Wine school
Where: The Albert Arms, Esher, Surrey
How it works: Set in the affluent village of Esher, the Albert Arms has been serving good food and fine wines for 30 years. Current proprietor Jonathan Dunne is a big wine fan, as is Michael Harrison, who runs the pub's own wine school.
A former wine buyer for Sainsbury's, Michael has a diploma in wine and he has put years of experience into the wine lists at the pub, as well as its sister restaurant, George.
The wine school is tailored to individual tastes and preferences. Michael says: "The wine list at the Albert has 75 wines, we have an affiliated hotel and wine company with 700 wines and a fine-dining restaurant called George with another 160 wines, so we've got about 1,000 different wines across the group and it was in our interest to start the wine school.
"I run the school, buy the wine, work as the sommelier at the restaurant and train the staff at the Albert. At the end of the day, you can have the best wine in the world, but if people don't know about it and can't sell it, then it's of no use to anyone.
"We have 6,000 people on our database who use the pub, the restaurant or the hotel on a regular basis. We run tastings at one of the venues every other week, we do corporate events and winemakers' dinners so people know us for our wine.
For more information, phone 01372 462299, visit www.albertwinecompany.com or email mike@albertwinecompany.com.
