Oddfellows Chester hosts Cheshire Mersey Local Wine School

Cheshire Mersey Local Wine School marked its official launch on Thursday, September 10 at Oddfellows Chester, in Lower Bridge Street, welcoming guests for an evening built around a playful twist on traditional wine tasting – pairing your wine with your mood.

The guided tasting was led by Debbi Jones, owner of Cheshire Mersey Local Wine School who, rather than focusing purely on grape varieties and technical tasting notes, introduced each wine through a different mood.

Among the guests were Mark and Jill Davis, from Great Boughton.

Jill spotted the event on Facebook and got in touch with Debbi directly, one of several guests who likes to look out for interesting things to do locally.

“We had a great evening! It was lovely to chat to different people and hear from Debbi about where she’s come from and her interest in wine – her knowledge is impressive and we’re looking forward to attending more of her events,” said Jill.

“The informal presentation really hit the spot – I’ve done lots of formal wine tasting all over the world and I think we need to make it more accessible, and Debbi does a great job of that.”

Mark added: “When it comes to buying wine, it tends to be that we dash to the supermarket and grab something we know we like, so to learn more is great.

"Tonight I learned about the importance of the four S’s: sight, sniff, swirl and sip.”

Liz Kerr, from Wirral, agreed with Jill that the evening offered a different perspective on wine tasting.

She said: “I’d been to wine tastings before, but the thing that stood out tonight was how you can think about taste in terms of your emotions, rather than just technical information about the grapes and wine history.”

After 15 years working as a French and German translator, Debbi has turned her specialist knowledge of wine and a career spent making complex information easier to understand into a business helping local wine lovers discover what’s in their glass.

She said: “It was wonderful to welcome such a mix of guests to the grand opening party – local residents looking for a fun evening out, lifestyle influencers, hospitality professionals and, of course, friends and family!

“They really enjoyed how we made the wine tasting more approachable, saying it was a welcome contrast to wine tastings they’d been to before.

“That’s exactly how we like our guests to feel, so mission accomplished! Wine should be enjoyed rather than governed by old-fashioned rules.”

The first event is on Tuesday, September 22 followed by a Cheese & Wine evening on Thursday, October 15.

If you’d like to find out about these and more, visit: localwineschool.com/cheshire-mersey/events