How on earth, just through quite liking wine, have I found myself in an exam hall for the first time in nearly 20 years? Literally palms sweating, last minute revision notes being scanned for the final time and pencils all newly sharpened; I have new found respect for the kids I teach in ‘the real world’.
Rewind.
So, about three quarters of a year ago I had a major birthday. What better way to celebrate than to take a course in something? As a lover of wine an introductory wine course seemed a fabulous idea; particularly since I was definitely the type of person who would look at a wine list and go “Ah yes, Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. I have heard of all of those grapes and probably like them”. Invariably I ended up buying either the second cheapest or the one with the prettiest label…bonus if they were one and the same! Show me a French bottle and I would merely run, screaming, for the hills. Little did I realise how sucked in I would get. I loved the course I did. At the end I decided to run a little wine tasting at a dinner party I was hosting. It took AGES to do the research, even with all my new knowledge. It was then that an idea started to take shape in my mind and I tried writing a couple of self-tasting documents for friends and friends of friends. So far so good but my knowledge still wasn’t all I hoped it would be – the terror of the French bottles still loomed large in my head.
So last week saw the culmination of my first genuine qualification since graduating from teaching college! I knew that it was working when I picked up a French bottle I’d been saving and knew not only the grapes likely to be dominant in the blend but also understood that the bottle was from a major player in Bordeaux and was from a superior vintage! I have rarely felt satisfaction like it. And so begins my foray into the world of wine.
UPDATE: I passed with distinction :-D
Rewind.
So, about three quarters of a year ago I had a major birthday. What better way to celebrate than to take a course in something? As a lover of wine an introductory wine course seemed a fabulous idea; particularly since I was definitely the type of person who would look at a wine list and go “Ah yes, Merlot, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. I have heard of all of those grapes and probably like them”. Invariably I ended up buying either the second cheapest or the one with the prettiest label…bonus if they were one and the same! Show me a French bottle and I would merely run, screaming, for the hills. Little did I realise how sucked in I would get. I loved the course I did. At the end I decided to run a little wine tasting at a dinner party I was hosting. It took AGES to do the research, even with all my new knowledge. It was then that an idea started to take shape in my mind and I tried writing a couple of self-tasting documents for friends and friends of friends. So far so good but my knowledge still wasn’t all I hoped it would be – the terror of the French bottles still loomed large in my head.
So last week saw the culmination of my first genuine qualification since graduating from teaching college! I knew that it was working when I picked up a French bottle I’d been saving and knew not only the grapes likely to be dominant in the blend but also understood that the bottle was from a major player in Bordeaux and was from a superior vintage! I have rarely felt satisfaction like it. And so begins my foray into the world of wine.
UPDATE: I passed with distinction :-D
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