Can wine school teach me to talk like a sommelier?

Could a day spent learning to tell your Pinots from your plonks at London s WSET turn the average wine-lover into a bona fide wine connoisseur? Carys Sharkey finds out The UK’s wine sector is going through a period of chop and change. The UK is still the second largest importer of wine in the world, behind only the US (and behind Germany if based on volume rather than value, respect). But as boiling temperatures stretch grape harvests to the brink in much of Europe, the UK’s domestic growing market is ripening. As grape production becomes more rooted in our landscape, will wine consumption in turn shake up our lager-drenched culture? A recent study by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has found that although wine consumption is slowing, there is a trend towards premiumisation. In other words, less plonk more Planque. The average Brit drinks 17.5 bottles of wine a year, which to me feels puritanically low. This summer, my GP gave me a gentle scolding over my own wine c