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FAQ's

If you have a question for us, it’s very likely that we’ve covered it here – take a look through our frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) below:

We’re most often asked about tickets and/or gift vouchers so we’ve covered these first – our terms and conditions apply at all times and can be viewed here. For everything else, please scroll down for more FAQs . . .

If your circumstances change and you are no longer able to attend the event you have booked for, please let us know as soon as possible. Whilst the booking is non-refundable after 14 days from the purchase date we can offer you the following options:

More than 30 days notice, we can transfer your booking onto another event of your choice however attendance must be within 90 days of the original event date. If no future event dates are available at that time, we can hold your place as pending until new dates are confirmed up to 90 days of the original booked event date. 
 
Less than 30 days notice but more than 7 days before the event date, you are welcome to offer your place to somebody else in your absence but please notify us of any name changes via email no later than 7 days before the event date. If you are unable to offer your place to someone else, we can move your booking after payment of a cancellation fee of 30% of the booked event ticket price per person, enabling you to transfer to another event of the same value. Attendance must be within 90 days of the original event date. Should you wish to join an event with a higher ticket price the balance must be paid at the same time as the cancellation fee. If you choose not to pay the cancellation fee to move your booking and not to offer your place to someone in your absence, your booking will become void.
 
7 days or less before the event date: no changes are possible and guests unable to attend will not be able to transfer their booking.
 
You can view our full terms and conditions here

As a wine school, we sell tickets for specific wine tasting events and classes for a specific date and time. We are not like a restaurant which accepts reservations. We are an independent company which offers educational services for food and wine and we do not sell physical products, in exactly the same way that theatres, other adult education establishments, cinemas, concert venues and sporting event venues work. We understand that sometimes that a guest cannot attend their rebooked event which is why we offer the alternatives set out in our terms and conditions of booking. We ask for your understanding that we do incur costs to our suppliers which is why our cancellation terms are set out as they are and we do our very best to accommodate all changes in circumstances.

You can view our full terms and conditions here

If you are already booked to join us or if you have a gift voucher, the terms and conditions for each must be adhered to.

As an exciting alternative we are pleased to offer alcohol free wines which we will pair with the same foods featured at our events for anyone who’s circumstances have changed and are unable to consume alcohol, however we must be given a minimum of 14 days notice as some of these products must be ordered in advance. 

Availability and quality of alcohol free wines has significantly improved recently which enables us to offer a quality alternative under these circumstances.

If you or your guest is showing any symptoms of Coronavirus/COVID-19 you must NOT attend the event and must inform us at the earliest opportunity. Any guest showing symptoms on arrival will not be permitted to attend and that booking will become void and will not be eligable to move to another event or receive a refund. There is currently no Government financial support for business affected by Coronavirus/COVID-19, therefore our standard terms and conditions apply at all times if your attendance is affected by Coronavirus/COVID-19.

Please refer to the ‘Coronavirus/COVID-19’ heading within your individual event description for any updates for the provision for your safety at each event.

You can buy a monetary wine tasting gift voucher online here

Our wine tasting eVouchers are emailed to the purchaser’s email address on completion of payment and our printed vouchers with gift box (for an additional £4.80) can be posted anywhere in the UK, except to Northern Ireland and the Scottish Highlands and Islands. We use Royal Mail Tracked 48 which is charged on our checkout page or you can arrange to collect from us. We post out within 2 business days of purchase (we are closed on Mondays) 
 
Purchasers must ensure the recipient’s details are entered correctly as mistakes cannot be rectified. Any message will be sent exactly as typed in by the purchaser on our website. 
 
Our wine tasting events usually start from £65.00 per person: you can choose gift voucher monetary values of £50, £100, £150, £200, £250 or £300 or you can choose your own amount, useful for example, if you’re looking to buy a token monetary voucher or cover several tickets to a Saturday wine school. If the recipient wishes, they can upgrade to a higher priced event by paying the balance online after redeeming their voucher code. Please consider that we require a minimum of two guests per booking for our wine tasting river cruises when selecting your monetary voucher value.
 
Our gift vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase during which time the recipient must book and attend their wine tasting. Our gift voucher codes are not transferrable.

This is of course entirely optional – if you know the recipient is available on the event date or if you are joining them, you may wish to choose a specific event date. If guests are unable to attend, there may be a cancellation fee (please refer to our terms and conditions of booking) so it is important you confirm availability before booking.

