Weekend Plans Post: It’s Cold?

Marchmaine says:

This weekend is a break from Wedding Season. No one tells you that 25-years after you and all your friends are getting married that it’ll happen all over again. Weird. Weddings didn’t impress me much when I was 25 and listening to friends toasting friends — sort of a Via con Dios… good luck and all that — but somehow it hits different when it’s Sister #1 toasting Sister #2 both of whom you’ve seen grow up from toddlers. Getting soft in my old age, and, let’s be honest, pollen counts were very high under the outdoor wedding tent. No Marchmaine weddings yet; we tend to be late bloomers.

Tangentially, one of the best things about weddings (after you’re already married, that is) is connecting with the outer rings of the friend network. For example, one of my daughter’s friends (newly a mom) grabbed me to talk with her husband; he’s been working at local wineries for several years and is a month or two away from completing his winemaker’s degree from Cal-Davis and was recently promoted to Assistant Winemaker at the vineyard he’s been managing. The interesting thing is that while he knows far more about the operational side of making wine than I ever will, he doesn’t have the tasting experience that comes from Restaurant Service, Wine Distribution Sales, and, well, 35 year of tasting notes. So he’s looking for partners/mentors to improve his palate.

Which is providential as I had just, mostly on a whim, decided to explore the WSET program for wine certification. I signed up for WSET Level 1 to do with my wife and 16-yo daughter. WSET is the ‘other’ international certification program that isn’t the Sommelier’s guild; not as prestigious, but also not as crony baked as the guild. (See also the 2018 blind tasting scandal: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/the-cheating-scandal-that-has-shaken-the-world-of-elite-sommeliers). WSET is the boring ‘professional’ certification that looks more like continuing education than the mystical anointing into a secret society.

WSET Level 1 is BASIC understanding… think waiters and people just starting out. No Tasting requirement (Easy)
WSET Level 2 is equivalent to Introductory Sommelier. No Tasting requirement (Retail/Restaurant Pro)
WSET Level 3 is equivalent to Certified Sommelier. Tasing requirement. (Wine Pro)
WSET Level 4 is considered slightly ‘more’ than an Advanced Sommelier. Tasting and Research Paper required.

Level 4 is really the highest level one can attain with diligence; the Master Sommelier title (‘Level 5’) is invitation only, and, IMO based on how ‘insiders’ view it… really just a club that you aspire to, not an actual measure of knowledge. A secret society that you are invited to join.

So far, Level 1 is, indeed, really basic… anyone can pass if you’re at all interested in Wine/Winemaking. Seriously anyone. Professionals recommend you skip it if you know the basics. Level 2 is really the Professional Entry level – no tasting, just knowledge of vineyard management, winemaking basics, and Regions/Varietals. Book learning. The fun starts at Level 3 with blind tasting, and that requires a little discipline/practice best done with partners – hence the connection at the Wedding with my skip-generation friend.

Personally, I’ll likely stop at Level 2 as that’s the natural plateau where my knowledge lands… Level 3 would require more time/dedication than I can devote (and to what end?) — but I’d be happy to help a young Assistant Winemaker with a fresh Cal-Davis certification advance his career while tasting wines every other week or so.

This is already too long, so I’ll save for another time my (unsuccessful) bid to trade my tasting experience for an invitation to the wine-maker tasting that goes into the production of each vintage.Report