In a tiny classroom on the 12th floor of a nondescript building on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, I’m being baptized by fire. I decided to take the WSET Level 3 certification because I like to learn things, I might want to change jobs at some point and my Tuesdays were open for the next three months or so. We dug right into to EU wine labeling and gradations, then tasted six wines, each of which was poured to teach us something. As Linda Lawry, the imposing and impossibly correct instructor, said, “You will not go home from this class telling your friends about the fabulous wine you’ve had. All of the wines we pour are perfectly fine, but they each illustrate something you need to learn.”
Things we learned; the difference between ruby and garnet; how fino sherry can taste like some weirdly oxidized white wine if you’re not looking for sherry; how Pedro Ximenez sherry tastes like molasses with a hint of coffee; how an older Barolo looks compared to a new Pinot Noir; how oaky California chardonnay all tastes exactly the same to me; how sauvignon blanc can get the job done even if it’s not particulalry special.
I’m taking a study break to prepare for Wine Blogging Wednesday. More about this whole lifelong learning business later.
