Feet First! Wine making & WSET Level 2 Course With Emily O'Hare (September 2021)
The best way to learn about wine is to participate in a harvest - Join us for our harvest this year - and feel the chapters of the WSET Level 2 study book come to life.
At Castello di Potentino students of the WSET Level 2 residential course get out in the vineyard for a morning’s grape picking. And then head either into the winery to get involved in the pressing of the fruit, or head to the nearby Etruscan wine stones to foot press the grapes - students learn both the ancient and modern methods for winemaking.
This is a five-day (six-night) residential course during which you will study and sit the WSET level 2 examination while enjoying everything Tuscany has to offer. The course follows on from WSET level 1 (which is not essential).
The WSET course will be led by Decanter Italian wine writer and VIA Italian Wine Ambassador, Emily O’Hare - previously Head Sommelier and Wine Buyer at The River Café.
For WSET Level 2 we look at where the principal grapes and other important varieties grow best in the world and what factors contribute to making those grapes grow so beautifully... and why those wines might have a higher price-tag. Wine labels will never be a problem again!
We also take an in-depth look at the methods used to make sparkling, sweet and fortified wines.
Level 1 is not obligatory - a willingness to know more about wine (and to taste a lot of it) is all that is required of the level 2 student. Each class is very interactive-we taste at least 10 wines per day-the practical element is crucial. We will try Chablis, Chateauneuf du Pape, Barolo, Rioja and many more to understand what makes these wines great and whether they are to our personal liking-so that you will finish the course confident about what wines you like and why that is so. It will be quite a week!
We will also explore the best of the local region, tasting olive oil, watching sheep's milk being transformed into cheese right before your eyes, and visiting a best-in-class Montalcino winery.
Drink responsibly. People under the age of 18 will not be allowed to participate in the tastings.
Helena Attlee’s latest book Lev’s Violin: An Italian adventure was published last year and broadcast as BBC Radio 4’s ‘Book of the Week’. Her bestselling The Land Where Lemons Grow: The story of Italy and its citrus fruit has been translated into several languages and won the Guild of Food Writers’ Book of the Year 2015.
Julian Evans is the author of the acclaimed biography Semi-Invisible Man: The life of Norman Lewis and Transit of Venus: Travels in the Pacific. He has presented radio and TV documentaries, reported from central Europe and written about the war in Ukraine from the frontline.
Saturday 10 September
Arrive in good time to settle in before meeting the tutors and other writers for an aperitivo followed by dinner
Sunday 11 September
Using our senses as a way of expressing experiences and connecting to readers, we explore rooting our writing in the physical
world to bring it alive
Activity: Walking the Potentino valley with a local botanist
Workshop:
Sensory writing Aperitivo and dinner at castle
Monday 12 September
Today is about building skills to commit real people to the page, using their appearance, body language, behaviour and other closely observed details
Activity: Visit to the local market
Free time for lunch in local town
Workshop: Writing people, their settings and voices
Aperitivo and dinner at castle
Tuesday 13 September
We focus on framing a process or an event to make it interesting to anyone, even to those not specifically interested in it
Activity: Local shepherds making ricotta cheese, followed by cheese tasting
Workshop: Finding the universal strand
Tasting the wines of Potentino with Charlotte Horton, followed by dinner with Rachel Roddy
Wednesday 14 September
Today is led by Rachel Roddy, acclaimed author, Italian food expert and Guardian columnist
Activity: Learning to make pasta with Rachel in Potentino’s 13th-century kitchen
Lunch is home-made pasta –
of course!
Workshop: Armed with our
flour-covered notes and thoughts, we will talk and do three generative
exercises. We’ll also look at strategies for writing about food and practical tips for recipe writing, and to conclude will talk about how to find a sustainable, enjoyable writing process and how to balance messy creativity with structure, form – and dinner
Feedback session with Rachel, Helena and Julian
Aperitivo and ‘Getting published’, a question-and-answer session with Derek Johns, drawing on his career as an editor, publisher and leading
literary agent
Dinner at castle
Thursday 15 September
On the final day we take you through a series of invaluable techniques for revising and polishing your work
Workshop: Ultimate editing: putting it all together
Lunch
Free time to work on your writing
Celebration and sharing of your work
Dinner at a local restaurant
Friday 16 September
Departure
[We reserve the right to make changes to this timetable if necessary]
“Julian and Helena worked beautifully together in creating a transformative learning experience. Taking part has raised my standard of what I expect from my writing dramatically”
“I came to Potentino without an agenda, but I leave Potentino inspired to share my stories”
“Thank you both so much for a wonderful experience. I appreciate all your knowledge, generosity and hard work”
Board and lodging at Castello di Potentino
All sessions with Julian and Helena
Pasta-making Workshop and talk with Rachel Roddy
"Behind the scenes in publishing" discussion with Derek Johns
Trips for planned excursions
Last night's dinner at a local restaurant
What's not included
Flights
Transfers to and from Potentino (can be booked as an extra)
Meals on planned excursions
Prices
Prices vary by room choice and number of guests sharing the room.
A single person is € 2315.
Two people sharing a room is € 2000 per person.
Three people sharing a room is €1895 per person.
Please note
If you would like to pay a deposit
The payment system asks for payment in full. If you would rather pay a non-refundable 25% deposit at the time of booking, please enter the code DEPOSIT25 at checkout. The final payment will be due one month before the start of the course.
If you have any issues booking
Sometimes, it takes a few attempts to clear the cart if you need to make any changes to your room selection etc.
If you have any issues at all, please contact Alexander Greene alexander.greene@potentino.com
