Some wine events of note taking place this month:

Thursday, January 5th: The Clown's monthly wine tasting will be focusing on the balancing act of continuing to enjoy wine while paying off those pesky holiday bills. From 5pm until 8pm, they will be pouring an international assortment of seven wines under $11.99, and the tasting is free.

The Clown, 123 Middle Street, (207) 756-7399

Sunday January 8th: Ned Swain of Devenish Wines will be hosting a series of wine tasting classes at Bandol this month. The course begins on 01/08/05 and runs for the following three Sundays of the month; the 15th, 22nd, and 29th. each session begins at 6:00pm and ends at 8:00pm. The course costs $100.00, and four wines in the $10-20.00 range will be tasted along with some light food. The wines will be compared and discussed, and topics will include why you taste what you taste, how to recognize and define a dry or sweet wine, the meaning of various wine terms such as tannic or acidic.

The central goal of the course is to demystify wine, make it more accessible, and to facilitate communication between consumers and providers of wine, whether it be in a wine shop or restaurant setting, and ultimately to make yours a richer, more satisfying wine experience.

The classes are limited to 20 people, and more information can be had by contacting Ned Swain at eswain@maine.rr.com