Learn About Wine

Best bang of the buck, wine tasting course yet. Ian Blackburn is the man. I went to an event with some high end tasting stuff, like Château Margaux, and other Bordeaux. Lots of cheese, crackers, and things to help pair and taste. Also went to one of the bigger tasting events, where there were various wine vendors from Santa Barbara at the cushy Peninsula Hotel. Unlimited wine and unlimited prime rib to rival the mighty Lawry’s?
I’m no wine expert, but Ian offers a very enjoyable way to get exposed to so many different wines.

I loved wine before I met Ian Blackburn of Learn About Wine. Now I love wine and know a lot about wine thanks to Learn About Wine. I’ve taken many classes and gone to many events. Not once have I said to myself that it wasn’t worth the price of admission.
Every single class has been fun, educational, and inspiring. I’ve even gone to repeats of the same class because it was that much fun. We wish we had more time and money to go to more events!

I’ve known Ian for about 5 years now, originally through his wine 101 class and then different tastings he’s offered or I’ve poured at. They are always fun and casual but most importantly they are very well organized and educational. I’m looking forward to his specialized offerings and trips this summer and fall!

Want to learn about wine, go see Ian! Want to attend a fun wine tasting event in an elegant setting with some of the top wines in the world, go to
!
Ian Blackburn continues to be Southern California’s top wine ambassador with his STARS OF SANTA BARBARA, STARS OF CABERNET, WORLD OF PINOT NOIR, STARS OF NAPA VALLEY events. Sample wines poured by the winemakers themselves, eat great food, listen to cool tunes, mingle with fellow wine enthusiasts and bid on top shelf wines at the silent auction, which benefits a charity. I’ve been to at least 5 of his events. Totally fun and accessible for the wine novice to the wine connoisseur..
Ian and his team does it all with style, class and panache.

I am overwhelmed with how many positive things I can say about Learn About Wine, and am honestly having a hard time putting my thoughts together because there are so many great things that I have to say that I don’t want to forget. I guess I will just keep it short-​ish and simple. Ian and everyone else I have dealt with at Learn About Wine have been absolutely incredible and shown the utmost professionalism. Not only are they professional, but also very responsive and helpful. Now to talk about Ian in particular. Ian has an incredible knowledge of wine and loves to share it and help others to learn (at least that is the impression that he gives when teaching). You will never find a better person to learn about wine and all if it’s intricacies from. Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable, he is so kind. No question is stupid, no matter how basic and he doesn’t come across as snooty or pompous, but rather patient and eager to share his love and knowledge of wine with others. Last, many of the wines you will taste in the classes are wines that are no longer available in that vintage, so this may be the only opportunity that you have to taste them, and the wines he chooses for his tastings will not disappoint. If you love, or even like wine, go to one of his classes. You will not regret it!

4.5 review. Went to a LAW event at the sherman oaks galleria and it was amazing! Very well set up and so many wines for a reasonable entrance price! I love how many new wines we were able to try.
The half a star off would be that some of the wine «experts» weren’t experts at all. Im a novice at best and I felt I knew more about the wine than some of the people working there. I was hoping to learn a few things and I really didn’t. The ticket price included appetizers and i only saw about two plates being passed the entire time. I may have just missed them.
Such a great experience so far and worth every dime. (we got a half off promotion because we are vip galleria members).
I definitely recommend!

I’ve been to 3 – 4 events and they’ve all been excellent.
Ian is passionate about wine and extremely knowledgeable. He’s very pleasant, and you can tell he genuinely enjoys teaching people about the joys of wine.
Considering he routinely pours some very spendy bottles at these classes, I’ve found them to be a great value to me. He pours wines I can’t just go out and buy and drink at home.
I will be going to many more LAW events.

My wife surprised me for my 39+ birthday with a trip to Napa she arranged with Learn About Wine. There was a group of 12 that included Ian the brain child behind this incredible business. We’ve attended his events in the past, mainly in the LA area, but nothing like this. The experience was incredible and we did things that any person just visiting Napa cannot do without serious hook ups and deep inside connections. We had the times of our lives and felt honored to be part of this event. I encourage anyone interested in Wine or is just a lush like me to partakes in an event as they are so much fun and a great value… Thank you LAW and Ian!

I went to a Wine, Cheese and Chocolate class a little while back and loved Ian from day one! I think that class was the actual start of my wine journey. I’ve kept up with him on Facebook and recently asked for his suggestion on a unique wine. We had a $ 300 spending limit. He recommended a wine for half the price that was a total hit! He knows his stuff and I’m so happy to have crossed paths with him.
As my wine knowledge grows, he is just «that guy» that knows it and does it! Thanks Ian!

