On April 27th, I will be taking the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 1 class and certification exam at the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY! The WSET is an international training program specifically geared to those in the wine and spirit industry. This is the first level of certification, and I hope to continue. Finally, higher education that I will enjoy! The program is a one day, eight-hour class, followed by a written test. I already have my study guide thanks to iBook and email, so the studying (and tasting) has begun in earnest. A HUGE Thank You to my dad, almost always my supporter, and patron of this latest venture in honor of my thirty-eighth birthday!
My husband and I relocated to the Finger Lakes area in 2007, and I started my winery career soon thereafter. I have spent several grape harvests in the field, shears in hand, lug at my feet. It is tiring labor, and you are at the mercy of the elements. There is a romantic element to the vines for the first hour, which then gives way to an ache in your lower back and a crick in your neck. The accomplishment is in completing the tasks at hand, which are often time sensitive and on a strict deadline. Getting dirty in the fields also gives you an invaluable certainty and comfort behind the tasting bar. You develop a relationship with the wine from grape through bottling, something that can only be experienced. The knowledge is not learned, but gained through memory. My first harvest is something I will never forget. I even have a tattoo to mark the occasion! Grapes, of course…from my husband.
The WSET will be my first formal certification in wines. I can’t wait to build on the knowledge that I’ve acquired, mostly by working closely with local wine makers. It’s sure to be an adventurous path, learning and drinking wine as I go!
