welcome to DIRT ROAD WINE ACADEMY

Deepen your understanding and appreciation of food & wine. Dirt Road Wine Academy emphasizes a hands-on, experiential approach to wine on three tiered levels — Level 1: Gateway Classes, Level 2: Discovery Classes, Level 3: Signature Experiences. Winemakers and Somms lead the seminars that expand your knowledge and passion for wine.

Getting in on our fun is easy …

RESERVATIONS online IN ADVANCE ARE REQUIRED

Check out the classes below.

Select a class & COME PLAY!

LEVEL 1: GATEway wine and food series

These classes are your entry ramp to wine. Low-friction. Low-commitment. High-conversion. For people dipping a toe into wine education or just looking for a fun Saturday out with friends. The Dirt Road Wine Academy Gateway series includes Friendly, welcoming, “I can do this” classes that build comfort, confidence, and connection while leaving you feeling smarter, not overwhelmed.

**Wine Bootcamp**
**BOOK BOOTCAMP**
The spark that lit the fuse. The legend. The original class that blew the doors off the barn. When Wine Bootcamp first launched, **1,700 people signed up in a single day**.
And when it was over, they looked around, glasses in hand, and asked the question that’s fueled us for 15+ years of sold-out wine education: “What’s next?”
This isn’t a polite introduction to wine. This is where you get the decoder ring — the things nobody else tells you — delivered with Carl’s signature mix of clarity, honesty, and just enough rebel energy.
**In bootcamp you’ll learn how to: 1-**Walk into a wine shop and know exactly what to buy. 2-Aerate wine the right way (yes, it matters). 3-Understand how white, red, and rosé wines really work 4-Navigate restaurant wine lists with confidence — and without overpaying. 4-Taste molecules so perfectly matched the wine becomes the liquid version of food!
This isn’t Basic Training. It’s *Wine 301 in disguise.* A confidence builder. A “where has this been all my life?” afternoon. If you’ve ever wished wine made more sense… this is where it clicks. 🍷

**15 Rules of Food & Wine**
**BOOK 15 RULES**
The “That’s a Lot of Food Nibblers” Class!
Welcome to the tasting that feels like a culinary treasure hunt — where every sip has a sidekick, every flavor has an accomplice, and the table slowly fills with so many little bites you start to wonder if this is technically still a class or a secret banquet.
Our winemaker, Donna, takes the lead. She pours a spectrum of whites, rosés, reds, and sweet wines like she’s dealing tarot cards, and with each pour comes another edible clue: citrusy sparks, savory anchors, spicy curveballs, salty jolts, bitter edges, umami swells, and sweet little miracles. These aren’t snacks — they’re instruments, and you’re learning how to play them.
One moment the combination on your tongue is so harmonious it feels like the room got brighter; the next, you hit a clash so spectacularly wrong it becomes unforgettable… and useful. Because sometimes the best lessons are the ones that blow up a little.
Come curious, come hungry, leave with a palate that’s been recalibrated for glory. This class isn’t just a tasting — it’s a map.

**Vintners Table Learning Lunch**
**BOOK VINTNERS TABLE**
Vintner’s Table: The Lunch That Teaches You How to Taste.
This is where wine meets the real world — not in theory, but on a plate, fork in hand. A guided lunch that trains your palate like a compass, using five foundational wine styles and a parade of tapas-sized pairings that build into a full, rolling midday meal.
It’s education disguised as indulgence. You’ll sail through **three entrées, three cheeses, three desserts, and a flight of chocolate temptations** that feel like they were choreographed by fate.
Each course becomes a laboratory. Each sip becomes a clue. Suddenly, pairing isn’t guesswork; it’s muscle memory. And yes, we’ll push things on purpose.
You’ll feel what happens when a pairing goes too far, when sweetness bulldozes tannin, when acidity steamrolls a delicate dish. It’s the controlled burn that makes the lesson stick. The moment your brain hums that party-saving mantra: *Now I get it.*
Come hungry. Leave dangerous — in the best way.

