Yes, I go to wine school. Wine college, to be exact.
I go to wine school to gain technical knowledge of the juice I love. I go to wine school to learn about the dirt and the weather in the places from which my beloved juice hails. I go to wine school so I can taste all sorts of wines, smell them, feel their weight, and learn what foods to serve with them.
Not a wine-school project, but this is some of the wine we tasted
during our fun-filled wine bloggers' conference in Santa Rosa in July
I go to wine school so I can sound somewhat credible when I share my excitement in print or online with the rest of the world.
But really, I go to wine school so I can learn
how to help you learn
how to love wine as much as I do.
And, when I received word in August that I had passed my WSET level 3 exam and had been awarded the Advanced Certificate, I (A) literally jumped for joy and (B) cracked a bottle of bubbly.
WSET stands for Wine & Spirit EducationTrust and is highly respected world wide for its courses in wine and spirits. We're lucky that we've got our own access to WSET at the International Culinary School (ICS) housed at the Art Institute of Vancouver, right on the corner of Granville and Dunsmuir Streets.
The Art Institute started teaching the diploma-level (level 4) WSET course in 2006 and this Thursday, September 17 will find three students from that original class, along with eight others, eligible to participate in the AI's very first WSET Diploma Graduation Ceremony.
Expected to attend are wine educators Barb Philip, MW, Iain Philip, Michaela Morris, AIWS, and Mark Shipway, AIWS. As well, nine of the graduates will be there to accept their diplomas: Harry Hertscheg (Playhouse Wine Festival), Tim Ellison (PICA), William Johnston (Poplar Grove), Sarah McAuley (Blue Water Cafe), Shane Taylor (Blue Water Cafe), Sharon McLean (International Culinary School), Vanessa Queyranne (David Hermann & Sons), Louise Wilson (Andrew Peller Ltd.), and Wesley Hunter
Of course, I'll be there to cheer them on, take a few notes, and snap a couple of pics.
Salut!
Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
