Wine Education Centre

Providing quality wine education for well over 40 years, the Wine Essentials Course is designed to increase your wine knowledge and develop your palate. The only prerequisite is a love of wine. It is also an appropriate course for those about to enter the wine trade, with a Certificate of Merit awarded upon completion. Throughout the year, Old Bridge Cellars also hosts the Wine Education Centre’s specialty wine courses. These are short courses which focus on a particular style or region. All courses are managed by Blair Hill, who comes with a wealth of wine industry experience.

Develop Your Wine Knowledge and Palate

The WEC Essentials course is offered three times a year at … By Old Bridge Cellars in North Fremantle. Held on Tuesday evenings over four consecutive weeks, the course covers the essentials of wine appreciation including food and wine pairing at Samsons Paddock restaurant on the evening of week four. There is a Saturday winery visit to the Swan Valley or Perth Hills included in the cost of the course.

You will taste six wines per evening, with an emphasis on WA wines. There is also a programme of more advanced, fun and regionally focussed sessions throughout the year. See below for upcoming sessions at … By Old Bridge.

Riesling Retrospective

Venue: By Old Bridge Cellars North Fremantle

Date: Tuesday 20th October 2026, 6.30 – 8.30pm

Price: $85 pp

Contact: Blair Hill 0417987461 [email protected]

Discover the remarkable age-worthiness and diversity of one of the world’s most revered white grape varieties in this special Riesling Retrospective. In a guided tasting led by Blair Hill, you’ll explore the vibrant tension between youth and maturity, comparing current-release Rieslings with rare vintages aged for over a decade. Each pairing reveals the fascinating evolution of flavour, texture, and aroma that makes Riesling a true collector’s delight.

You will journey through three celebrated regions, each with its own distinctive expression of the grape: the cool, maritime-influenced Great Southern of Western Australia (Howard Park and Forest Hill), famed for its pristine citrus, lavender and mineral drive; South Australia’s Clare Valley (Jim Barry), home to iconic, lime-laden Rieslings with legendary longevity; and Alsace in France (Hugel), where richer, more textural examples bring a European elegance to the line-up. From racy, youthful zest to the honeyed, toasty complexity of age, this tasting offers a rare opportunity to deepen your appreciation for Riesling’s extraordinary range, resilience and opportunity to age.

Cheese board included appropriate for the wine style.

Where: By Old Bridge

When: Tuesday October 20, 2026

Time: 6.30pm – 8.30pm

Cost: $85per person.

Wine Essentials Course – March 2027

Venue: By Old Bridge Cellars North Fremantle

Date: Commences Tuesday 2nd March 2027
6.30PM – 8.30PM (four weeks – two hours per week)

Price: $395 pp (15% off for WoWA Members and their staff)

The Wine Essentials Course is held over four consecutive weeks, the course covers six wines per session.

The course provides the necessary information for all wine enthusiasts who are looking to increase their wine knowledge and approach to tasting. It is also an appropriate course for those about to enter or are in the wine trade.

Week One – Learn how to taste and assess a range of wine styles and understand the wine show system in Australia.
Week Two – White wine production, styles and botrytis cinerea (noble rot).
Week Three – Red wine production, styles, importance of oak and cellaring potential of wine.
Week Four – Food and wine matching to be held at Samsons Paddock restaurant, Mosman Park.
Plus a Saturday vineyard visit to the Swan Valley or Perth Hills and the Essential Wine Tasting Guide.

Contact Person: Blair Hill
Telephone: 0417 987 461
Email enquiries: [email protected]

Sparkling Wines of the World

Venue: By Old Bridge Cellars North Fremantle

Date: Tuesday 24th November 2026, 6.30 – 8.30pm

Price: $99 pp

Contact: Blair Hill 0417987461 [email protected]

Explore the wonderful world of sparkling wines. You will be guided through a range of the world’s best sparkling wine styles including Champagne, Cava, Prosecco and others.

Blair Hill DipWSET will discuss the regions of origin and the methods of production for each of the styles. There will be up to eight wines tasted throughout the two hour session and some premium cheese plates provided.

Proudly supported by

Blair Hill DipWSET – WEC Director/Educator

BPE, DIP ED (UWA), GRAD DIP BUS

(MARKETING) (ECU) DIP WSET (WSET-UK)

In addition to his longstanding role as Director at the WEC, Blair’s wine education experience includes the delivery of Level 2 and 3 of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) courses, and a sessional lecturer at Curtin University in Sensory Evaluation 202, a second-year Oenology and Viticulture unit.

In his ‘day job’, Blair consults to a number of Western Australian boutique wineries in strategic sales, marketing and business development across domestic and international wine markets. He is a Director of Vintage Fine Wine Distributors (VFWD), which imports and distributes exclusive French, Italian, South African and ultra-premium Australian wines of provenance and regionality.

Blair has been the wine reviewer for ABC 720 radio’s ‘Afternoons’ for ten years, for which he won the Court Wine Bar/Wine Press Club Media Award. He has judged at a number of regional wine shows including the Geographe, Swan Valley, Perth Hills and the WA Boutique Single Vineyard Wine Shows.

For all enquiries regarding courses, email Blair at [email protected]

Testimonials

I wanted to thank you for the recent Wine Essential’s course I attended. It was really enjoyable and I appreciated your vast knowledge and teaching. It is a good thing you are still an educator because you do have a gift

Dell Lusick

I loved that course! Never have I looked forward to Tuesday evenings so much. Blair is such a good teacher!

Dell Lusick

Thank you and the team for running such a great course. We benefited greatly from your expertise and knowledge of wine and you were a patient and kind teacher.

Paul and Katrina Mc Gurgan