The Black Dress Traveler

Take Me Away: Culinary Institute of America presents Wine Lovers Boot Camps in Napa Valley

I'm a big believer in continuing education, especially if the curriculum is fine wine! If you are passionate about wine and want to broaden your knowledge, the Culinary Institute of America's Wine Lovers Boot Camps could be perfect for you.

Wine Lovers Boot Camp will debut in spring 2012 in the heart of Napa Valley at the CIA at Greystone. Home to great vineyards and wine estates, I can’t imagine a better location in the United States for such a program. The two courses launching this new series are Wine Lovers Boot Camp - Basic Training and Wine Lovers Boot Camp - Tasting Like a Pro.

Wine Lovers Boot Camp—Tasting Like a Pro is a two day program and will teach the casual wine drinker how to adopt professional approaches to tasting wine. Participants will be guided through proper tasting technique and how to recognize important wine attributes that determine the quality and style of still, sparkling, and sweet wines. Through structured tastings, students will discover the influence on flavor of winemaking techniques, from barrel fermentation to fortification. Blind tastings will ultimately test their ability to identify wines like professionals. Initial class dates for 2012 are February 2–3, February 29–March 1, March 26–27, April 13–14, and May 17–18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuition is $895 per person, and the class is open to students 21 years of age and older.

 Wine Lovers Boot Camp—Basic Training is a five-day exploration of the joys wine can bring to one's lifestyle, and is designed to elevate participants' overall understanding of wine. Working with the CIA's renowned faculty, students in this Boot Camp will taste the world's major white and red wine grape varieties as they learn to decipher wine labels from regions near and far. They will discover how a vineyard's location and a winemaker's influence can impact the flavor, style, and price of wine. Through tastings, participants will learn how to evaluate wine "flavor" and place it skillfully in the context of a meal. This newfound understanding will ultimately be put into practice in the kitchen as students prepare a multi-course meal with paired wines. Initial 2012 class dates are February 13–17, April 16–20, and May 21–25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuition is $2,195 per person, and the class is open to students 21 years of age and older.

On select class days, students in both Wine Lovers Boot Camp programs will enjoy dinner at the on-campus Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant.

Yes, these boot camps are a little pricey but if you are serious about your vino it sounds like a great investment. And, how cool would it be to say you attended the Culinary Institute of America, even if only for a few days!

Click here for more information about the Culinary Institute of America Wine Lovers Boot Camp.

images courtesy CIA/Keith Ferris

Travel & Learn: Take an Educational Vacation

Have you ever fantasized about baking bread in Italy, dancing Flamenco in Spain, making perfume in France, or studying Portuguese in Lisbon? Make your next vacation a learning holiday. Pursuing your passion in your dream destination can add a whole new dimension to your travel experience. Here are a few companies that offer fantastic learning opportunities abroad. If only college had been this much fun!

 - From cooking courses to sports holidays, GoLearnTo offers a wide variety of learning opportunities in 30 countries. Some of their unique classes include perfume making in France, belly dancing in Turkey, and surfing in Ecuador. These are vacations to remember!

- Carbs are not the enemy - poorly made bread is! Made with the finest ingredients and the utmost of care, artisan bread is a thing of delicious beauty. Get to know your dough by enrolling in an Artisan Bread School course in Tuscany, the United Kingdom or the United States. Learn to make fantastic foccacia, crusty ciabatta, and sensational sourdough from school founder Carl Shavitz. Yummy! 

AmeriSpan proclaims to offer "every language, every culture, everywhere." It may be a slight exaggeration (sorry, no Na'vi classes for you Avatar fans) but they do teach Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and more. You can choose to learn the language of your choice from a diverse selection of countries, including Morroco, Germany, Taiwan, Argentina, and India. You can also explore AmeriSpan's volunteer programs and internship placements.