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!

**The Alpine Outliers**
**BOOK ALPINE OUTLIERS**
Crisp. Elevated. Illuminating.

Taste the peaks of the wine world with Kerner, Timorasso, and Petite Arvine — wines defined by altitude, clarity, and bright aromatic lift. Each sip carries the air of high valleys, the energy of steep slopes, and the precision of grapes that thrive where few dare to grow.

Perfect for:
• Adventurous palates seeking freshness and finesse
• Lovers of aromatic whites with personality and punch
• Anyone ready to explore wines that rise above the ordinary

Reach the summit of flavor. Elevate your tasting.

**Wines Built Like Castles**
**BOOK WINE CASTLES**
Strong. Enduring. Architected in the vineyard like a fortress.

Step into a tasting of the wines vying for the title of healthiest grape on the planet. Explore Madiran, Irouléguy, Cahors, and Uruguay as you uncover bottles built on structure, power, and tannins — wines that age like stone softened by wind, sun, and time. Each sip is a fortress of flavor, a monument to patience and precision.

This class is perfect for:
• Lovers of the big bold reds
• Curious tasters ready to understand how structure and tannin tell a story
• Anyone who wants a taste of wines that leave an impression long after the glass is empty.

**Where the Slate Speaks First**
**BOOK** **SLATE SPEAKS FIRST**
Mineral. Smoky. Timeless.

Explore the terroir that talks before the grape does.
Taste the Dirt of Priorat through Garnacha, Carignan, and the iconic llicorella soils — wines that carry the flavor of mineral smoke and memory. Learn to distinguish volcanic ash from sea salt and sandy soils, and discover how the ground beneath your feet shapes every sip.

Perfect for:
• Curious tasters who want to understand terroir in action
• Adventurers eager to taste soil,
• Anyone ready to let their palate read the land

Listen closely. Taste deeply..

**The Volcano Project**
**BOOK VOLCANO PROJECT**
Islands That Breathe Fire.

The earth is restless and the wines are electric. We’re chasing flavor across four volcanic islands: Etna, Santorini, the Azores, and the Canary Islands — places where lava fields, sea wind, and ancient ash shape bottles that feel alive.

Expect wines with edges of smoke and salt, crackling tension, and that “how is this even real?” moment when volcanic soil shows up in the glass.
Winemakers everywhere are hoping for a volcanic patch of grapes where the soil is this nutritious. If you’ve ever wanted to taste geology, this is your ticket.
Come sip where the ocean meets the crater.

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

Four Countries, Four Terroirs, One Passport

Lost Kingdoms of France

Hidden provinces. Ancient traditions. Wines that never bent the knee.

Discover the forgotten corners of France: Jura, Savoie, Gaillac, and Fronton. These aren’t the postcard-famous regions; they’re the ones that kept their soul. Expect smoky alpine whites, peppery vineyard relics, and reds shaped by mountains, monasteries, and monarchies long gone. It’s a tasting that feels like rummaging through an old castle and finding the cellar key still in the lock.

This class is perfect for:
• Curious explorers leveling up
• Anyone ready to taste history.

Taste the past. Sip the forgotten.

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

Little Washington Winery

65 Clark Lane, Washington Virginia