Wine Tasting Classes in NYC: What an Hour at AYZA Looks Like

Most descriptions of wine tasting classes in NYC tell you the price and the number of wines and stop there. That leaves the actual question unanswered: what happens for an hour, whether you need to know anything beforehand, and whether it will feel like a lesson or like an evening out. Here is what an hour at AYZA Wine & Chocolate Bar in Midtown actually involves.

The three formats

All three run one hour with a wine expert at the table for the full session. The minimum is a floor on the invoice rather than a headcount you must reach: a group of five booking the cheese class pays for six. Current formats are on the wine tasting events page.

The chocolate class is the friendlier opener for a mixed group, because everyone has an opinion about chocolate and nobody is embarrassed to give it. The cheese class reads as more formal, gives four wines instead of three, and runs at a slower pace. The combined session at $89 is the one to book when the tasting is the whole evening rather than a warm up to dinner.

What the hour actually looks like

The part worth knowing about is the last fifteen minutes. That is when a room stops behaving like an audience and starts behaving like a group, which is the actual reason to book one of these rather than just ordering wine. If you are organising, do not schedule speeches over it.

The tone is closer to a conversation than a lecture. Nobody is tested, nobody has to describe what they are tasting in front of the room, and the guide answers questions rather than delivering a syllabus.

What arrives at the table

Three or four tasting pours per person rather than full glasses, laid out in the order they are meant to be tasted, with the chocolates or cheeses positioned alongside. Small measures are deliberate: you are comparing, not drinking through a bottle, and a full glass of the first wine would undo the rest of the hour.

The wines lean on the New York section of the list. Dr. Konstantin Frank Grüner Veltliner and Brotherhood Riesling, a Keuka Cayuco Brut and dry rosé, and a Bully Hill Cabernet Franc from the Finger Lakes are the state wines poured by the glass, alongside French, Italian and Californian bottles. For most visitors, the Finger Lakes wines are the part they cannot taste at home.

Chocolates are made in house, alongside Jacques Torres bonbons and a vegan M. Jardine selection. Cheeses come from the same range as the boards: Tête de Moine, French Brie, Parmigiano Reggiano, Shropshire Blue and aged Manchego among them.

Do you need to know anything first?

No, and the classes are built on that assumption. But four habits make any tasting more useful, and they take a minute to learn.

• Taste in the order it is laid out. Lightest to heaviest, dry before sweet. It is arranged that way for a reason.
• Say what you notice, not what you think you should notice. Sharp, soft, sweet, dry, heavy, light. Those six words are enough.
• Take a second sip before deciding. The first sip after chocolate or water is unreliable.
• Write one line per wine. A phrase on your phone is the difference between remembering that you liked something and remembering what it was.

With chocolate there is one extra rule that the guide will cover: the wine should be at least as sweet as what you are eating. Break it and the wine tastes sour, which is the single most common pairing mistake.

Who books these, and why

The common thread is structure. An hour with a shape to it prevents the drift that turns a group evening into three separate conversations at one table.

Guests who are not drinking

Plan for this before the invitation goes out rather than on the night. Ask about it in the same field as dietary requirements, so declining a drink is a checkbox rather than a conversation in front of colleagues.

Practically, the chocolate and cheese elements of every class stand on their own, and two mocktails are on the menu at $14, the Floral Spritz and the Midnight Bloom, both made to order. Brief the guide in advance so the session is framed around comparing flavours rather than around drinking. Vegan chocolates are available, and dietary requirements should be sent by name a week ahead rather than as a count.

Booking and what it really costs

The headline price is not the invoice. Tax and a 20 percent service charge are added, so the working assumption should be roughly 30 percent above the per person figure. For twenty guests on the $79 cheese class, that is $1,580 before tax and service and closer to $2,050 after.

Semi private tastings at the restaurant hold up to 35 guests. Off site catering has no guest limit, which suits larger company groups. Ask for the proposal itemised, with tax and service shown separately, and check what happens if numbers fall below the minimum. Book three to four weeks ahead, and earlier between October and December when holiday bookings take most of the capacity. Full private event details start at $69 per person for up to 20 seated or 40 standing.

If you are only two people

The classes need six or eight guests, so for a couple the answer is a flight from the regular menu instead. No booking required beyond the table.

The Wine Flight is $33 for three 3 ounce pours: a Sancerre, a Sonoma Pinot Noir and the Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc. The NY Pairing Collection is $44 for three New York wines with three house made chocolates, and the Rosé Experience is $42 with Jacques Torres bonbons. Each takes about twenty five minutes and covers most of what a class teaches, minus the guide. There is more on the room in our guide to the best wine bars in New York.

Wine tasting classes in NYC: FAQ

Book a class

For a group, send a date, a headcount range and the format you want, three to four weeks ahead, and ask for the proposal itemised. For two people, book a table and order a flight.

Class formats, prices, minimums and capacities were checked against ayzanyc.com on September 9, 2026. Confirm current terms with the events team before booking a group.