Italian Wine Scholar

What Makes a Wine Instructor “Outstanding”? (The Systematic Approach to Teaching)

12 Jul 201911 Jul 2019Italian Wine Scholar, Wine Education, WSET3 Comments

People often ask me what I plan to do with my WSET Diploma certification when I complete the program (Hubs is probably THE most frequent inquirer of this information). My usual answer – after informing them that no, I’m not going to become a “Somm” – is that I’d like to teach and/or write about wine. And while I have this blog to keep my writing dream alive (barely), I’m leaning towards teaching wine courses as the more viable alternative to actually earning a living.

To that end, I recently got my feet wet by co-teaching a couple of courses over back-to-back weekends in the Pacific Northwest. First was a trip up to my beloved Washington state and my favorite wine region – Walla Walla – for WSET Level 2. The following weekend I headed back north to Portland to teach a few sections of Northern Italy for the Italian Wine Scholar course. Luckily for students enrolled in those classes, I taught alongside two of my favorite instructors and mentors: Mimi Martin and Tanya Morningstar Darling.

While I was excited about these opportunities, I was also nervous! I’ve taught several consumer level wine classes, but these have been “just for fun” – both for me and the attendees. With certification courses like WSET and IWS – there is an exam to pass at the end of the curriculum. As a result, there’s an additional level of stress (and not just for the students!) because I want to give the class the information they need to pass the exam, but still want them to “have fun.”

Now that my first teaching hurdle is over, I’ve had some time to think about what qualities make an outstanding wine instructor. I’ve been fortunate to have had several fantastic teachers in my wine education thus far, and I’m trying to figure out what it is/was about them that made them so.

In the WSET world, we students follow a “Systematic Approach to Tasting” which allows us to evaluate a wine on a common scale. So, in the spirit of WSET (and to the annoyance of my Hubs), I’ve outlined below my “Systematic Approach to Teaching.” These are the factors that I believe make up an “outstanding” instructor (as opposed to just a “good” or “acceptable” one) as well as the ideal level of these factors.

WSET Grid 1 — How to Assess the Quality Level of a Wine Instructor

Enthusiasm – High.

As I’ve mentioned before, it wasn’t a bottle that turned me on to wine – but a person. My first ever wine class was taught by the incredibly dynamic Reggie Daigneault and I credit her with being my wine “a-ha” moment. I had no idea that there was so much to learn and appreciate about wine – beyond what was in my glass. Reggie’s high level of enthusiasm was infectious and made every class enjoyable – even when we covered topics like “must adjustments”.

Unfortunately, a lack of enthusiasm can also be contagious. A few years ago, I had a very knowledgeable instructor who, on the first day of class, walked in and announced to us students “I don’t know why they picked ME to teach this class.” What a dreary way to start off the semester!

Election movie chalkboard — Don’t phone it in like Mr. McAllister!

In any case, there was minimal further dialogue that day as we ended up watching a film for the rest of class. This took me back to my high school days when the football coach taught government – and most classes consisted of him pressing “play” on the VCR (I recognize that millennials and younger generations may need to look up that particular acronym – I assure you that is was part of our daily 1980s life). Thankfully, this wine instructor’s enthusiasm level increased a bit over the course, but it still clocked in at about a medium minus overall. And not surprisingly, mine did too.

Responsiveness – Medium Plus.

Perhaps I overvalue this factor more than other people due to my past experience in the corporate world where responding to an email within 24 hours (or sooner!!) was simply standard operating procedure. Now that I’m in the wine world, I’ve noticed that responses often take several days. Which, when you’re a stressed out student, feels like waiting for a Brunello di Montalcino to open up (Hubs: these lame inside wine jokes will end shortly – I promise). I think aiming to be like a Rosé – short time on the skins, 48 hours or less – is reasonable (Hubs: Another one). And even a short “let me get back to you on this!” is better than no response at all.

Personal Stories – Medium Minus.

Most wine instructors have traveled to a number of wine regions and met countless names in the wine industry. Sharing these personal experiences with students can definitely help certain wine concepts come to life.

For example, one of my instructors has family in Umbria, and she told us about how the locals were always very clear that the Trebbiano grown in their region was not Trebbiano Toscano (the grape used frequently for bulk production) but rather Trebbiano Spoletino. I can still envision an old Italian lady shaking her finger in correction.

Differentiating between these two Trebbianos ended up being a question on my Italian Wine Scholar exam! And, thanks to my instructor’s story, I recalled this information immediately and easily answered the question.

But while some of these stories are entertaining, they can also be detracting from the class, waste valuable time, or be simply irrelevant. For example, sharing your experience of strolling through Grand Cru vineyards and consuming trophy/unicorn bottles with famous winemakers probably isn’t doing your students any good.

Bottom line: It isn’t about you (see ego category below). If a personal story will help students learn/remember something – share it. But if it’s name dropping – leave it out. Or put it on Instagram.

Staying on Course (aka Teaching to the Test) – Medium.

Instructors are often told to not “teach to the test.” But I struggle with this because these certification classes that I’m teaching culminate with an exam. Yes, hopefully, students will also gain knowledge beyond what’s needed for the test – but their end-goal is to pass the exam and obtain the pin/certificate.

