Summer WineSense

Historically, this time of year marks the throes of the summertime doldrums in New Orleans. Time seems to almost stop when the calendar flips to July. Football season is still several weeks away; the temperature just keeps on rising; and the only sign of tourism is an army of 30,000 Lutheran kids with highlighter green backpacks marching down Convention Center Boulevard.

Such may have been the case years ago, but nowadays the summer special events heat up during this "down time." Week long extravaganzas like Tales of the Cocktail, citywide promotions like the Coolinary Menus, and soirees such as White Linen Night now dominate the Blackened Out on the Town calendar. In addition to these major events, numerous restaurants and specialty shops are offering their own summer events.

This summer, Cork & Bottle owner Jon Smith continues his "Summer WineSense Seminars," which he has offered since 2003. These relaxed, sit down tastings offer attendees an opportunity to taste through 8 wines and learn a bit about their history, method, and commonality with each other and their origins. Each class offers an inexpensive and non-threatening way to sample wines found outside the mainstream. Plus, this week's class starts the "Under the Radar" portion of WineSense, where $60 gets you 4 tastings of lesser known wines from the world's great wine producing regions.

Not a bad way to unwind after work on a Wednesday.