Devon chef and pub owner uncorks his new wine school
The owner of a gastro pub in Exeter is raising a glass to his new wine school which launches this week.
Luke Davies, the owner of Cowick Barton gastro pub and a local wine expert, is launching Devon Local Wine School to host regular wine tastings, food and wine events and wine qualifications for those keen to learn more about wine.
He will be organising informative and affordable wine events ranging from classic cheese and wine nights, Italian and Spanish food and wine pairing evenings, an exclusive six-course wine and food ‘lock-in’ taster nights and specialist wine training for those seeking a qualification in wine. All events can be seen at www.localwineschool.com/devon/events with the first event being a Spanish Wine and Tapas night on Thursday, February 2.
Luke brings with him a wealth of experience in the food and drink industry and prior to taking over the Cowick Barton, was an award-winning professional food and drink trainer. He has 15 years’ experience of training thousands of hospitality managers and employees across the country about wine and food from food national companies such and Spirit Group, Punch Taverns, Star Pubs and Bars and Heineken UK.
Since Luke taking over The Cowick Barton in 2017, the grade 2 listed, 500 year-old Tudor pub has built a loyal base of foodie customers who are attracted to his cook-from-scratch menu.
He has also spent many years studying wine and has achieved his Level 3 and Certified Educator qualifications with the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET).
Luke has been wanting to set up a wine school in Devon for a long time and has joined the Local Wine School (www.localwineschool.com) which has 29 other wine schools in the UK. This enables him to benefit from being an independently owned business and be part of the UK’s leading wine education network, helping him become the number one destination for wine tastings in Devon.
Luke commented: “I am looking forward to bringing fun and high energetic wine tasting events and welcoming people from all backgrounds whatever their knowledge of wine may be. Opening a wine school is a long-held ambition and I can’t wait to get started.
“As a chef and a wine educator, I just love making the perfect food and wine pairings and experience on the palette and how you bring out the best of both with a faultless match, I look forward to specialising in food and wine experiences available to wine lovers and foodies across Exeter and Devon.”
Classes will be held initially at the Cowick Barton, 121 Cowick Ln, Exeter EX2 9HF
For further information see: www.localwineschool.com/devon / email devon@localwineschool.com or follow Facebook @devonlocalwineschool