**Cheeseology**
**BOOK CHEESEOLOGY**
Cheeseology: The Class That Tames the Cheese Aisle!
Step into the tasting lab where dairy becomes destiny. We’re taking that overwhelming grocery store cheese aisle — the one that feels like a labyrinth of wedges, wheels, and intimidating labels — and reducing it to something gloriously manageable. Not six million cheeses. **Six.** That’s it. Six archetypes. Six personalities. Six keys to the kingdom.
We’ll kick things off with a personality test, because cheese has a vibe and so do you. From there, we connect the dots between your wine style and the six cheese categories, until pairing becomes more like a party trick you can deploy at will.
We’ll turn hesitation into swagger. Every aisle becomes your playground. Every wedge becomes a strategy. Every bottle has a soulmate. You’ll leave knowing:
* The six cheeses that anchor the entire universe of dairy
* Which wines adore them, tolerate them, or run screaming * How to shop like someone who shows up to parties with fanfare
Walk in curious. Walk out armed.
The cheese aisle no longer looms — it bows.

LEVEL 2: discovery series

Exploration with intention. The Discovery Series is where curiosity turns into taste identity for guests who want to learn something uncommon, travel by glass, and taste outside the usual suspects. This elevated series with nibblers reveals the world beyond Cabernet & Chardonnay, and plant the seed for collector mindset. We guarantee to create some new wine “a-ha” moments for you!

**Wines Built Like Castles**
**BOOK WINE CASTLES**
Have you experienced the wines vying for the title of healthiest grape on the planet? Taste through Madiran, Irouléguy, Cahors, Uruguay looking for the Structure, power, and tannins that age like stone softened by weather.

**The Volcano Project**
**BOOK VOLCANO PROJECT**
Have you been noticing eruptions on a massive scale lately? let’s explore Etna, Santorini, Azores, Canary Islands. and the Lava fields, sea wind, and wines that crackle with tension.

**The Alpine Outliers**
**BOOK ALPINE OUTLIERS**
Kerner, Timorasso, Petite Arvine. Wines with altitude, clarity, and bright aromatic lift.

**80 Minutes Around The World**
**BOOK 80 MINUTES**
Get to know the famous wine regions in the world and why they are where they are. Learn to tell your steens from your pinotages, your left bank from your right, the healthiest wines on the planet in this 80 minute geography lesson.

**Where the Slate Speaks First**
**BOOK** **SLATE SPEAKS FIRST**:
Taste the Dirt of Priorat, Garnacha, Carignan, and the llicorella soils that taste like mineral smoke and memory. Let’s learn to tell our volcanic ash terroir from our sea salt terroir and sand terroir.

**Lost Kingdoms of France**
**BOOK LOST KINGDOMS**
Let’s Taste through Jura, Savoie, Gaillac, Fronton. Old-world wines that never chased popularity.

**Guess the $100 Bordeaux**
**BOOK BORDEAUX**
The Bordeaux region of France is the most famous and highly coveted wine region in the world. Discover why the left bank wine style is completely opposite from the right bank style and when to choose which for perfect pairings.

**The Blind Map: a Grad Lab**
**BOOK BLIND MAP**
Six mystery pours. Guess region, grape, and style. Not a test; a transformation

LEVEL 3: SIGNATURE SERIES

The Dirt Road Wine Academy Signature Series dissects Old World Icons: Grand Cru, Barolo, the Rioja Gran Reserva Vertical. This Winemaker’s Table does Pairings by Course — Four Countries, Four Terroirs, One Passport. Sometimes we open The Vault for Rare & Cellar-Only Pours. Limited seats. Elevated pours. Story-rich. The room goes quiet when the corks come out. This is where the winery becomes a stage to Establish prestige. Get Access, privilege, and transformation without pretense. This entire wine and nibbler series is a memory you wear like perfume.

Old World Icons: Grand Cru, Barolo, Rioja Gran Reserva Vertical

The Winemaker’s Table: Pairings by Course

Four Countries, Four Terroirs, One Passport

Take a gorgeous drive through Virginia Wine Country to the Blue Ridge Mountains, about an hour west of Washington DC. We’re located right at the base of Shenandoah National Park.