Wine School of Philadelphia

I have a $150 gift certificate that I would like to use. It won't work for some reason. They have no phone or email support. In fact, they state they charge $2.00 a min to speak with someone. I would love to attend a class as I had attended one before and enjoyed it. But this policy of having no customer support is simply wrong.

I started to write my review, but I got curious. I read some of the reviews other people wrote. It’s an illuminating read. Philly has a love/hate relationship with this school. The owner knows this and lets people know the deal ahead of time. This school isn’t for everyone. That’s a shocking thing for some people, but it’s quite refreshing, IMHO. It’s a great place to go if you are open-minded and willing to be exposed to new ideas and have your assumptions challenged. In other words: everyone but the haters loves this place. Philly is a diverse city, and so is this school. If you aren’t comfortable around POC, this isn’t the place for you. Read the negative reviews! One guy hates the fact that a female instructor dared to correct him. Another hated on an instructor with epilepsy. The fact that these people hate the school makes me love it even more. The Wine School is one of the greatest things in Philly It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure. Nothing great ever is.

My sister recommended this to me a few years back, and sent me a gift certificate for my birthday. She used to live in the Fairmount neighborhood and took classes here before they moved to center city and talked about their classes a lot. The class I picked was just amazing. I was lucky enough to get a seat for the Sommelier Smackdown. When I called her to thank her for the gift, she had a story to telk, very apropos to what’s happening in the sommelier world today. About eight years ago, she was taking a class at the wine school and she asked if the teacher was a Master Sommelier. He said no, and would never recommend anyone going to the Court of Master Sommeliers. He said that their were a lot of rumors that the exam proctors were on the take. If you paid them to “tutor” you, they’d slip you the answers. The instructor went on to talk about how philly’s Wine School made sure to keep everything on the up and up, because eventually people would expose what was going on. That seemed unbelievable back then, but now it’s obviously true. They just caught one of the Master Sommelier’s in the act of selling the answers to the Master Somm exam. It seems pretty clear to me that the people who run Philly’s wine school really know what’s going on behind the scenes. And they are good people. So, for being a great school and for being 100% honest, they deserve this review, and more.

I heard an interview with Keith, the founder of the Wine School, on the Philly Who podcast. Sounded like a remarkable person running a cool company. I signed up for a class at the last minute, which was a rarity unto itself: all of their classes are sold out months ahead of time. The hype isn’t wrong about this place. That old rumpled dude at the front of the class? He’s pure magic. It’s like being in the room with a freaking supernatural creature or maybe the Einstein of booze. I’d suggest checking out that podcast after you go to a class, not before. I was getting choked up in class about this guy’s amazing life journey. He’s an inspiration, and he loves popping open awesome bottles, so there’s that. All the classes sell out months in advance. If you can’t schedule your time three months out, I got you. The hack is to check out FB of all things: They post last minute openings on their facebook page. If you follow them, you’ll be able to jump into a class last-minute.

I took a class on food and wine pairing here. I had an awesome time. But I also learned more about pH and acidity than I did in my college chemistry classes. I guess if Dr. Harrow had a better personality and served food during class I would have learned a whole lot more. Maybe I would have been a STEM superstar instead of working in real estate. It was amazing how the wine professor threaded science into what we were tasting. I realize now that every sommelier I’ve watched on television has no idea what they are talking about. There are interactive elements in this class, which I really liked a lot.

In the last few years, I've only driven into the friendliest neighborhoods. It makes me feel bad to say it. Since COVID, I've been a little worried. When I went into the city, I mostly stayed in the Fitler Square/Rittenhouse area. A lot of times, I parked near the school. On 22nd Street, it's right next to another school. I signed up for a class because I was interested. What I did was wrong. At this point, I wish I had stayed here for a lot longer. What a beautiful place! The people I've met there are by far the nicest I've met in the city. It has changed the way I see the city. If it weren't for this beautiful place, I might as well stay home.

My wife and i have attended previous wine and / or wine cooking related courses - this was the first one on the stronger stuff - and the applause at the end from the attendees was instant and long. it was the best one we have been to. The 2 hours passed by incredibly quickly - we tried cognac inspired cocktails, sipped brandy / cognac / armagnac from spain and france and even some lovely brown colored grappa ( a first for me ) from Piedmont in Italy ( delicious ). Along the way Keith gave us the history of brandy and other brown liquors, facts and figures on their production techniques and a demonstration of how wine is turned into liquor. By the end of the evening i have to say we were mellow with the tastings but for someone like myself who thought they knew something about cognac etc the conversation we had in the bar afterwards was on how much we both learned and were educated by someone who is both passionate and knowledgeable in equal measures. This was incredible value for anyone interested in what they drink and wants to be educated so they can make smart choices in what they buy. Keith has a direct coaching style - he wants to feel the energy and curiosity of the class - when you go be prepared to participate as a tutorial rather than a lecture - the questions and comments from the attendees were an integral part of the evening and contributed greatly to both the educational value and enjoyment for everyone.

I signed up and paid for online wine school through the Philadelphia Wine School. But in the middle of the course, the wine school said the payment did not go through and cancelled my connection. However they were wrong--I found the payment on my credit card bill. I did not want to start all over again so I did not re-apply. Despite their mess up, the wine school sent the bill to a collection agency--without ever informing me, and has stopped responding to emails. The Philadelphia wine school made the mistake and wasted my time. Very bad experience.

When I started getting into wine, my friends convinced me to take a wine class in San Fran. It was OK but it seemed too restauranty to me. The teacher had been a waiter who earned a WSET certification a few years before. It had the feeling of a power-point presentation run by a sn*b. It didn’t help that the class was held in the back of an old restaurant. After that, I was done with wine snobs and their classes. Or so I thought. A few years later, I read about a wine school in Philly run by a winemaker who was teaching at Drexel. That seemed more up my alley, and I put it on my to do list. That was years ago, but I finally booked a class a few months ago. It was amazing. Is it wrong that I prefer to have teachers with real degrees and a passion for what they do? Is it wrong to like having a Sylvia Plath reference while talking about Pinot Noir? Maybe it is, but it makes for a magnetic night. I can’t recommend this school highly enough.

What can I say? This is one of the classiest, smartest spots on the East Coast. I've been to a few classes, including a Cocktail and Bartending class in September, when I took this photo. I'll say straightaway, this is the kind of place you discover and make your own. They don't advertise but they've been around for something crazy like twenty years. Think of it like this: if Harvard was a speakeasy, then it would be the Wine School. I'll also say this: it's not for everyone. Smart people who've traveled will love it, they'll get it. But there are going to be people who simply don't understand what this place is or how special it really is. I love the fact that there is no hype about this place. It's the place that you have to be told about it, and the owners of the school want to keep it like that. If you don't have tickets to a class, don't bother trying to visit: the place isn't open to the public, not ever. They don't even have a phone. If you're lucky enough to score a seat --they can sell out months in advance-- make sure to come a bit early. The best seats --they call them the geek seats-- are in the front of the classroom. I've been to an intro class, the bartending class, and a Spain VS Italy class. I plan on attending a sommelier program, too, but those are very pricey and sold out for about six months.