Ian was great! We learned so much. Ian’s knowledge about wine is impressive. We learned everything about the history of wine making to great tips about buying your everyday wine for drinking with your dinner that night. Eat.Drink.Americano was a comfortable location and the number of people in the class was small — about 10 — which was perfect. The wine selection for tasting was great– you really could see the subtle differences between some of the selections with Ian’s help and they were all very tasty. The cheese provided at the table was also amazing! Really a first class event, but comfortable and casual. We will for sure attend another class. This would also make a great gift for a couple. Thanks Ian!

Wine, cheese and friends. Pretty hard to take those three things and turn them in to a terrible time right? Well this guy managed to do that. We all went in expecting to learn about wine, instead we got rambling opinions and youtube clips of children explaining how to make cheese (seriously). Even if this class was $ 20 I would’ve thought this was a terrible event, but $ 100?! It was like he had typed «wine» into wikipedia and youtube the night before to come up with his material. All his personal anecdotes were boring, and he kept telling us how he wanted to get a masters in the field of wine, my advice to him would be to actually get the education before he gives the class again.
You are thinking «How does this have such a high rating if its so terrible?» Well its because if you write a bad review he looks up your name/​e-​mail from the class and threatens you. He did this to my girlfriend and will probably do it to me, but sometimes you just have to stand up to bullies and call it like it is.

I consider myself an alcohol enthusiast. I have spent several months in Napa — time in Oregon, Washington, France, Italy and various other countries with wine and gastronomic adventure being the focal point of these trips.
I have attended a number of Ian’s events over the past several years. His knowledge and connections within the wine realm are vast. Much has been gained from these events — from my first bottle of Screaming Eagle to Spanish Wine Certification. All of my experiences have been positive — and the education and camaraderie have been a wonderful addition to my studies within this field. I would suggest his services to anyone wishing to further their breadth and depth of knowledge in regards to the endless world of ethanol.

I am a huge fan of wine and cheese! The choices for the wine were not very good, according to my palate. I’ve been wine tasting 3x in Napa, once in Santa Ynez, in Virginia a few times, and in Italy (aside from all of the local tastings at wine bars), so I’d like to think that I have a relatively decent palate and knowledge. The cheeses were really good though!
The space was so neat, being in a very Americana vintage feeling restaurant downtown in the art’s district.
The class was held in a very informative manner, whereby we weren’t really encouraged or even allowed to talk to those at our table/​friends. The information given was fine. To be honest, I didn’t really learn anything that I didn’t already know, or there was nothing so shocking as to keep in the wine file-​box of my mind. (he showed youtube clips of various things, including how to make cheese – which I already know and have done multiple times thanks to my Indian cooking classes back in the day! Oh paneer!)
The host was very kind and pleasant, but boring and not captivating. The servers were super kind and sweet!
The class was waaaaaay over priced for what it was! As said earlier, the wine selection was unimpressive, and the pour size was dismal! I came from a long work day, and was hoping to at least get a wee bit of a buzz, but I was not so lucky. It was $ 95 for a sober night. *tsk tsk tsk*
I would not recommend this event. It was not horrible, or anything like that. I had a very fine time, actually. I just would not pay $ 95 for this.
*and to the man in charge, I’ve read below that you write harassing emails to those who were less than enthusiastic about your events. Please save us both the time, and do not. Cheers

My wife and I went to Ian’s class at the fabulous EatDrinkAmericano restaurant in downtown. Wow were we impressed, excited, and pleasantly satisfied with the evening event. We went this past Friday night and learned a lot about wine, drank some good American wines, ate some good cheese and enjoyed some casual banter with other classmates. It is a great date night and actually several people came to the event as singles… Our class was about 30 or so and created some great synergy. Ian is a wizard of wine and will continue to become more well known in the wine community.
Thank you!

