These products were supplied to me for the purposes of review.

Liking wine is one thing. Being into wine is quite another. It feels as though there’s a vast and unnavigable sea of knowledge that you have to master before you can say you’re into wine. Grape varieties, soil types, climate, geography – it’s easy to give up before you even start and just select whatever’s on offer in your local shop. But getting into wine isn’t as difficult as you think, and you can actually do it at home with The Wine List!

I love this concept so much. Homework is a lot more fun when it involves taking notes about wine and filling in aroma profiles and grading the colour and finish. Each bottle comes with its own notecard that tells you everything you need to know about the wine, including how and why it was selected, where the grapes were grown, what to pair it with, and even some trivia. Not only that, but it’ll give you a buying guide to pick up a similar wine if you liked the one you’re drinking! On the reverse of the notecard is a place to record your tasting noes. You can tick off the aroma profile from their suggestions, note down the characteristics on a sliding scale, and write down your thoughts as well. Each box comes with the two notecards, along with some more information to help you learn as you drink, including the introduction to the course which guides you through the process of how to judge a wine by look, smell, and taste.

What I love about this is that it’s a completely no pressure way to learn about wine – tasting courses are all well and good but it has a tendency to bring me right back to school days – not really sure if I’m right, not wanting to speak up, worrying about being called on, and also getting mad at the inevitable swot who thinks they know it all. I’d rather just drink wine and learn at my own pace! Plus, you can even invite friends around for a session and see what you can learn together… Bonus points if you can still write afterwards!

Perhaps the best thing about this though is the wine itself. Both of these wines were absolutely delicious and incredibly high quality. The red, La Zerba, was very bold and smooth, and had a rich depth of flavour without being too overpowering. I followed the pairing advice and tried it with some cured meats and salami – and they were right! Perfect combo! Meanwhile, the Petite Fugue was light yet complex with a honey finish and a nose of wild flowers and peach. It went perfectly with poached salmon and a new potato salad, as per the suggestion on the card.

As you can see, I’m still learning! But it’s great fun and genuinely interesting to learn from The Wine List – and their wines are such great selections, with some rare types that you can learn even more from!

The Wine List costs £39 per month. Save 30% with the code FRIENDS30! Head to www.thewinelist.net to sign up.