Wines for Beginners
For those of us in the wine trade, it’s hard to remember what it felt like to be a beginner. The nerves. The uncertainty. The fear of being judged.Being new to …
Wine education doesn’t just entail the accumulation of information about grape species and tasting processes—it is a discovery of history, geography, and science. The correlation between wine and travel is learning the areas that produce it, the climates that make different taste forms, and the choices the winemaker makes; all these things contribute to the character of the wine. With the help of the structure, both professional and nonprofessional learners will have more trust and deeper understanding of wine.
The Institute’s programs include a variety of different topics, like introductory courses that cover tasting fundamentals and a few advanced certifications that go in-depth about viticulture and enology and food pairings that go with them. The learning path offered by establishments like the Wine School of Philadelphia and universities with enology programs as well as industry groups should be the first step in getting an education. Gaining sensory skills is possible through tasting workshops, blind tasting drills, and comparative studies; whereas deep courses on fermentation, aging, and terroir provide technical knowledge.
A tangible route to a job can be obtained by obtaining certifications like the National Wine School’s Advanced programs or by being rewarded a university-backed viticulture degree. However, this formal program is not the only way to get education—one can travel to wine regions, do a grape harvest, or just do wine tasting with intention, which are equally as valuable experiences.
The main purpose of wine education is building the bridge between people. Doing so, it welds traditional ways of doing things with the innovation of technology, and the role of the producer with that of the consumer. And the more one studies, the more things there are to learn, just like in the case of wine and education, which are both infinite quests.
For those of us in the wine trade, it’s hard to remember what it felt like to be a beginner. The nerves. The uncertainty. The fear of being judged.Being new to …
Sommelier 101What is a Sommelier Certification?Sommelier certification has its roots in the restaurant industry but has transcended the wine list, becoming the de facto certification for the entire wine industry. Regardless …
Wine is all about knowledge. If you are drawn toward the world of wine, there are two things you need: a good book and a corkscrew. The more you know, the …
Welcome to Winemaking 101We have been making wine for ten thousand years. For much of that time, winemaking has played an outsized role in our lives. It has been an economic …
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This article is one of the few articles written about Keith’s life before founding the Wine School. It prominently features Rosie, his dog of many years. Sadly, Rosie passed away in …
From Radio to WineIf you jumped back in time to 1996, you would find me pounding back espressos in my glass-enclosed office at a National Public Radio station. If it were …