WINE is the new beer. Twenty years ago this country was way behind the rest of Europe when it came to sophisticated drinking, preferring to slosh down as many beers as possible or, if the occasion was a special one, maybe indulge in some sweet sparkling stuff.

Times have changed radically and, with wines from all over Europe as well as America, South America, Australia and New Zealand vying for space on the shelves of supermarkets and off-licences, there's more choice than ever before.

But what makes a good wine? What are the styles and grape varieties and how can we tell the difference?

A couple of years ago, former accountant and rugby union player Adrian Bucknall decided on a career change and having moved back from Australia, via stints living in many of the main wine-producing areas of the world, alsong with wife Victoria, set up Wine Unearthed, running wine appreciation and tasting courses from the stylish Midland Hotel in Peter Street, Manchester. The World of Wine was the first, doing just as it says on the tin, covering a smattering of wines from all over the world. Now there are also Old World and New World courses added to the list.

The take-up for the initial courses was so good that Adrian has now added Bristol and Oxford to his original starting points of Manchester and Birmingham and is about to expand his wine courses, one-day workshops, tastings, private and corporate events as well as wine and food events to cover both Leeds and Liverpool.

Adrian and Victoria — who designed the company website and tasting notes booklets that accompany the courses — have two children, Eva, three, and Carys, 10 months, but with most courses taking place over weekends, still manage to fit in family activities through the week.

Around 30-35 people attended the recent New World workshop at the Midland, which features tastings of 14 wines, with accompanying commentary and advice from Adrian, delivered without any of the ‘wine snobbery’ you may fear could be evident in something of this nature.

The course starts off slowly enough for anyone to be able to follow with Adrian carefully detailing how to judge a wine's appearance (clarity, intensity, colour and ‘legs’ or ‘tears’), nose (condition, intensity and aroma) and palate (sweetness, acidity, tannin and alcohol levels, body, length, flavour intensity and characteristics).

We then spend the morning making our way through tastings of seven whites, before embarking on seven reds in the afternoon.

For each wine Adrian explains who the producer is, what the grape variety is, where it comes from and its vintage, filling in with general information about how wine is made, how to tell its age and how to judge a wine.

People are encouraged to ask as many questions as possible, and topics such as cork vs. screwcaps and even the thorny issue of which dishwasher tablets to use are discussed in laidback style.

Although given tasting notebooks in which to scribble individual thoughts on each wine, as Adrian rightly points out, it is Saturday morning, you are not at school, and note-taking is not obligatory. The informative booklet we are given, entitled World of Wine, is an excellent aide memoire, especially at the end of the sessions during the blind tastings, when the last two bottles are hidden and you are asked to make informed decisions as to what type of wine you are drinking.

Even if you're not entirely convinced by the wines on offer, or do not feel you could afford them on a regular basis (they mostly come in at between £8 and £15 a bottle), the message from Adrian is: "Go for what you like — it's just nice to know. Try different countries, try different types, try different grape varieties and find out what you enjoy."

Tastebuds and interest having been stimulated after the first foray into the World of Wine, some people were on their second course. Vanessa Johns, who attended the Manchester workshop, said: "As well as being great fun, both courses were exceptionally informative and we thought the cross-section of wines sampled was of the highest quality. We met some great people and thought the event was excellent value for money."

Away from the courses, Wine Unearthed will also put together cases of wine to suit your palate. "It's mainly aimed at people who have been on one of our courses and if you tell us what you like, we will select wines that we feel are of good quality and representative of their style and region," Adrian said. The wines will be delivered to your door with tasting notes and food-matching ideas.

In these belt-tightening days, the courses offered by Wine Unearthed offer an ideal gift as vouchers may be open-ended and whether for someone who knows their grapes, or a complete novice on the subject, all will be guaranteed to learn a great deal, while having fun and tasting a good many wines.

• For more information and a list of course dates/venues, contact www.wineunearthed.co.uk, email drink@wineunearthed.co.uk or telephone 07933 345184.