Happenings at WWA (and beyond)

Last week Nikki and I sat in on the week long intensive WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) Level 2 Intermediate course taught by instructor Tom Finigan.

This course not only opened my eyes to the intricacies and complexities of the wine world, but it also allowed me to sharpen my palate and increase my sensitivity to wine quality and components. Despite the barrage of information, I never felt intimidated by the subject matter because Tom lectured in an accessible, approachable manner.

The most memorable aspect of this course was learning about the different wine producing regions all over the world. I am passionate about traveling and learning as much as I can about the world, so I was fascinated by the ways wine is produced and viewed in different countries. There was so much I didn’t know! For instance, I always knew that French wine was de bon qualité but I had never even considered South Africa or New Zealand to be wine countries as well. I began thinking about wine in a whole new way, and now I can associate different types of wine with different regions of the world.

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to taste wines from all over the globe. One of my favorite wines was the Folie a Deux Chardonnay 2010 from Russian River Valley, California. I know I know, it’s not a super-hip wine from a tiny village on an island off the coast of Chile—but it’s delicious and refreshing and I loved it!

Wine-sniffing goes hand in hand with wine tasting, and I quickly discovered that I am a terrible wine-sniffer. Embarrassingly, I thought that quite a few of the wines had bacon-y undertones (wishful thinking). But as the classes continued I learned how to isolate the scents that were actually present in the wines. For example, I can now discern the scent differences between tropical fruit, red fruit, and purple fruit in wine! I considered taking myself out to a celebratory dinner afterwards.

Despite starting at 9:00AM, this class was interesting and engaging throughout. I certainly learned a lot, and I recommend this class for all wine beginners with an interest in expanding their knowledge and their palate. Who knew wine could taste so delicious before noon?