Have fun at home learning wine so you can order with confidence, understand what makes a great wine, why you like certain wines but not others, how different styles of wine can be made from the same grape, what makes an ageworthy wine, what exactly ‘terroir’ is, and more. With this course you will see nature’s face in your wine, understand the deep connection between you and the earth when you drink wine, and get to know the passion of the winegrower and winemaker.
This will take you on a deep wine experience – explore a diverse set of 12 wines with the winegrower and winemaker, travel into the heart of where these wines were born, through 8 modules, 20 videos, and supporting documents.
If you are a winelover with a hunger to understand wine, to get more enjoyment from the wines you drink and to feel a connection with the earth, and have fun, this course is for you.
Participant Testimonials
‘Thanks to you for bringing joy!’ Abigail, on the Virtual Discovery Wine Course
‘I felt like I got to be at the vineyard without being there. What fun!’ Amy, on the Virtual Discovery Wine Course
‘The Virtual Discovery Wine Course fun and informative. I came away with so much knowledge about different wines, wine making, wine tasting, pairing and even organic and biodynamic grape growing! I recommend this course for anyone with a passion for wine.’ Pam Reimann, Pam’s Passport Travel LLC.
Why do this course with us?
- You will taste and see contrasts between wines (12 wine pack – see detail below) and understand in depth from the winegrower and winemaker what makes these wines different and how you can use this understanding to better select wines that fit your taste preferences in the future
- Learn with award winning wines from an award winning wine school
- You will smell and feel the terroir- each box includes a piece of flintstone and a piece of limestone from the vineyards of the wines you will be tasting
- You will explore a wide breadth of wines helping you to understand different wines styles and varietals
- Videos about wine-tasting, winegrowing and winemaking that connect to the wines in the pack so you can experience the course with look, smell and taste in your own home
- You’ll take a deep dive into sensory wine tasting – going further than headline wine-tasting and tuning into what the wine has to say
- Learn about the differences between conventional, organic, biodynamic and natural wines and why you should care
- You will feel a connection to the earth and to the place where these wines were born
- Most importantly – you will have multi-sensory fun as you tune in to videos, taste wines and extend your wine knowledge and tasting experience from your home
The Virtual Discovery Wine Course – 1 minute youtube trailer
Why now?
Questions and comments from our community on social media and via email made us realise there was a thirst for more information on wine and organic, biodynamic and natural wines in particular, and for a connection to the earth and where the wine was from.
We have been working on this programme idea for a long time- we want to play a part in connecting people to the earth and nature.
But why do this course with us rather than another online course? See our credentials below.
What exactly is included in the Virtual Discovery Wine Course? And how will it be delivered? Scroll on down for details.
Chateau Feely and French Wine Adventures credentials
- Listed as one of five top places to learn about wine in the world by Forbes Travel
- Award winning wines, vineyard certified organic and biodynamic for more than a decade
- Tripadvisor certificate of excellence for 9 years running
- WSET (Wine Spirit Education Trust) approved programme provider wine school since 2010 with 100% pass rate
- Gold Trophy Winner at the first National French Wine Tourism awards in 2019
- Fantastic client reviews (see our tripadvisor listing for more)
- Recommended by the Times, the Daily Telegraph, the Independent, Gloss, Food and Wine, France Today, Living, Petit Futé and Terres de Vins
- Winner of a Best of Wine Tourism Gold trophy for the greater Bordeaux region 2017 and 2013
- Winner of the ‘best of challenge’ for wine tourism and education in Bergerac, Dordogne and Duras 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020
The pack and the programme:
In summary
* the virtual discovery wine course is a set of videos and documents divided into 8 core modules with over 2 hours of video + pdf documents + interactive exercises.
* A link to the programme materials – including videos and PDF’s will be sent to you on your personal email that place the order (within 24 hours of your order we will send you the outline document with the links to the video modules).
* The wine (optional) will be sent to your shipping address and be with you within 7 working days in most EU destinations (a month for USA).
Interested in more details? We’ve laid out our complete curriculum below so you know exactly what you’re getting with this programme.
Read on for the full details of the 8 Modules and 12 Wines (optional)
12 Wines (optional)
The case of 12 wines -optional – but highly recommended (shipping to EU, UK, and USA). EU and UK participants will have your wines within 5 to 7 working days
- Feely Sincérité pure sauvignon blanc – a beautiful organic Sauvignon – with a memory of the sea from the limestone terroir
- Feely Générosité barrel-aged sémillon – a nuanced deep organic, biodynamic semillon on limestone and flintstone
- Feely Sensualité dry rosé from merlot – a mineral and zesty rosé
- Feely Liberté off dry rosé from cabernet sauvignon – a fruity rich rosé
- Feely La Source library vintage – a beautiful barrel-aged blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon
- Feely La Source current vintage – barrel-aged blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon with rich dark fruit aromas and flavours
- Feely Brut Rose dry sparkling rosé from merlot – a traditional method sparkling rosé
- Feely Résonance merlot – a fruity dry red wine
- Feely La Source latest bottling – a barrel aged blend of merlot and cabernet sauvignon dry red wine with red fruit and dark fruit notes
- Feely Grace – a barrel aged blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot dry red wine, an aged red wine with cherry and tobacco notes and a long finish
- Feely Silex – a pure sémillon dry white wine – floral and ageworthy
- Feely Premier Or – library vintage of award winning AOC Saussignac botrytis dessert wine (500ml)
All bottles are 750ml except the Saussignac. All wines are certified organic except the library vintage La Source which was in conversion.
