Students Pop the Cork at Wine Tasting

As the snow blanketed the Yard last night, a small group of aspiring epicureans practiced seeing, swirling, sniffing, sipping, and savoring wines as part of Harvard Student Agencies’ (HSA) introductory wine-tasting course.

Throughout the evening, five undergraduate attendees sampled 21 kinds of wine, describing them as having oak flavors, emitting whiffs of jalapeno peppers, containing hints of leather, and resembling Dr. Pepper. The four-hour course took place in Boylston Hall’s Ticknor Lounge.

The tasting cost $125 for Harvard affiliates and $150 for non-affiliates, although group discounts were available. Participants received a $25 wine guide in addition to plenty of wine while listening to the presentation.

Instructor R. Michael Meagher ’02, sommelier for Back Bay restaurant L’Espalier, did his best to ensure that no student left the tasting on a stretcher.

“If you swallow all 21 wines, it could be a very short evening,” he said.

To establish the differences between regions, attendees first explored the Old World wines of France and other parts of Europe before soaking up knowledge of New World wines from South Africa, South America, Oceania, and the United States.

“We talk about weather, soil, and the philosophy of the regions,” Meagher said before the event. “There are some wine shops that will talk you through it, but there’s a lot of mystery.”

HSA has offered a popular bartending course since 1972, and a course similar to yesterday’s wine tasting was first conducted in 2004.

“People had been bothering us about it, so we decided that we had enough people to start the course again,” said event organizer Julius D. Krein ’08.

Krein said that he thought the ticket cost was reasonable.

“We don’t think it’s a high cost. You’re getting 20 wines,” Krein said. “It limits it to a number of people that are definitely interested in the course.”

In order to keep the cost as low as possible, the bottles—most of which usually retail for $15 to $25—were purchased at a discount from local wine shop Martignetti Liquors, allowing students to sample a more refined selection of bubblies, whites, and reds.

“At most parties here you get cheap gins and cheap vodkas, so good wine is nice for a change,” said Martin M. Wallner ’11, who is of legal drinking age.

Krein said that HSA intends to hold the course once a month and to limit each class to 25 people.

Meagher said the course will be useful for any students with a potential passion in the wine industry, as he had during his years at Harvard.

“People can also see the wine industry as a real career option, whether it’s marketing, the business side of things, or a sommelier,” Meagher said. “It can be very intellectually engaging, which seems to be important to Harvard students.”