VENI VIDI VINO: Wine Tour of Italy @ Bar'Cino (Class + Dinner)

I CAME, I SAW, I DRANK WINE!

From north to south, the grapes of Italy change dramatically. Pinot Grigio grown in the Alps and grown in Sicily are both called Italian. To understand Italian wine is to understand how all these nearly identical wines are unique from one another.

Tasting class will begin with ancient but newly re-discovered grapes from southern Italy like Grillo and Frappato. Next we’ll taste Tuscan reds from the heart of Italy like Chianti DOCG (a delicious opportunity to talk about what each of those letters means). Finally, in northern Italy, we’ll wrap up our taste tour with rich ripe signature wines Valpolicella and Barbera.

Your Italian wine confidence will be sky high after this class. We’ll serve bread, cheese, olives and antipasto to go along with the wines we taste to highlight some fundamentals of pairing.

You'll be speaking fluent Dolcetto in no time!

WINE MENU (tentative)
Carricante Etna Bianco (Sicily)
Falanghina (Campania)
Rose of Sangiovese (Tuscany)
Refosco (Veneto)
Barbera (Piemonte)
Morellino di Scansano (Tuscany)

DINNER MENU (tentative)
Bruschetta (assorted canapes)
Antipasto di salumi (cured meats)
Baked rigatoni
Grilled pizzas
Tuscan kale salad
WHO SHOULD ATTEND This is a Level 1 survey course for beginners and enthusiasts. It assumes some exposure to wine but little or no formal wine knowledge. This program is appropriate for both consumers and professionals in all wine, food, hospitality and service industries.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN Students will learn technical wine tasting, major Italian wine grapes, and fundamentals of wine style. The emphasis is on providing an overview of wine ideas, plus an introduction to wine and food pairing concepts.

PLEASE NOTE Wine & food menus are subject to change based on availability, inspiration, and whimsy!

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS Guests & students must be at least 21.

JONATHON ALSOP is founder & executive director of the Boston Wine School, author of The Wine Lover’s Devotional and , and a commentator for National Public Radio on WGBH | Boston Public Radio and Under The Radar.

He began writing about wine, food and travel in 1988 and emerged as a wine expert through his syndicated wine column. He has contributed numerous articles to the Associated Press, Frequent Flyer Magazine, La Vie Claire, Beverage Business Magazine, Mobil Travel Guides, Fodor’s Travel Guides, Boston Globe, and many others.

Jonathon founded the Boston Wine School in 2000 where he teaches wine and food classes in a dedicated 100% snob-free zone. His new book Wine Life: A Collection Of Verses will be published in 2026.

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