To ensure a student’s success with this goal, it’s important to stay focused on the material and to stay out of time-sucking rabbit holes as much as possible. One of my instructors has an amazing ability to corral students and keep us on the right route during class. I swear she must’ve worked on a ranch in her past life.

I put this factor at a medium though, because I think some degree of diverging from the path is beneficial. It encourages class participation and keeps the students engaged. And prevents the class from becoming a lecture.

Ego – Medium Minus.

The further I go in my wine studies, the higher the ego levels seem to go as well. Thankfully, I’ve heard that it drops back down a bit when striving for the highest level qualifications like MW or MS.

I’m optimistic about this being true – my newest instructor recently achieved MW and she is incredibly humble and easygoing. For example, the class had to drag information out of her about becoming an MW and it was only after incessant questioning that we learned she had received the highest score on the tasting portion of the exam. I admired her even more because of her humility about this amazing accomplishment.

Patience – High.

We’ve all been in classes where one student just does not understand a concept and cannot move on from it – often to the detriment of the rest of the class. Or there’s an obnoxious student who “corrects” the teacher about the distance in kilometers between two Burgundian villages (yep, this happened to me and we’re revisiting it again!). In either case – an instructor needs to come to class loaded up with a high level of patience for situations like these. And maybe some Sancerre in your S’well bottle.

Even though wine classes are attended by adults, they bring their own set of challenges that require calm, level-headed responses. Not unlike a class full of kindergarteners.

Kindergarten-Cop — No Mr. Kimble, the distance between Meursault and Pommard is 5km, not 6km!

Knowledge – Medium Plus.

Now, you might be thinking: shouldn’t knowledge of the subject matter that you’re teaching about be HIGH? Isn’t this the most important factor in being an outstanding wine instructor? Honestly, I don’t think it is.

Many wine folk possess a massive amount of knowledge about wine and have lots of letters after their names to prove it. However, teachers need to be able to convey this knowledge to students in a manner in which they can understand. And ideally make it interesting and memorable as well.

You can know a whole lot about a lot, but if you can’t explain it to someone else so that they can understand it too – you’re not going to be an outstanding instructor.

Ability to Have Fun – High.

I recently attended a masterclass focused on the Champagne house Bollinger. At the start of class, the instructor whipped out a saber and asked “who here wants to saber one of these?!” What a freakin’ awesome way break the ice (almost literally)! A few students who had never sabered before volunteered and they nailed it! This set the tone for the rest of the class which was engaging, energetic – and so much fun.

As a newbie wine instructor, I certainly don’t expect to hit all of the factors listed above right off the bat. But someday, I hope to have the same effect on a student that my outstanding wine instructors have had (and continue to have) on me. At the end of the day, wine is meant to be enjoyed . . . and learning about wine should be as well.

Italian Wine Scholar: Tackling This Boot Was No Small Feat

3 Apr 20192 Apr 2019Italian Wine Scholar, Italy, Wine Education25 Comments

Nobody likes a braggart or a know-it-all. If you’ve read some of my previous posts, you know I can’t stand this type of personality and have even created a WSET Irritation Scale to evaluate them. (Yes, I’ve been told that sometimes I take things too far).

Unfortunately, we (mostly women) are often so fearful of looking too egotistical that we don’t celebrate our accomplishments. We downplay our successes, or qualify them by saying something like “I’m just a good test taker” or “I can memorize facts, but don’t retain them very well.” (I’ve uttered both of these phrases many times over). Why is it so difficult to say “hey – I’m really proud of myself, I did this: [fill in the blank here with your awesome accomplishment].” (Hubs Note: And yet you don’t have any problem telling my friends that you kicked my ass in law school).

I think we need to be better at sharing our wins and encouraging each other to do the same. So, with that, I’m going to give it a shot- here goes: I passed my Italian Wine Scholar exam with Highest Honors! I studied my ass off for this certification and I am thrilled with my results.

And, because I’d like to see others succeed, here are some tips that will hopefully help other students rock their Italian Wine Scholar Unit 2 exam (my Unit 1 exam tips can be found here):

1. Study the glossary!

There were several questions relating to these terms and I know I answered at least one of them incorrectly. Now I will never forget that Baglio is the name for a Sicilian farmhouse. (However, the degree to which this particular question relates to wine knowledge is debatable IMO . . .)

2. Memorize this equation: The percentage of the text dedicated to a region = the number of exam questions on that region.

This may seem obvious, but it will help you schedule your time more efficiently if you keep this in mind. You’re better off focusing a majority of your studies on Toscana, Sicilia and Campania than knowing all the little nuances of Molise or Basilicata. And besides – you can use my outlines as a good starting point for both of those regions! 😉

For me, I found it best to tackle a larger region over the course of a week and then follow this up with a day covering a smaller one. Being able to knock out a more minor region in such a short period gave me a much needed sense of accomplishment when I felt I was dragging. Which happened more than I’d hoped!

