A two-session course will take place at South Seattle Community College and the Alaska Junction wine shop, Bin 41, Oct. 10 & 17. The continuing education class is geared to better inform the wine consumer to choose the right bottle for the right occasion. The first session will be held on campus, the second session at Bin 41, with taste-testing at each place.

The instructor is Blake Holaday, an expert in the field of fine and rare wine. He served as Warehouse Agent for Christy’s Auction House in Los Angeles, and then as Retail Store manager for Hart Davis Hart Wine Company in Chicago, from 2006 to 2008.

"I want the students feeling confident enough to talk to somebody about what they do and don’t like in a retail wine shop, and to feel they are in error-free environment," Holaday said. "People walk into wine store with purpose. I ask, 'What's your plan, to buy for an event, to find something new, or to find a similar wine to something you had before?' Because T. and Jon are alumni of South Seattle Community College's Northwest Wine Academy, involving them and Bin 41 was a no-brainer."

Holaday is referring to Bin 41 owners Jon and T. Frick McNamara, West Seattle residents for 10 years who live near Morgan Junction on 41st Avenue, hence their shop's name. South Seattle Community College's Northwest Wine Academy offers wine retail and marketing, produce their own wine, and offer a sommelier program.

"We started classes as a hobby," said T. who added that they then realized their dream when they opened their shop last March.

Classes run 2:00 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. $55 class fee plus $15 materials fee.

For class information, email Laura Matson at SSCC Continuing Education: lmatson@sccd.ctc.edu or phone her at (206) 764-5339.