The “Institute of Wines & Spirits” was founded in 1962 by members of the wine and spirit trade who were enthusiastic to expand their knowledge and experience.

Since then we have evolved into a forum with both trade and non-trade members. We have very close and valuable support from the Wine & Spirits trade.

Find out more about our history.

We have a simple philosophy that is all to do with expanding our knowledge and enjoyment of wines and spirits.

We hold twelve tastings each year, six in Edinburgh and six in Glasgow - see our Venues, which take the format of an informal guided tasting where our guest speaker shares their knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for their wines or spirits with us.

Over the years we have been very fortunate to be able to attract a very high calibre of speaker. Not only have we had over 50 Masters of Wine, including Jancis Robinson & Rose Murray-Brown, but also winemakers such as Johnny Hugel and Miguel Torres as well as Whyte & McKay Master Blender Richard Paterson. We continue to strive to maintain this high standard of guest presenter. See our current Programme.

In addition to our usual meetings we also indulge our appreciation of delicious wines with good food by having an Annual Dinner, a Wine Weekend and a Summer Lunch. See details of the current year's Events.

We hope that you like what you see and would like to join us. Please see our Membership page for details.