We would recommend a gift voucher as the best option: if the recipient is not available when you think, they will be able to book onto any event in the future up to the expiry date of the voucher. Our gift vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase and the recipient must book and attend their tasting within the validity period. Gift vouchers are not valid for private or corporate wine tasting events, gift vouchers, wine books or wine products.

Simply choose the event you wish to join and add it to the online cart in the normal way. Gift vouchers are not valid for private or corporate wine tasting events, gift vouchers, wine books or wine products.  Gift voucher recipients must book and attend their event with us before or on the voucher expiry date.

You will be able to add your voucher code on the checkout page. Please use lower or upper case as specified. The cart will be updated with the new balance to pay.

If you were sent a wine tasting eVoucher this will have been either given to you in person after being printed by the purchaser or sent to you directly via email with an individual voucher code. Please check your spam folder if you cannot see your eVoucher.

If you were given or sent a printed gift voucher this will be included with our wine school gift box.

You will need the voucher code to redeem your voucher, so it is important you keep it safe until you wish to use it. Our gift vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase and are not transferrable. You must join us for a wine tasting on or before the expiry date.

If you have a voucher code, please check to find out which event this is valid for and that it is still in date for use and any terms and conditions attached to that code. Select the appropriate event and add it to your shopping cart. On the checkout page you will be able to submit your voucher code when prompted – this may be a gift voucher code OR a loyalty card code: if your code is valid the appropriate amount will be discounted from the total. Voucher codes are not valid for the purchase of gift vouchers, private or corporate wine tasting events, wine books or wine products and there is no cash value.

Gift voucher expiry dates are required by our payment processing partners and form part of their terms and conditions of business with us, therefore we cannot under any circumstances extend the term of gift vouchers which have not been redeemed. Our vouchers are valid for a full twelve months from the date they are purchased, providing an excellent choice of wine tasting events for our gift voucher recipients to choose from which must be booked and attended before or on the voucher expiry date. If your voucher has expired you can join us by purchasing your wine tasting online in the usual way.

When a gift voucher has expired this becomes void and cannot be redeemed. If there is any unused revenue from the voucher, this is donated to either of our charity partners Hospitality Action and The Drinks Trust either as a cash donation or for the purchase of wine featured at one of our fundraising events for the charity enabling all ticket revenue to be donated. Hospitality Action and The Drinks Trust support those working in our industry with financial assistance and mental health support services. 

All of our other most frequently asked questions are featured below:

We hold most of our entertaining wine tasting events at The Forge Chester. We host escorted wine tours around the world too! You can join us on board the Lady Diana for our wine tasting river cruises on the River Dee in the summer months. 

To see our full selection of events, simply click ‘tastings events, gifting and wine tours’ in our main menu. (mobile and tablet users, please select the menu icon and choose from the list.)

At Wine School of Cheshire we have a wine tasting event suitable for almost everyone!

Our mid-week wine tasting evenings offer a superb introduction to tasting wine. These usually start from just £65.00 per person and include canapés and/or small plates for you to enjoy food and wine matching. Some specific wine regions as well as Champagne and sparkling wine tastings will be slightly more in price to reflect the quality of the wines we purchase for those events.

We regularly host a range of full Saturday wine school afternoons at The Forge Chester: these all include a glass of The Everflyht English sparkling wine to welcome you and a five course lunch with an amazing selection of seven more matched wines to enjoy, starting from just £150.00 per person.

Our ‘A Taste of . . . ‘ Saturdays feature a three course lunch with five wines from £125.00 per person.

Our wine tasting events offer a balance of education, entertainment and information. Most importantly, they’re fun!

Our aim is to remove the snobbery and pretentiousness from the world of wine. There is of course wine to taste at every event as well as food to pair with some of the wines you will try on the day. This will be in the form of canapés, artisan cheeses or a five-course lunch, depending on the type of event you have booked. You can be yourselves and ask any questions you wish in a fun and relaxed environment and enjoy your experience to the full.
 
Our wine tasting events and classes are open to all. You can be a complete novice or an industry expert – you’ll still enjoy a superb day or evening out with us.

Most of our Saturday wine school events have a maximum of 10 places in order to maintain an intimate yet entertaining atmosphere. Our A Taste of lunches and our mid-week evenings have a maximum of 12 guests and our wine tasting river cruises are for approximately 20 guests. 

