Everyday Wines Class 

Everyday Wines is located in the delightfully "hipster" Kerrytown district of Ann Arbor, where it can be found on the first floor of Kerrytown Market & Shops. Everyday Wines claims that its mission is simple, "To make wine an easy and affordable everyday pleasure," but their commitment to knowing the products that they sell, combined with an amazingly approachable store design, makes visiting an experience that is unlike many other stores.

Along with their dedication to excellent service and a fundamental understanding of their products, Everyday Wines is passionate about knowledge and community education. Spearheaded by the incredibly friendly and well informed owner, Mary Campbell, the store offers weekly tastings, and recently started a class series open to anyone interested in wine. Their first class was on "Exploring the Five Characteristics of Wine," and, for $15, is great value and reasonable for all walks of life.

As the title would suggest, the class covered the five basic characteristics of wine, laid out in an easy to follow handout as; fruit, (which is broken down further as aroma, taste, and flavor) sweetness, acidity, tannins, and body. Throughout the class, the main focus of the discussion was on how expressions of micro elements play into human perception of the macro characteristics of wine. Campbell explores important micro characteristics like fermentation, residual sugar, terroir, and use of oak that greatly impact the final product that wineries put on the table, while pouring various examples to accentuate the differences discussed in the class.

While the information provided in the class is slightly geared towards people who may be beginning their wine journey, this class series serves as a great outlet for all levels of knowledge to engage with the Ann Arbor wine community. The setting is intimate and inviting, and everyone in attendance was marvelously sociable. At such an affordable price tag, these events pack tremendous value in not only education, but also in an opportunity to share an amazing hobby with the incredible community we call home.

Wines in order of tasting: (Try/Buy/Pass)

Wine #1: 2016 Domaine de la Pepiere La Pepie Muscadet-  Very green with slight citrus and melon notes. High acid, very refreshing. (BUY)

Wine #2: 2015 Araldica Albera Barbera d'Asti- Faint plum and red fruit profile, high acid, slight oak characteristics. (TRY)

Wine #3: 2015 Bacio Di Fiori Provincia di Pavia Moscato- Slight green apple and cherry shisha flavors, apparent lavender and floral notes, sweet. (PASS)

Wine #4: 2015 Ancient Peaks Renegade- Obvious red fruit, blueberry, leather and smoke, medium tannin structure. (BUY)

Wine #5: 2015 Chateau Laffitte-Teston Madiran- Very firm tannins, high acid, extremely tight nose. (PASS)