Learn About Wine hosted a SummerTASTE event at the Santa Monica Place, which is a series of wine tasting events. Various vineyards come out to showcase a couple of their wines and food vendors come to provide food sampling for the guests. Thought it would be fun to lounge around the Santa Monica Place sipping on wine, munching on food, and mingling with friends.
We arrived on time to get a head start before the crowd came rolling in. We tried as many syrahs as we could. Some vendors were more information and polite than others. I don’t know if it was because we didn’t look like «wine snobs,» but one vendor barely gave us the time of day. Oh well.
We were given 2 food tickets: one for a slice of flatbread pizza and the other for cheese/​salami. For the price of the admission ticket, the size of the slice was quite disappointing.
The best part of the night was the chocolate/​brownie bar. No tickets required and we were able to eat as much as we wanted.
This event was fun because I was in good company, however, I don’t feel like I learned anything about wine…

****EDIT**** Ok, the CEO offered me a discount that would actually work… I still won’t go, but I appreciate the real gesture. (I’ll bring up my rating to 3 stars from 1 star)
I don’t say this a lot… because I try to be as positive as possible, but I wish I could give these guys negative stars.
First and foremost, please know that I didn’t actually attend a class, so I have no idea how they go once you are there. I signed up online for a wine, chocolate, cheese class for me and my wife as an anniversary gift… but almost an hour after I signed up realized I double booked with something else we had already planned that day. I quickly emailed them through their website to see if I could get the date changed… no answer. I figured it was my mistake and my loss… so chalk that to my bad…
BUT, a few days after the original class was held, I get an email asking me why I didn’t come out. I tell them that I tried to change the date, and never heard back… in which they say they never got the email… ok… sure… that sucks, but … oh well.
This is where I start to get upset. They email me telling me that they will give me a coupon for $ 20 my next purchase, which I figure is a nice gesture so I try to sign up for the class we CAN go to. The coupon doesn’t work… I email saying that it doesn’t work. I’m told I am putting it in wrong. I put it in «correctly» and it still doesn’t work. I email them again, to find out that the coupon doesn’t work for 2 people (since they ALREADY take off for the 2 person discount…) Then I’m told that I need to call in to talk to the assistant… for what??? If the coupon you gave me doesn’t work for anything, why am I signing up? And why am I the one that has to call you? Can’t you fix it on your end? The whole coupon gesture was so pointless, that I felt cheated.
This whole process was so aggravating, that even if they offered me a free class at this point I wouldn’t want to go. Thanks for nothing Learn About Wine…

This review is long overdue. I feel compelled to write this because I have seen all too often, that people only speak up when there is something negative to say & I believe credit should be given when deserved. My first encounter with wine was a few years ago at an event hosted by Learn About Wine.
I had no prior knowledge but longed to know more about wine… and discover my own likes and dislikes. I was intimidated but put at ease by the wine educator, Ian’s ability to break down each wine’s unique characteristics. The organization of the event and venue was a great supplement to all of this new information I gathered. The crowd was pleasant. The impeccable timing and details of that event was a dream, not unlike a well-​performed sonata by a preferred orchestra.
Since then, life has taken me down different avenues, hobbies, & career paths, but I have never forgotten this company’s wine events. I’ve even urged and tried to orchestrate having friends come with me to his events. But alas, conflicting job & social schedules abound. It’s not a matter of if I”ll be back, it really is a matter of when. I’m rather excited to learn that the educator now has his own website where he shares his knowledge of wine available for purchase! Indeed, this is a welcome addition to his business.
While there’s other wine education events in town, Ian’s business is the perfect combination of information, service, venue, and personality not to be had elsewhere. There’s a reason his events are full of people– it reveals the caliber of his events. His taste in wine and the way he conducts business is unparalleled. We are now fortunate to have his wine recommendations on his website. I’ve already bought a ticket for a friend as a present… and planning my next outing to an event as well.

We took the Wine Camp class last Saturday and walked away really impressed with the class as well as an intention to seek out further Learn About Wine events.
Our host, Ian, walked us through seven different wines starting with the lighter sauvignon blanc and ending with the full bodied Zinfindel. Each wine that Ian chose was not cheap wine, but also provided good bang for your buck. In addition to explaining all the different wines, he also walked us through a ton of other subjects like the history of wine (why we say cheers before we drink), up and coming wine areas, potential wine bubbles, what the legs on wine signifies, etc etc… i totally found myself taking notes!
After the class, we were all allowed to go back and re-​taste the wines… we mentioned to Ian that we were planning a trip to Sonoma and if he had any recommendations… he said, sure. email him. We did and he gave us a whole list of suggestions! Awesome! Thanks!

