Wine expert Patrick Alexander and students raise their glasses at a previous course at Books & Books.

For an enjoyable New Year’s resolution, make 2013 the year to educate your palette and learn to properly appreciate the true joys of wine.

Starting Monday, Jan. 7, Books & Books offers a new wine-appreciation course taught by Coral Gables wine expert Patrick Alexander. (Registration requested by Friday, Dec. 28.)

The popular six-week, 12-hour program is designed for students who wish to increase their knowledge and appreciation of wine — and their enjoyment of it. Each two-hour class is held from 6-8 p.m. on Mondays at Books & Books’ Coral Gables location, 265 Aragon Ave.

Four individual wines will be tasted during each evening session for a total of 24 different wines by the end of the program on Feb. 11.

By the end of the course, students will know how to read a label and will understand the difference between various wine-producing regions and different varieties of grapes. Students will know how to serve and share wines with their friends and family and, best of all, they will have learned how to appreciate and enjoy this most civilized of pleasures.

The final class will be followed by a dinner specially prepared by Chef Allen to pair with the four wines that the students voted to be their favorites during the program.

Mr. Alexander, the instructor, raised his family in the Bordeaux wine country of southwest France, the Piedmont wine country of northwest Italy, and the wine country of northern California before moving to Coral Gables over 25 years ago.

As director of the Office of Professional Advancement at the University of Miami, he developed a popular wine-appreciation program, which was offered exclusively in the faculty lounge. He also served as a judge at the Florida International Wine Challenge.

After leaving UM to focus on writing, Mr. Alexander refined the wine program into a series of six, two-hour classes that he taught at UM’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He then began offering the same six-week program to sold-out classes at Books & Books and has led several popular wine presentations at the nearby Coral Gables Museum.

Mr. Alexander also is a published author; his books include Marcel Proust’s Search for Lost Time and The Nigerian Letter.

Cost of the upcoming course is $299 per person; space is limited to 16 students, so register by Friday, Dec. 28, by contacting [email protected]. For more information, registration and course details visit www.gableswine.com.