A Lesson in Life and Wine

As far as mornings go, it had started off perfectly with a delicious cup of coffee paired with the relaxation of reading a couple Wine Spectator articles. Starting on my next task of the day, I felt the floor drop out from under my feet when I logged into my email to clear out the usual promotional junk. Glaring at me in bold was an email from the Wine Education Institute labeled “WSET Exam Results.” Clicking on this email could result in one of two scenarios, a special, celebratory second glass of wine this evening, or another month of constant studying just to go through the horrors of another online exam.

             I had toyed with the idea of working on my wine certification for a while before taking that first plunge in November 2021. It was the next logical step for me, and everything that was covered, from Cabernet to vine trellising, fascinated me. I had doubts, though. Did I really want to go back into a world where I would have homework? Do I even have a palate that is good enough to do this? What if I fail? Will that make me lose my love for wine? These and so many other questions kept bouncing around in my head until finally, feeling a bit low and stuck when it came to what I wanted to do with my life, a conversation with a good friend and the support of a good husband gave me the confidence to click on the enroll button. I would be starting my first certification in March 2022.

               That first certification was the perfect starting point for someone like me, who had been out of school for over ten years. Though it took a couple of days to get into a groove, I discovered I already knew so much about what was being taught, and it became more of a refresher course, simply making things clearer to me. For example, though I worked in a winery and knew the basic steps of winemaking, I now understood each step and the factors that went into the decisions made by the winemaker. When it came down to it, the most difficult and stressful part of this six-week period was the online exam. The tasks and requirements they enforce to ensure that no one is cheating were incredibly daunting, and at the end of that one-hour test I felt confident in my wine knowledge, less confident in if I had followed all rules and regulations to properly submit my exam. Honestly, I was so scared that the slightest wrong movement would make them think I was cheating, that I did the entire exam with one of my hoodie sleeves rolled up to my elbow, the other laying where it should by my hand, even though I desperately wanted to roll down that other sleeve. My fears were pointless, though, as I passed with a 98 percent, and now proudly display both my pin and certificate in my wine room.

               Jazzed by my passing grade, and ready to take on the next certification, I registered for the next set of classes. That’s when shit got real.

I was always a decent student, and unless it was math, retaining and understanding the information was fairly easy for me. Hell, my senior year of college I would bang out my papers for one of my law classes late the night before it was due, and still manage an A or B without breaking sweat. Apparently, this was a magical power that faded with age.

Excited for this next step in my wine education, I prepared myself in the months before the class started by reviewing the flashcards from my previous course and doing the recommended reading, so I would have a strong base for following along with the lessons. The word “nerd” comes to mind here. Feeling ready to take on the wine world, I logged into my first set of lessons, and yikes!

During the second certification, it not only further expanded on the winemaking, wine and food pairing, and wine storage and serving processes, I was also to learn about vineyard management and all of the attributes that go in to it – from soil needs down to wind patterns - and was expected to know all of the regions, and the characteristics for each of these regions, for over 30 different grape varieties, which did not include also needing to know all of the grapes used and the processes for making sparkling and fortified wines. And, don’t forget the weekly tasting lessons, which sound all fine and dandy until you are stressing over determining if the acidity of the wine is medium or high. This was all done in a five-week period, six if you count the week up to the exam. To say I was overwhelmed would be an understatement. I was making so many flashcards I was getting kinks in both my neck and wrist, completing all of my tasks expanded to six days a week up from the three days it took me in the previous course, when snowshoeing I would be rambling off grape varieties in my head to the tune of my foot falls, and I was dreaming about wine every single night. Every. Single. Night. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to be able pass my exam, or simply survive.

After a small period of panic, I put my head down and just dug into it. I did all of the suggested but not required assignments and practice quizzes, if the instructor made a recommendation, like making a grape flow chart, I did it, and I read over and over again through my flashcards. I kept up the mantra that all I could do was my best, and my best is what I was going to do. And, a couple of weeks after a restless night of sleep before the exam and then a mishap that made it look like my test may have not gone through, that dooming “WSET Exam Results” email brought terrific news. I had passed, and not only that, I had passed with a 98 percent. Relief washed through me, and I knew I was definitely going to gift myself that second glass of wine. Shoot, maybe I would even get crazy and have a third.

My pin and certificate for this course came in earlier this week, all bright and shiny blue, and I found that wave of relief wash over me again. Though these little tokens remind me of the blood, sweat and tears – okay, maybe not blood – that I put into it, it no longer filled me with dread but with accomplishment. Though I may not have the memory retention or sheer dumb luck I had during my college days, I have something better. I have finally found something I love to learn about, and I will, and actually want to, continue to push myself to learn more and more. Every time I look at that pin, I will be reminded of all of the knowledge I gained and how much I have grown. That, and to whatever does the same for you, is something I can certainly raise my glass to.