UPDATE:
When I received a message in my Unilocal inbox this morning from Learn About Wine CEO Ian Blackburn (from his own Unilocal account), I was surprised and irritated by some of the things he said to me. Apparently, I was too «tough» on the event with my two star review. Two stars, in Unilocal talk, equates «Meh. I’ve experienced better,» even though it was my honest opinion. That’s what Unilocal is for, right? Real reviews from real people?
Here is part of the message I received from Mr. Blackburn:
” I do not get to screen the wines with more than reading the reviews… and trusting the brand… the Barbaresco you mentioned did have a good score when I bought it … 91 points in the wine spectator … it cost almost $ 40 a bottle (and I buy the wines) … doesn’t mean you need to like it — but it did meet the criteria that I hold important which is to be deemed «good and acceptable.» Again, we don’t make the wines… and I don’t even get to taste them in advance… but we try to use the tools available to offer selection.“
So basically, Learn About Wine didn’t TASTE the wines that they served at this event? Interesting… This morning I even considered rounding up to three stars because they donated money to charity. HOWEVER, that was until I got home to find out that Mr. Blackburn had E-​MAILED ONE OF MY EMPLOYERS for a website that I write for.
It should be noted that I did NOT attend this event on behalf of any of the publications that I write for, nor did I review the event ON these websites. My «gifted» ticket to this event did NOT come from Learn About Wines, but was a GROUPON that a NON-​INDUSTRY AFFILIATED friend gave to me because they knew I loved wine. My apologies for calling it a «seminar,» but the name of the company leads people to believe that you’ll actually be talking about what you’re drinking.
With that said, why would anyone go so far as to send an e-​mail to my boss that included:
«I am troubled because we appear to be in the same business — and
typically — it is not professional for someone to work for a
competitor and review another business… I would not mind if she came to our class — and I invited her to do this — but to rate us 2 stars
(which is an „F“) is both low and not deserved… and I would like to
talk to an executive at your company so that we can agree this is not
your practice.»
I don’t work for a competitor, nor do I work for Unilocal.There is no conflict of interest whatsoever, and the reason why the review is about LAW is because THEY hosted, organized, and curated the event. I had no grievances with the location or food– so why would I blame other people? The website he wrote to is exclusively a craft beer blog and no portion of my Unilocal review was posted on it… so why e-​mail my employer? THAT, in my opinion, is low. Not to mention unprofessional.

Came here for the Valentine’s day Wine, Chocolate, and Cheese night, which included 10 wines, 5 chocolates, and 5 cheeses. The pours were generous for a tasting and there was even some left over after the event if you wanted to revisit any of them. They were also good about refilling the crackers to have with the cheese.
The space is unique in that it is a loft downtown. Parking was easy but then you had to buzz yourself up as though you were visiting your friend. Once inside, the décor is cozy and there are maps all over to help you get a sense of where some of the wines are from.
The teacher, Ian, is certainly knowledgeable and came around to answer questions one on one afterwards. Part of the class was watching YouTube videos explaining stuff. This class was suitable for the beginner to intermediate wine person.

I went with my gf for an early vday event this past Saturday.
The place was easy to find using a navi and there wasn’t a whole lot of street parking but we got lucky. Just a warning: we saw the parking enforcement nazis (two of them) giving out tickets so becareful where you park
We got there right at 1pm and there was a line entering the loft. A culinary student greeted each one of us and we signed up and a nice lady seated us. They use their best judgement when seating you and try to place you around people your own age which was good service to me because you end up getting a little buzzed and chatting and getting to know people across from you.
There were about 4 long wine table clothed tables lined up and a total of about 50 people in the class which was considered sold out. The loft was spacious and the sun was brightening the room for an excellent day.
we had a total of 10 differnet wines (4 white, 6 red), 5 cheeses, and 5 chocolates along with sun dried cranberries and apricots. The edibles were neatly arranged in an oval shaped plate in front of you, along with 2 empty wine glasses, a bottle of water, and 2 pages of informational material (description of wines/​foods, sommelier Ian’s bio, etc)
The class was a total of about 2 hours with Ian describing how wine was made, how to drink wine, how to enjoy it, what to look for, etc all the good, educational stuff an eager student like me enjoys.
He also used a powerpoint presentation to describe cheeses and showed a couple interesting youtube clips.
It was a great atmosphere with good people, great wines and great wine+food pairings. I definitely learned a thing or two and was never too fond of white wines but after this class learned to appreciate them better (especially a 2004 German Reisling)
I would recommend this for anyone who wants to learn more about wine, get out of the house and enjoy an event in LA, and/​or go on a date.
Ian offers other classes and wine tasting trips (domestic and international) as well. He has one called «Palate Builder» I am interested in taking.