For all our guests’ enjoyment of our intimate tasting events, we ask for your kind understating that groups joining us are limited to 4 guests at Art Box, The Forge Chester and on board The Lady Diana. 

We have no dress code. It’s important to us that you enjoy your experience and feel at home. Most people opt for smart casual, but everyone is welcome at The Wine School of Cheshire.

All our events are fully inclusive.

Our full Saturday wine school events include five courses, a glass of fizz to welcome you and at least 7 more wines to try. At all tastings you’ll also receive our bespoke wine tasting notes which are yours to keep.
 
Our shorter ‘A Taste of . . .’ Saturdays feature a three course lunch with 5 wines.
 
Our mid-week wine tasting evenings and shorter Saturday afternoon events in Chester usually include 5 or 6 wines to try which are matched with hot & cold small plates and/or canapés and/or artisan cheeses – refer to the menu tab in each event description for full details. 
 
There are full details of what’s included within the product description of all of our events listed here at cheshire.wine

All of our events are hosted by our founder Richard J Smith who started our wine school back in 2013 after noticing the city of Chester (and the wider county of Cheshire) lacked an enjoyable form of wine education from an independent voice, as a more entertaining alternative to the sales focused, supplier led wine tastings on offer: a turn off for many who want to learn more about wine without feeling pressured to buy.

Richard has over 31 years of knowledge about all things wine to share with you as well as a few anecdotes (but alas, no secrets!) from his time as a butler. Richard graduated from Norwich Hotel School and further trained at the world-renowned Lanesborough Hotel on Hyde Park Corner, London: a former winner of Best Hotel in the World from Condé Nast. 

Richard also enjoyed several years at London’s Savoy Group and Four Seasons-Regent Hotels. He is proud to include several members of the British Royal Family as well as international heads of state and a host of top celebrities among his clients. 

Richard has worked with a number of organisations assisting with training and development within the hospitality industry including The Cheshire College South and West at their Ellesmere Port Campus. 

He has recently appeared at Three Wine Men in Manchester alongside TV wine legends Oz Clarke, Olly Smith and Tim Atkin MW and has presented English and Welsh wines in partnership with Wines of Great Britain since 2016 at the RHS Tatton Park flower show.

In March 2019 Richard was proud to be intronised into the Confrérie des Compagnons de Grandgousier at a ceremony in The Loire Valley in recognition for his support of the region, particularly Touriane and Touraine-Mesland. Richard hosts tastings and talks for Loire Valley wine around the UK with 2022 appearances scheduled for Manchester and Cheltenham.

Richard was thrilled to be appointed to the professional judging panel for The Peoples Choice Wine Awards in March 2022.

Find out more about us here

All our events start at different times depending on the location and type of event, therefore the start time will be indicated within the event description and the event timings will be printed on your ticket(s) too. All times are subject to change, however in the rare occasion that there are any changes, these will be confirmed by email as far in advance as possible.

The location details of each event are clearly visible within the event title and description. 

Drinking sensibly is extremely important to us. We are generous with our tasting samples to allow you to appreciate the attributes of each wine, so expect around a third of a standard wine glass of each wine you try.

During our Saturday lunch events, there’s a little more wine to enjoy with each course of lunch. The cheese course is used to pair the with red wines featured.

In addition to the glass of fizz to welcome you (full Saturday wine schools only), over all you can expect approximately one standard glass of wine per hour.

We do however reserve the right to refuse further wine service if we have concerns regarding an individuals alcohol tolerance or behaviour. This is for your own wellbeing as well as those around you. For further details see Guest Behaviour in our terms and conditions.

All persons attending must be 18 years of age or more in order to comply with the law. We may request photographic identification before the class commences in order to verify an individual is of legal drinking age. Should no proof of age be available the law requires us to refuse admission. Under these circumstances a refund will not be possible. Please visit www.drinkaware.co.uk for the facts.

We provide full details of the venue address within each event description and again on your wine tasting ticket(s). If we are aware of a major public event happening close by which may affect transport we will advise you via email a few days before with any suitable alternative routes or types of transport.

NO! NEVER DRINK AND DRIVE!

Driving over the legal limit is dangerous and will result in a driving ban for twelve months, a fine of up to £5,000 and the possibility a prison sentence. Find out the full facts about drink driving here. 

We do provide wine spittoons on request at all of our events. If you are planning to drive to the event and take public transport or a taxi home, please ensure you are able to make suitable overnight car parking arrangements for your vehicle prior to joining us.

