Wine classes, indeed most liquid lessons, come in a tasting format that emphasizes the social aspect while sometimes skimming over education.

At the year-old Tria Fermentation School, the learning process is given its due. Taking the subject seriously, the school thoroughly covers other fruits of fermentation - beer and cheese - as well as wine.

Fermented grape juice and milk and malted grain are, after all, among the oldest processed foods on the planet, and Tria's owner, Jon Myerow, believes it is to everyone's advantage to better understand and appreciate both the product and the process.

Playing up the education angle, Myerow opened Tria Fermentation School at 16th and Walnut, just around the corner from his original Tria Cafe.

In class, vintners, brewmasters, cheesemakers, sommeliers, distributors, authors and critics take the lectern to share their knowledge in a state-of-the-art classroom designed for tutored tastings with a bank of custom refrigeration units, a multimedia sound system, and visual aids.

The classroom also serves as a training stage for Tria's cafe servers, who are constantly being updated on wine, beer, cheese and food menus that change daily.

The school is an extension of those cafes (now at 18th and Sansom and 12th and Spruce) where select wines, beers and cheeses (some exotic, even rare) are complemented by a light menu of snacks, salads and sandwiches. Wine is served in 5-ounce pours in oversize (16-ounce) crystal orbs for easy swirling and sniffing. Select beers come in crystal stemware.

For toe-wetting tastings in a less erudite setting, check out Tria's weekly "Sunday School" offerings at the cafes, where customers can sample one wine, beer and cheese at half price.

Here are some of the wine, beer, and other beverage-related programs offered in and around Philadelphia this fall.

Students must be at least 21 with valid identification to attend classes serving wine, beer or spirits.

Philadelphia

Home Sweet Homebrew, 2008 Sansom St. 215-569-9469 (www.homesweethomebrew.com). Beer-making demonstrations and tastings, Wednesdays, 5-7 p.m. Free. (HOPS club meetings on third Wednesday.)

Mount Airy Learning Tree, 6601 Greene St. 215-843-6333 (www.mtairylearn ingtree.org). At Unitarian Society of Germantown, 6511 Lincoln Dr.: Wines of Australia and New Zealand, Oct. 23, 6:30 p.m., $44. At Tea Country, 6722 Old York Rd., 7 p.m.: Introduction to Tea, Nov. 13, $20.

Phillywine.com, Box 1478, Havertown. 610-649-9936 (www.phillywine.com). Neal Ewing, director. Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) diploma programs and exams. Courses at Temple (Ambler), the Art Institute Culinary School, and the Wine Academy (Restaurant School) begin in January. For details or home study, go online.

Temple University Center City, Institute of Continuing Studies, 1515 Market St. 215-204-6946. Classes 5:45-7:45 p.m.: Taste Wine Like a Pro, Marnie Old, Oct. 19, $45. Wines of France, 3 weeks from Oct. 26, $95. How the Wine World Works, Marnie Old, Nov. 16, $45.

Tria Fermentation School, 1601 Walnut St., Suite 620. 215-972-7076 (www.triacafe.com). Michael McCaulley, director. Classes 6:30-8 p.m.: Beer for Winos (ease into the complex world of malted grain), Oct. 23, $45. Which Cheddar Is Beddar, Oct. 26, $50. Also, Sunday School at Tria Cafes (12th and Spruce and 18th and Sansom) featuring one wine, cheese and beer.

The Wine Academy of the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, 4207 Walnut St. 215-222-4200, Ext. 3067. Certificate program. Catalog online.

The Wine School of Philadelphia, 2006 Fairmount Ave. 800-817-7351 (www.vinology.com). Wine 101: Wine Collecting, Oct. 13, 6 p.m., #38; Intro to Wine, Oct. 23, 2 p.m., $38; Sommelier Smackdown (food and wine pairing), Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m., $54; Taste Factor, Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m., $38; Investing in Wine, Nov. 10, 6 p.m., $54.

Wine Tastings With Marnie Old 215-351-9985(www.marnieold.com). Tastings and art talks at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum Restaurant, 6-8 p.m., $49 (with light food and admission inclusive): How the Wine World Works, tomorrow; Australian Wines, Beyond Shiraz, Dec. 7. For tickets, call 215-235-7469.

Bucks County

Carlow Cookery, 432 Main St., Doylestown. 215-489-2677 (www.carlowcookery.com). Fine Wines and Finger Foods, Nov. 9, 7 p.m., $70.

Chester County

Brandywine Valley Wine Trail, 610-444-3842 (www.bvwinetrail.com). 2007 Vintners' Harvest Dinner, with guest Victoria Wyeth, at Longwood Gardens, reception and dinner dance, from 6:30 p.m., Oct. 27, $125.

Chaddsford Winery, 632 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford. 610-388-6221 (www.chaddsford.com). Chaddsford Challenge, Marnie Old, Oct. 26, 7 p.m., $25. World Wine Tour, second Wednesdays, 7 p.m., $50: Tour de France, Oct. 10; South America, Nov. 14; Wine & Cheese Around the World, Dec. 12. Barrel Tasting (winery) and Wine Dinner (Brandywine Prime), Oct. 18, $85. Reserve tastings, Saturdays at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m., $15.

Inn Keeper's Kitchen at Dilworthtown Inn, 1390 Old Wilmington Pike, West Chester. 610-399-1390 (www.dilworthtown.com). Wine Festival, Oct. 14, noon to 4 p.m.

Tuesday Tastings at Cosimo Restaurant & Wine Bar, 209 Lancaster Ave., Malvern. 610-647-1233. Tuesdays through October, 6:30 p.m., $35 each includes light fare: Starts Oct. 8 with Sparkling Wines of the World.

Delaware County

Haverford Township Adult School, Box 806, Havertown 19083. 610-446-8022 (www.haverfordadult- school.org). Beer Appreciation, with tasting and tour, Tuesday, $65.

Main Line School Night, 260 Gulph Creek Rd., Radnor. 610-687-0460 (www.mainlineschoolnight.org). At Beaumont, 601 N. Ithan, Bryn Mawr: Italian Wines, 4 Wednesdays from Oct. 31, 7:45 p.m., $108. At Oakmont National Pub, 31 E. Eagle Rd., Havertown: Belgian and German beer tasting with hors d'oeuvres, Sunday, 4 p.m., $37. At Yangming, 1051 Conestoga Rd., Bryn Mawr: Affordable Wines and Cheeses, Jan. 28, 7 p.m., $55.

Viking Cooking School, One Town Place, Bryn Mawr. 610-526-9020 (www.vikingcookingschool.com). Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m., $79 each: Important Whites, Oct. 8; Crisp Aromatic Whites, Oct. 15; Earthy Reds, Oct. 22; Big Reds, Oct. 29; Sparklers and Dessert Wines, Oct. 29. Food and Wine Pairing Napa-style, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m., $108. Holiday Food and Wine Pairing, Nov. 12, 6 p.m., $99.

Montgomery County

Main Line School Night, 260 Gulph Creek Rd., Radnor. 610-687-0460 (www.mainlineschoolnight.org). At Harriton High School: Japanese Way of Tea, 4 Wednesdays from Oct. 17, 7 p.m., $61.