The 8 Modules in the Virtual Discovery Wine Course
- Module 1: Sensory wine tasting
- Basics of wine tasting
- How to wine-taste with all your senses – going beyond look, smell and taste
- Wine-tasting like a meditation
At the end of this module you’ll have a new appreciation for how to engage with and get the most out of your favourite wines.
- Module 2: Varietal differences, maturation differences and what they mean
- Varietal differences
- example sauvignon blanc versus sémillon
- varietal expression at different stages of maturity
- Different maturation methods
- example stainless steel versus barrel-aging
- Service temperature of wine
- Varietal differences
At the end of this module you’ll be able to identify barrel aged wines, to explain varietal differences and know the optimal temperature for serving white wines.
- Module 3: Rosé, varietal differences, terroir, natural wine
- Varietal differences continued
- example merlot versus cabernet sauvignon
- Terroir – looking closely at the cabernet vineyard versus the merlot vineyard to understand this concept
- Rosé winemaking
- The story of natural wine and freedom
- Varietal differences continued
At the end of this module you’ll be able to explain rosé winemaking, the difference between merlot and cabernet sauvignon, the components of terroir, and have an idea of natural winemaking.
- Module 4: Aromas, vintage differences, organic and biodynamic farming
- Compare two ‘identical’ wines from different vintages
- Colour assessment
- Vintage differences
- Machine picking versus handpicking
- Organic and biodynamic farming/ winegrowing
At the end of this module you’ll feel confident about how to get an idea of the age of a wine, how the way the wine is farmed affects you and the environment and how to classify aromas
- Module 5: Winemaking 101- part 1 – core steps in winemaking
- Comparing two very different wines from the same vineyard and grape and think through the wine-making steps and how different they are
- Steps in white/ rose winemaking versus red winemaking
- Organic, biodynamic and natural winemaking
At the end of this module you’ll be able to decipher the key steps used to make a wine from its look, smell and taste and to identify the difference between conventional, organic, biodynamic and natural winemaking
- Module 6: Winemaking 101- part 2 – blending and maturation
- Revisit colour assessment, vintage differences
- Blending
- Maturation and aging
- Thinking about where a wine is on its life cycle
At the end of this module you’ll: feel confident about assessing where a wine is on its life cycle so you know when you need to drink up or when you can keep a wine, be able to identify how it was matured and the factors that go into blending decisions.
- Module 7: Winemaking going deeper – residual sugar, botrytis and more
- Different winemaking methods
- What is residual sugar
- How to make a dry wine versus a sweet wine
- Sweet wine methods of winemaking
At the end of this module you will know the difference between dry and sweet wines and how they get that way
- Module 8: Conclusion and what makes a wine great
- The elements of great wine
- Having an emotional response to a wine
- Wine as memory and bottled poetry
At the end of this module you’ll be a little closer to the holy grail of what makes a wine great and how to identify them so you can get your hands on more of them. 😊
By the end of the course you will have a deeper understanding of wine, how it is grown, made and how to get the more enjoyment from it. We can’t wait to share this adventure with you.
We are excited to share the passion and knowledge we have gained from more than 15 years of hands-on winegrowing and winemaking and 10 years of teaching people about wine.
Caro Feely, your instructor is a certified wine educator, an active winegrower and winemaker, a published author of four books about wine and writer of a regular wine column.
Feedback from clients about the Online Wine Course:
‘I am thoroughly enjoying this course. I really do feel like I get to be there without actually being there. I can taste and feel the terroir and the love in your wines. Your videos are lovely, too. What fun!’
Amy, USA, on the Discovery Course
‘We’ve really enjoyed getting involved in Caro’s remote wine tasting course. There has been an amazing mixture of people involved from all parts of Europe an America. We’ve really learned some things that we didn’t previously know. Of special interest to me is that I’ve learned that I like Rosé wine much more than I previously thought, and the session on food/wine pairing was amazing – really informative !”
Mike, UK, on the Discovery Course
Feedback from clients about the Wine Adventure Day that provided the core information for this online programme:
‘A uniquely intimate view of winemaking with a genuine authenticity and attention to detail. Brilliant.’
Elliot Ridgeon
‘Very engaging and educational.’
Laura Van Eeckhout
‘We loved learning about the soil and land. Incredible tour with delicious wines. Very knowledgeable guide.’
James Smith
See a video about Chateau Feely’s visits below:
Frequently asked Questions (FAQ)
When does the Virtual Discovery Wine Course start?
What if I’m not happy with the Virtual Discovery Wine Course?
If you are not happy within 30 days of signing up to the course we offer a full refund on the course content (99 euro).
Where can you ship the wines to?
On the enrollment page you can see the options for shipping either EU and UK or USA.
EU includes Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Luxemburg, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. For Finland and Sweden there a 15 euro surcharge. Norway and Switzerland there is a 40 euro surcharge.
If you live elsewhere and would like a quote let us know.
Guarantee Our wines are guaranteed in good condition (no cork taint) and perfect aging thanks to corks that are guaranteed no cork taint. If your bottles get lost or broken en route we replace them or refund your money no quibbles.
Can more than 1 attend on a single enrollment?
If you have booked the course for yourself and want to attend the events or watch the videos with loved one/s in your household you are welcome to do this. It will be more fun for you and will help you learn even more. However we ask that you respect our copyright and don’t share our intellectual property with anyone beyond your household.
How long do I have access to the programme?
You have access to the programme for 12 months from date of purchase. This means you can plan the tastings and the videos at your leisure, perhaps even use each tasting module as a date night, like one of the participants is doing :).
See the photo brochure for Chateau Feely Chateau Feely photo presentation english v2