THERE IS NO PARKING WITHIN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO OUR VENUES – THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OVERNIGHT VAR PARKS WITHIN CHESTER CITY CENTRE

We strongly advise that you do not drive to a wine tasting.

If you have to drive, ensure you can park overnight – you MUST NOT drive after a wine tasting. Chargeable car parking is available at various locations around Chester. Please check for the car park closing times on entry as they are not open 24 hours and may be some distance away from your tasting.

Wine and food pairing is one of the principal themes to all of our classes and events.

Many of our Saturday events include a five-course lunch where we pair different wines with each course or a three course lunch for our ‘A Taste of . . .’ Saturdays. We advertise the menu as far in advance as possible, however there are occasions where this may be confirmed just a few days before the event date owing to the use of the freshest ingredients at all our venues.

Our mid-week evening wine tastings include canapés and/or small plates, paired appropriately with five of the six wines you will be tasting. 

Yes of course. It’s important to us that everyone enjoys their wine and food pairing experience and we will do our best to cater for all dietary requirements. We do ask at point of confirmation for you to let us know as early as possible if anyone in your party has any menu requirements and we must have at least 7 days notice in order for us to confirm the most suitable alternatives with our chef.

Yes of course. We understand that some guests may have specific food allergies and we are always able to provide alternative ingredients and, if required, alternative dishes to ensure your food and wine pairing experience is enjoyable. We do require a minimum of 7 days notice prior to the event date to ensure our venues are able to access the appropriate ingredients and appreciate your understanding and kind assistance when this is necessary.

Please be aware as we are a wine school that wine is served at all our events and all wines produced do contain sulphites. We endeavour to feature wines where additional sulphites are not added by the winemaker or transporter, however UK legislation requires that all wines are correctly labeled as containing sulphites as these are produced in small quantities naturally during fermentation. If you suffer from a sulphite allergy we will be unable to offer any alternatives to wine and this must be considered before booking. We regret that a refund will not be available if we are informed of a sulphite allergy after your booking has been completed. Please refer to our full terms and conditions for further reference.

No. Smoking is prohibited at all times at all of our events and this includes electronic cigarettes. Whilst we politely insist upon this, any guests who do smoke will be asked to leave the event and a refund will not be possible. Please refer to Guest Behaviour within our terms and conditions of booking for further information.

You can pay online securely with a major debit or credit card. Our online debit and credit card payments are processed securely by our merchant services partner, Square Payments. We regret that we do not accept cash or cheque payments. Our standard terms and conditions apply to all methods of payment. Once your payment is verified we will confirm your purchase by email. If you cannot find your confirmation email please check your spam folder too.

No. As we require specific detail for our wine tasting tickets and gift vouchers, this must be completed online on our website.

Yes. We accept American Express. Your card transaction will be processed securely by our merchant services partner, Square Payments.

All of our event tickets are booked in advance and usually online: you will have received an eTicket for each ticket you have purchased at the time of booking which is sent to the purchaser’s email address.  If you cannot find your eTicket please check your spam folder to ensure your email provider has not directed your ticket(s) there. Once you have completed your purchase you will also receive an electronic receipt as part of your confirmation email.

If you have purchased printed tickets with a wine school gift box, these will be mailed to the address provided using Royal Mail First Class. We ask you to allow 5 days for delivery to allow for any delays within the postal system.

You can log in to your customer account by selecting ‘My Account’ – you will find this within the ‘Book your wine tasting’ main menu option. You can also select ‘My Account’ from the ‘Information’ menu which is found at the bottom left area of each page of our website.

If you’ve forgotten your password, select the ‘My Account’ option and next to the login button you will find the ‘Lost password?’ link. Click this link and you will be prompted to enter your email address or user name. Upon doing so, click ‘reset password’ and instructions to change your password will be sent to the email address used to initially register your customer account.

Yes! We specialise in corporate events including team engagement sessions and client entertainment. Visit our corporate page here to find out more.

Unfortunately we do not offer home wine tastings – if you’re looking to host a corporate event click here to find out more.

No. Our wine school events are both intimate and whilst all are enjoyable, there is a focus on wine education and drinking sensibly forms part of every event. Therefore we are unable to accept bookings for hen or stag events at any time.

If you have a question you feel we haven’t covered here you can send a message via our online contact form
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