• Windows on the World Wine School

  New York Marriott Marquis, 1535 Broadway, at 45th Street, 845-255-1456; wowws.com

  Kevin Zraly’s 27-year-old Windows on the World Wine School always feels like a party, with 125 people gathered at the Marriott Marquis (the school’s new home) to slurp-and-spit $4,000 worth of wine in the course of eight weeks. In order to help each student sort through his or her own senses of taste and smell, Zraly employs a teaching method that’s part Socratic, part shtick. As the class covers fundamentals like which varietal goes best with lamb (Cabernet Sauvignon), there are also plenty of pleasant “Eureka” moments, such as when he describes Chardonnay as a red wine masquerading as a white and Pinot Noir as the reverse. Tuition is $895 per course.

From the 2003 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine