South Seattle Community College instructor and sommelier Dieter Schafer teaches students to come to their senses.

That's because his beginning wine tasting class focuses on sight, smell, taste, touch and aftertaste, or the "finish." And yes, both swirling and spitting fit neatly into these categories.

Schafer also teaches wine at the Culinary School at the Art Institute of Seattle. He worked for a year in New Orleans, which he recalled had a wild restaurant scene 24 hours a day. He was the sommelier at the Mistral Restaurant in Belltown, now closed, and at the Rainier Club. He said he regretted that he never trained as a chef.

Born in Cologne and raised in Wiesbaden, he explained with a delicate German accent, "The community college does not have a liquor license, so we sample. We serve one bottle of wine to 20 students, plus me. We smell, taste, and spit gracefully."

Students attend three, three-hour classes and sample five different wines per class. That's "sample," not "drink."

"Don't over-swirl it," he warned a student jostling a fresh glass. "When you swirl, oxygen mixes with the wine. If you swirl too much there is nothing left in there anymore. The aroma is gone.

"If you are poured a full glass of wine, that's no good either because that leaves no room for the oxygen to mix. That's why you are served one ounce or two to sample at the restaurant. Champagne is different and can be filled to the top because the aroma is in the bubbles."

Schafer feels there is too much emphasis placed on wine pairing, or combining the "correct" wine with your meal.

"If you want to learn what wine compliments what food you've got the wrong guy," he said. "I know of people in France who only drink what is locally made. If they live in Bordeaux, they drink red or white Bordeaux. That's it. If they live in Champagne, they drink champagne at breakfast, lunch and dinner regardless if they eat fish or meat. I realize chefs in Seattle have food pairing events. But I think almost every wine matches every food."

This topic seems to stir controversy among wine experts.

"Traditionally the norm was that you drank red wine with red meat, and white wine with salmon," said French-born Jean Marc Gauthier, a West Seattle resident and owner of the former Mad Moustache Restaurant in San Francisco and Jon Dough in Oakland.

"This protocol has changed," he added. "People are 'de-snobbing' themselves. I personally like a nice pinot noir with my salmon."

The moment Schafer completed his degree in the hotel industry in Wiesbaden, he was off to Switzerland, then France, because, he said with a chuckle, "Wiesbaden is in the Rheingau region of Germany known for its sweet Riesling and I didn't like it so I left. Many wineries there still make very sweet Riesling as they did in the '50's. It takes a very long time in the Old World wine countries to change and improve for modern tastes."

While students will sample wines from faraway South Africa, Australia, Chile, and even Cabernet Sauvignon from the Golan Heights in Israel, the first wine tasted in Schafer's current class was a Roussanne 2004, a white wine from Yakima. Schafer is a colleague of John Bell of Willis Hall Winery in Marysville. The grapes grow in Yakima. Schafer tells his students that wineries are located in all 50 states and that the location of the vineyards, not the wineries, are critical in understanding wine, and its "terroir."

"There is no exact translation in English for 'terroir.' It refers to the soil, the amount of sun the vineyard receives, and many elements the grower cannot control that give the grape its unique characteristics," he said.

He pointed out that, traditionally, all wine grapes grow between 30 to 50 degrees north latitude and 30 to 50 degrees south latitude. Seattle is located just over 47 degrees north latitude. But there's a wrinkle.

"Because of global warming, the best vineyards will move further from the equator," he forecasted. "Vineyards in Oregon, Washington, and even British Columbia will become more important than California over the next 100 years. Kent, England will also produce higher quality wines."

"Moving to Washington from Boston sparked our interest in wine," said student Kelli Larsen who attended with husband Paul Zitarelli. "There's so much great wine in Washington and we love visiting the wineries here."

Added Zitarelli, "It's good to have someone with Dieter's knowledge to actually explain a little more of what we're tasting and how we're tasting it."

"I just always wanted to know more about wine," said student, Gladys Senger. I wouldn't know how to describe the taste."

Anther student said he was "dabbling in wine making and wanted to learn more."

Said Schafer, "I meet people who make the wine, and it's good wine, but they don't know how to describe it. It's very hard."

"This is one of our hottest classes, especially just before the holidays," said Laura Matson, with the continuing education department at the college. "Every quarter Dieter uses different wines, so you can take his course over and over."

For more information on classes, go to: www.learnatsouth.com Click "courses" then Food/Wine