Local experts bring wine tasting and education to Delmarva

Local wine experts Susan Lynham of Sumptuous Tastings and Ray Kurz of Cuvée Ray Wine Lovers Academy are joining forces to bring a robust offering of formal and informal wine education to Delmarva.

Among many other qualifications, both Lynham and Kurz are certified by the Wine & Spirit Educational Trust, a renowned, London-based wine education entity, to offer certified WSET courses. They will be doing so through their association with Philly Wine, a well-known wine school in Philadelphia. Lynham and Kurz also offer more informal wine tastings as well as training and consulting programs for the hospitality and restaurant community.

“We want to share our love and knowledge of wine with Delmarva wine lovers, from those who are novice wine tasters to those who want to engage in formal wine training and certification,” said Lynham. “One area of focus is to inspire industry professionals to achieve the highest levels of career success through exceptional wine education programs and experienced consulting.”

Kurz said, “This venture is the only one of its kind in the Delmarva area in scope and depth. Our region is known as the Culinary Coast, and we hope to help in any way we can for it to be also recognized as a top-flight wine destination. This means focusing both on offerings for the wine-loving community generally, as well as the hospitality industry in particular.”

All classes and tastings will take place at Paul Cullen’s Room at Cedar Grove near Lewes. Lynham and Kurz are grateful to Cullen for his contribution to the local community and for agreeing to host these events.

As a nod to the importance they place on helping the hospitality industry, their very first offering, Monday, Feb. 12, is a class for those in the hospitality industry to gain deeper knowledge of wine, wine and food pairing, and wine service. A WSET Level 2 Award course will run from Monday, Feb. 19 to Friday, Feb. 23. Examples of other courses include Explore the Ancient World of Wine, Wines from Napa Valley and Champagne Tasting.

For more information and a complete schedule, go to cuveeray.com, or contact Ray Kurz at Ray@CuveeRay.com or 703-517-2793.