grand Cru Champagnes.

Latitude in Leeds has two South African tastings coming up soon with Tokara, Chamonix and Bon Courage featuring on September 16 and Waterkloof and Wildeberg estates on October 7.

Hic! in Ledston also runs a lively programme of tastings, with artisanal cheeses matched against wines on the last Thursday of the month.

They also have an Enomatic machine that offers a range of bubbles to be enjoyed by the glass in their outside space.

Neighbourhood Tastings

If you have a bunch of wine enthusiast neighbours, then why not arrange tastings yourself?

The easiest way to start is by inviting a few friends over and instead of preparing dinner for them all, pour a few different wines with snacks alongside.

If you are not sure which wines to pour, then your independent merchant comes in handy again.

Ask them to provide four or five wines, with perhaps a glass of bubbles to welcome your guests and be prepared to say a little about each of the wines.

You don’t need to prepare a lecture, but a little background about the region and grapes makes the tasting worthwhile.

The advantage of this is that everyone will probably walk home after the tasting, and there won’t be a pile of dishes to wash up.

Walk Around Tastings

Some of our lovely independent merchants organise walk-around tastings where your ticket gives you access to a huge range of wines, usually presented by the people who supply that merchant.

This means that if you taste and like a particular wine, the person who poured it for you will probably have visited the estate and will have lots of information about it.

If you are planning to attend one of these tastings where there may be dozens, if not over a hundred wines available to taste, remember that you really shouldn’t drink them all.

Sniff, sip, and spit is the rule, and it helps if you practice spitting in advance, so you don’t look like you are at the dentist.

Chez Vin will be holding their big tasting on October 23 and Martinez Wines will be uncorking around 200 wines on November 10.

If you are a member of The Wine Society, they will be at Aspire in Leeds on October 1 with a selection of South African wines and they will be showing their Festive Favourites in York on December 8.

These events on their own make it worthwhile joining The Wine Society.