Emily O'Hare left her job as Head Sommelier and Wine Buyer at London's The River Cafe in August 2014 to participate in the grape harvest in Italy with Bruno di Conciliis in Campania, Elisa Sesti in Tuscany and Luca de Marchi in Piedmont. After a magical party on Monte Amiata she decided to stay in Italy, with the casanovas and courtesans she had met at the (fancy dress) party. She is a WSG Italian Wine Scholar, VIA Italian Wine Ambassador and writes for Decanter and Club Oenologique on Italian wine. Based now in Greve in Chianti, she organises bespoke wine tours of Tuscany, creates Italian wine packages to help holidays continue back home, consults on Italian wine for buying and cellaring and teaches the WSET programme from beginners Level 1 to the more intensive Level 3.
CURRENT WORKSHOPS & RETREATS
Take the certification WSET Level 1 Award in Wines class and exam in 1 day at La Torre alle Tolfe, Siena, Italy with Emily O’Hare. In English.
Working winery on a Sacred Mountain, Etruscan wine stones and WSET LEVEL 3
This is an eight day (seven night) residential course held in the beautifully restored medieval Tuscan castle of Castello di Potentino.
JUL 26 - AUG 2, 2026
Take the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines class and exam at the villa and working winery, La Torre alle Tolfe, Siena, Italy with Emily O’Hare.
A weekend wine course with wine educator extraordinaire - SYLVIA VAN DER MALE - and accommodation at beautiful Poggiopiano. A farm in Fiesole producing organic wine and extra virgin olive oil. Poggiopiano is a family-run estate, driven by love, passion, and a deep craftsmanship for the land and its wines.
Poggiopiano is located in Fiesole, just 7 km from the historic center of Florence.
Discover the fundamentals of wine with a focus on Italian varieties, using the globally recognized WSET approach.
We invite you to visit the vineyard and wine cellar. Experience a tasting of their finest wines.
Lunch is served on the estate, made from fresh ingredients.
Each morning a welcoming breakfast is served in the breakfast room.
Working winery on a Sacred Mountain, Etruscan wine stones and WSET LEVEL 3
This is an eight day (seven night) residential course held in the beautifully restored medieval Tuscan castle of Castello di Potentino.
MAY 1 - MAY 8, 2027
WINE ONLINE
PRIVATE & GROUP ONLINE TASTING SESSIONS
Now offering customised wine tastings ONLINE for private individual and group sessions. Want to know more about wine? Have a specific topic you’d like to discuss? Looking for a fun and educational activity with friends?
PAST WORKSHOPS & RETREATS
Bread and Wine: Enjoy wine workshops interspersed with sourdough breadmaking sessions over the course of 3 days at the White Cottage Bakery in Cambridgeshire. We will start at the very beginning and cover all the basics regarding bread making and wine tasting. We will taste/drink over 20 wines, eat a lot of our own homemade bread, and enjoy some relaxed tasting sessions in the kitchen or outside in the cottage garden.
You will return home capable and confident - reading a wine list, selecting wine in a shop and of producing your own sourdough loaves.
Between wine sessions and breadmaking workshops we will sit to lunch at the Bakery prepared by Helen, and for those that choose to stay at Kingston Barns, our fabulous accommodation for the duration of the course, drinks and dinner will be served.
TUSCAN CASTLE WINE WORKSHOP WITH WSET LEVEL 2
This is an eight-day (seven night) residential course held in the beautifully restored medieval Tuscan castle of Castello di Potentino.
Next course dates: September 13-20, 2020
CASTLE FOOD & WINE WORKSHOP (WSET 1) - Join us for the olive harvest at Castello di Potentino - Pick olives by day, and taste wine by night. Head off for excursions to Montalcino for a Brunello tasting and to the local Frantoio to see the olive pressing process and enjoy the cooking of top London chef, Avinash Shashidara, resident chef at the castle for your 5 night stay.
Upcoming dates for the olive oil workshop and WSET 1 in Tuscany:
TBA - if you’re interested please email me!
SATURDAY, FEB 13, 2021 - Join us in February where we will meet online for a special 1-day event. We’ll be tasting 3 “Wines of Passion” -perfect to celebrate this month of love (with yourself or with others!). Plus start out with a yoga lesson which will get our bodies, minds, and senses ready for our tasting!
Take the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines class and exam in Buonconvento, Siena with Emily O’Hare.
Thursday 18 Feb - Monday 22 Feb, 2021 at Casali di Bibbiano
TUSCAN CASTLE WINE WORKSHOP WITH WSET LEVEL 2
This is a five day (six night) residential course held in the beautifully restored medieval Tuscan castle of Castello di Potentino.
Next course dates: September 25 - OCT 1, 2021
Take the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines class and exam in Florence, Italy with Emily O’Hare.
Thursday 11 Nov - Monday 15 Nov, 2021 at Peruzzi Residences
Take the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines class and exam in Florence, Italy with Emily O’Hare.
Thursday 8 July - Sunday 11 July, 2021 at Peruzzi Residences
Taste the vintage 2022 wines in tank in Chianti and take the WSET Level 1 Award in Wines class and exam at the winery and residence La Torre alle Tolfe, Siena, Italy with Emily O’Hare.
Monday, 4 October - Wednesday, 5 October 2022
Take the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines in Italy - class and exam held at the villa and working winery, La Torre alle Tolfe, Siena with Emily O’Hare.
Take the WSET Level 1 Award in Wines class and exam in Florence, Italy with Emily O’Hare.
WSET 1 - ONE DAY WINE CERTIFICATE in Florence, Italy:
Sunday 16 March - Via Della Chiesa 36R - Santo Spirito
CASTLE WINE WORKSHOP (WSET 1)- This is a weekend residential course held in a beautifully restored medieval castle and working winery close to Montalcino.
Learn the essentials about wine with a special focus on the wines of Italy, following the globally recognised WSET approach. Enjoy vineyard hikes, waterfalls and wine stones within minutes of the castle walls.
Meals are home (castle) cooked prepared using locally sourced organic and free range ingredients and vegetables from Potentino's vegetable garden-Fresh bread, jams, fruit and yogurt, tea and coffee is served in the breakfast room each morning.
Take the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines class and exam at the villa and working winery, during harvest ‘25’ at La Torre alle Tolfe, Siena, Italy with Emily O’Hare.
Monday 1 September - Thursday 4 September 2025
Working winery on a Sacred Mountain, Etruscan wine stones, yoga and WSET LEVEL 2
This is a five day (six night) residential course held in the beautifully restored medieval Tuscan castle of Castello di Potentino.
OCT 17 - OCT 23, 2025
Take the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines in Italy - class and exam held in English at the villa and working winery, La Torre alle Tolfe, Siena with Emily O’Hare.