Back To School!

[Rich Pawlak]

And not a minute too soon! I just received this press release this morning:

IT’S OPEN ENROLLMENT AT

PHILADELPHIA’S FIRST FERMENTATION SCHOOL

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The Tria Fermentation School, the city’s first institute dedicated to the study of wine, cheese and beer, at 1601 Walnut Street, Suite 620, will begin offering classes on Wednesday, October 18. Through exciting coursework, students can satiate their intellectual curiosity while drinking and eating the syllabus. Regularly scheduled sessions at the state-of-the-art, 24-seat classroom will be led by winemakers, fromagers, brewmasters, authors and other fermentation experts from all over the world, who will share their area of expertise.

“Whether you’re a novice or an industry professional, these classes will help you to better understand and appreciate your love for wine, cheese and beer,” says Tria Fermentation School founder Jon Myerow, who also owns Tria, the innovative café which celebrates the finest artisanal fermented goods. Myerow is already receiving national recognition for this new venture; Food & Wine magazine (October 06) picked the Tria Fermentation School as one of “America’s 50 most amazing wine experiences.”

Upcoming classes include:

BEER: The Extreme Beers of Dogfish Head, with Sam Calagione, Wednesday, October 18, Calagione, founder and CEO of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery will lead this tasty history lesson covering two of his Delaware-based brewery’s most remarkable beers Midas Touch Golden Elixir, a handcrafted beer based on the beverage served at King Midas’s funerary feast in 700 BC, and his recently released Chateau Jiahu, a recreation of a 9,000-year-old beverage served in China’s Hunan province.

CHEESE: The Artisanal American, with Liz Thorpe, Friday, October 20, Thorpe, Director of Wholesale at New York’s famed Murray’s Cheese, and co-author of the forthcoming Murray’s Cheese Handbook, will present her six favorite autumnal American cheeses, sourced from Vermont to Oregon, and crafted by passionate farmer-artists. Wine will be served to complement the cheese. Thorpe will sign copies of her new book.

BEER: Brewing with Wood with Rob Tod. Tuesday, October 24, Rob Tod, owner-brewmaster of Portland, Maine’s Allagash Brewery is part of a new generation of American brewers who have taken the beer world by storm with innovative wood-aged beers. He will share and discuss four examples of wood-aged beers from Allagash, along with examples from California’s Russian River and Michigan’s Jolly Pumpkin breweries.

WINE: High Elevation Wines from Down Under with Michael Dhillon. Wednesday, November 1, Considered one of Australia’s preeminent boutique producers, Bindi Wines is run by the young and talented winemaker Michael Dhillon, who was educated in the legendary Champagne region of France. Dhillon will share the trials, tribulations and extraordinary rewards of high altitude winemaking and small production—Aussie style. He will pour selections of his extraordinary Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (and perhaps a few surprise bottles) for this exclusive tasting class.

WINE: The Allure of the Languedoc with Bruno LaFon, Friday, November 3, Experience Languedoc through the lens of one of its rising stars, Bruno LaFon of Magellan Estates. Students will learn why LaFon, a former Burgundian winemaker from the family of Domaine des Cômtes Lafon, headed to Languedoc to participate in the rebirth of the region. LaFon will host a tasting of his delicious estate wines.

WINE & CHEESE: Classic Pairings with Michael McCaulley. Monday, November 6, Learning from Tria’s culinary adventures (and misadventures), we are able to share some helpful pairing guidelines. After covering wine and cheese basics, McCaulley will introduce students to some classic marriages that have withstood the test of time as well as some more modern pairings. McCaulley, Tria’s wine director, is one of Philadelphia’s leading wine educators and sommeliers.

BEER: The Dark Side with Tom Baker. Wednesday, November 8, Baker, a highly acclaimed brewer and owner of the recently departed but still beloved Heavyweight Brewery of Ocean Township, New Jersey will debunk the myths and demonstrates the incredible diversity of black beer. Learn that black beers are not all thick and strong (some are lower in alcohol than Bud!), and that their vast range of flavors and aromas offers something for everyone. Baker will lead a tasting of six dramatically different black beauties.

CHEESE: Spanish Dairy Rising with Adrian Murcia. Tuesday, November 14, . Join cheese specialist Adrian Murcia, fromager at New York City’s Chanterelle restaurant and long-time special adviser to Tria’s cheese selection committee for a tasting tour of Spain’s finest cheese terroirs. An accomplished food writer and educator in his spare time, Murcia has written on the topic of Spanish cheese for Saveur, Foods from Spain News and Epicurious.com.

. For more information, please visit http://www.triacafe.com/ and click on the Tria Fermentation School button or call 215.972.7076.