Do you buy the occasional Barolo or Barbaresco, but always wonder if you're drinking it a little too early (or worse, too late)? Are you still unsure what to think about Chianti's relatively new Gran Selezione category? Wondering what to even do with the sole bottle of Amarone in your cellar? 

Italy's luxury wines—for our purposes, Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino, Super Tuscans, Chianti Classico Riserva Gran Selezione, and Amarone della Valpolicella—are like Frank Zappa albums: everyone who cares has a firm favorite, but it can feel like people spending more time arguing about how to collect them than actually enjoying them.

That's a shame, because with a few exceptions, these wines deliver amazing value when you consider they're Italy's answer to Grand Cru Burgundy, Côte-Rotie and classed Bordeaux. An Italian wine lover of 15 years who has traveled in Piedmont and Tuscany, Flatiron's Julia Burke (DWSET) doesn't collect bottles —she collects tips from restaurant owners, winemakers, hospitality managers, and their grandmas on how to pair these great wines, when to drink them, and how to think about them as a part of your life and table rather than museum pieces. Let's taste them together (with a few pairings, naturalmente) and make a pact to never let friends put Barolo in a blender.

This class will begin at 6:00pm on Tuesday, October 10 and run for approximately 90 minutes as we taste six wines with pairings. Wines discussed in class will be available for purchase with a discount available to attendees only. Seating is limited.