A Little Bit of Napa Passion
Warming Up, Thawing Out in Cleveland Wine School

The name of the Cellar Door Tasting Center, a few doors down from Moxie in Beachwood, conjures visions of stone steps leading to a dimly-lit cavern lined with wine bottles. That was sort of what I expected when I sought it out on a winter’s night. But I was surprised.

The brightly-lit storefront tasting room was minimally decorated and brightly lit. The space is warmed by wooden floors and walls painted the colors of California’s golden hills and burnt-red soil. On the walls are pictures that appear to be paintings, but they are in fact enlarged photographs of grapes and barrels taken during the wine-country travels of wine expert Marianne Frantz and her husband Jerry. Along one wall is a long serving bar beset with half-emptied bottles of wine. Wooden tables and chairs placed nearby are intimate, but well spaced, and the mixed crowd at one of two weekly tastings seemed intent on their blend of wine and conversation. Open shelving at the back of the shop showcases wines hand-picked for sale, including those being tasted on the Friday night when I visited.

It felt more like a Napa Valley tasting room than an Old European wine cellar. It felt like founder Marianne Frantz set out to define a space that was truly American without forgetting our European roots.

Two menus are offered at the Friday and Saturday night tastings—one for $15 and one for $20. I chose the $15 selection of Spanish wines, and I was not disappointed. The $20 menu included the French wines of Louis Jadot and Joseph Drouhin, which I know. I wanted a different experience, although the regions of France-Chablis, Macon, and Cote de Nuits sound romantic and intricate--I love reading French wine labels for that reason.

The Spanish wines I tasted were unusual, so I made a good choice. Jessica Brown and Casey Davis, two young women learning about wines and working in public relations and event marketing at The Cleveland Wine School, joined me during the tasting. I was impressed that, as employees, they are required to take the certification courses offered at The Cleveland Wine School. They talked about developing their palates and taking the tests, and as I talked to them I realized the story of The Cleveland Wine School and its tasting room is really the story of a woman’s passion for wine and her desire to share what she learned about wine with the Cleveland area. Like a photographer sharing a painting, Marianne Frantz wanted to show us the art of wine.

No, wine isn’t just about drinking. It’s an experience. I saw it all around me as people sat at their tables and lifted wine glasses to see the color of the wine, swirled wine in their glasses to see what “legs” the wine presented, put their noses to the brims of their glasses, and finally tasted the wine. This was after Marianne or Jerry came over with the next bottle to be tasted on each person’s wine list and poured it while introducing the wine region and what to expect from the wine to be tasted.

Marianne Frantz is a certified wine educator and holds a diploma in Wine & Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust of London. She earned the Advanced Sommelier qualification from the Court of Master Sommeliers and is a second-year Master of Wine candidate for the WSET Diploma in London. In addition to teaching, she has produced culinary events across the U.S. and in France, and writes about wine for our own Cleveland Magazine and the Wine Buzz.

The Cleveland Wine School was founded in 2002 and is the Midwest United State’s exclusive program provider for WSET’s systematic approach to understanding wine. Classes cover wine regions, wines, and food and wine pairings, and the School periodically takes students on trips to wine regions. Classes develop knowledge on the variety and structure of wines and how to distinguish a robust fruitiness from a dusky dryness. Knowing the difference between a Pinot Grigio, a Chardonnay, or a Reisling might be the first step, but knowing what region in the world the grapes hailed from is another.

Professional Intermediate and Advanced certification courses for serious wine drinkers and those in the hospitality industry cover wine-making techniques and flavor profiles. Intermediate Classes begin with Wine Tasting 101, then delve into the various varietals, and will be held Mondays from March 17 thru April 28 from 6-8. The Summer Immersion classes take place August 18 and August 19 from 10 until 5. The Advanced Certificate classes will be held in the fall starting September 8.

Since the winter series sold out before Christmas, the Wine School added classes at Three Birds in Lakewood. The Three Birds classes start on March 3 and will include the 4-class series. Anyone signing up for the six-course session receives a Vine.ology membership which provides members-only tasting events and vineyard trips, early-bid access to special events, discounts at Moxie Restaurant, a Cleveland Wine School Binder with Tasting sheets, among other perks. The monthly events include wine pairings with small plates prepared by Chef Bob Sferra, owner of Sferra Culinary Occasions and an Executive Chef Consultant who did time at The Cleveland Restaurant School, received education in France, and worked as a chef at the Inn at Turner’s Mill, The Harp, and The Foundation House of the Cleveland Clinic, and as Culinary Director for the Viking School.

The Cellar Door Tasting Center is a newer enhancement to the adjacent Cleveland Wine School. For three years the school operated in the Hilton Hotel in Independence before moving downtown to the Caxton Building for two years, and then to the Viking school. With its quarters in Beachwood and the opening of the Cellar Door, it seems like the School has found its home. Upcoming events include a sold-out chocolate and wine event at the Great Lakes Science Center and a Grapes of Italy event on March 19. The School is producing the Cleveland International Wine Show, “Meet the Growing Thirst for Wine in the Midwest,” at the I-X Center in early May; it is expected to feature over 500 wines from 100 wineries with up to 20 pavilions, including an Ohio pavilion. At summer’s end, the School will be set up at the Taste of Hudson over Labor Day weekend. In addition, the Wine School has a presence in Chicago: WSET Intermediate Certification classes are being offered four times a year at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Chicago.

When Marianne and Jerry poured the Spanish wines for me, it was as if they had just come from Navarra in the Pyrenees Mountains or one of the Rioja subregions where Tempranillo grapes are grown. They talked about Spain like people who had been there. The tasting sheet listed the wines by name with the price in parenthesis, followed by a full paragraph of description. For example, the first wine I tasted, a wine made from Albarino grapes in the wet and cool region of Spain known as Rias Baixas, is described as one of the few aromatic grapes native to Spain and as having “Pronounced aromas of peaches, apple blossom and lime fruits with a hint of mineral make the wine a natural partner for seafood.” At $15.99, the wine was affordable.

Later, when tasting the reds, I enjoyed tasting the difference between the 100% Tempranillo and the Rioja blend of Tempranillo, Granacha and Graciano grapes, and I learned that most Riojas are a blend. Tempranillo is a native grape, but it is grown alongside French grapes in the vineyards of Navarra. My taste buds were able to discern the differences in the grapes and the aging, but making a decision on which wine I enjoyed the most, and thus ending in a selection of wine, was tough. I liked them all—probably because the wines were selected by someone with good taste in wine.

The Cleveland Wine School and The Cellar Door are located at 3355 Richmond Rd., Suite 191, Beachwood. Food can be brought in to compliment the wines. The telephone number is 831-9919, if you get lost looking for it. Visit them online at http://www.clevelandwineschool.com.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia J. Taller ctallerwritesATwowway.com
Comments: LettersATCoolCleveland.com

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