3. Read the answers carefully!

I know most people say read the question carefully, and clearly you should do that too, but Calabria and Campania were both options for a few questions. Maybe it’s just me, but throughout my Italian Wine Scholar studies I would get these two regions mixed up. Make sure you know which one you’re talking about!

4. If you don’t know the answer, move on and come back to it.

You very well may find a clue to the answer in a later question or something might trigger your memory. This happened to me with an exam question on Verdicchio – I skipped it and a question later in the exam helped me recall the answer. And don’t stress out too much if you have to temporarily skip a question – having an open and relaxed mind will make it easier for you to recall the information you need. (If that sounds like Headspace to you – it is! I always do a short meditation the day of an exam . . . consider that another study tip.) (Hubs note: With the dogs. She meditates with the dogs. I don’t even know how this is possible).

5. Don’t underestimate Sardegna.

I left Sardegna until last and, frankly, didn’t spend much study time on this region. I figured that since it was an island, and not even the most “important” one, that there wouldn’t be many exam questions related to it. However, I should have heeded my own advice above regarding “size of the chapter = exam importance” because based on this theory – about 8% of the exam questions would be related to Sardegna. And although I didn’t count, there probably did end up being somewhere between 7-9 questions on it. Thankfully, I read and reviewed Sardegna the morning of the exam so I was able to at least recall specifics relating to the island’s grape varieties.

And finally, this is not really a “tip” but something to keep in mind throughout your studies: enjoy learning. After over a year of being in the Italian Wine Scholar program, I am so thankful to have a better understanding of, and appreciation for, Italy. You don’t need a certificate or a pin to prove anything. But if you have one – be proud of it. I am!

Wine Education Classes: In Person vs. Self-Study

4 Feb 20193 Feb 2019Italian Wine Scholar, Wine Education, WSET14 Comments

Last year, I took the first of two exams to obtain the Italian Wine Scholar (IWS) certification through the Wine Scholar Guild. I’m scheduled to take the second exam in less than one week. Before enrolling in the IWS program, Italy was my Achilles heel of the wine world. But now that I’m nearing the end of the course, I can assuredly say that I have much better understanding of (and perhaps more importantly, appreciation for) Italian wines.

The Wine Scholar Guild gives students a couple of options for pursuing their Italian (or French, and soon to be Spain) Wine Scholar certifications. The first is through independent study and the other is by attending a series of classes in person. I did the first half (Northern Italy) through self-study. For the Central/Southern portion of the certification, I attended a weekend intensive course last month with The Wine and Spirit Archive in Portland, Oregon.

So I’ve experienced the best (and worst) of both options. And while I should be reviewing for my exam right now, instead I’m thinking about which route I preferred and would recommend to others pursuing one of these certifications – or really, any wine certification for that matter. Some people (Hubs) might call this procrastinating . . .

Honestly, there’s no one size fits all for wine education. It all depends on what you want to get out of the course – and how you, personally, study best.

Self- Study: Pros and Cons

The primary reason I opted for self-study for my first exam was, well, there were no classes offered anywhere near where we lived. So, needless to say, that was a pretty easy decision to make. Shortly after registering, I received the Northern Italy coursebook and access to the Wine Scholar Guild online materials – which includes webinars, quizzes and flashcards. After that, I was on my own.

Besides being able to attend class in your jammies, here are some benefits to self-study:

You’re in charge! With self-study, you get to move at your own pace, set your own schedule, and study sections in the order you choose. As such, this option might appeal more to those of us who can be (ahem) Type A personalities. For example, I jumped around instead of following the book chronologically. I wanted to get an “easy” region out of the way first so I could find my groove, so I started with Liguria. It’s a smaller region with only a handful of DOCs – plus I’ve actually visited Liguria, so I wasn’t starting with a completely blank slate. Additionally, self-study allowed me to accommodate my rather wacky schedule last year – which included moving a thousand miles away from my beloved Washington state and starting my WSET Diploma studies.

Fewer distractions outside your control. In class, there are other students asking questions, requesting the instructor repeat something for the umpteenth time, telling personal stories, spilling wine, etc. With self study, your focus is on you – nobody else.

However, my home situation is probably a lot different than most people’s. Hubs is at work and I have a couple of old dogs who sleep all day. That isn’t to say that both pups haven’t been wonderful study buddies. 🙂 But if you have a larger family, young kids, roommates, live in a noisy apartment, or have a husband who incessantly watches ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ at full volume – then an in-class experience might have fewer distractions for you. (Hubs Note: It’s one of the most intelligent shows on TV these days).

And now the downside of self-study . . .

Accountability and self motivation are necessities. If you don’t have both of these, you probably won’t succeed with self-study. I highly recommend creating a study schedule at the beginning of your course and sticking to it. This should be realistic roadmap of what you need to accomplish before the test date and take into account anything you already have scheduled that might detract (or distract) from studying: travel, work, family commitments, etc. You should plan to dedicate yourself to tackling a little bit (almost) every day – this exam is not something you can cram for.

Lack of Support System. With self-study, you’re on an island. You have your manual and online materials – but what if you have questions? Or just want to check with someone to make sure you’re on the right track? Or you want vent about how mind numbing it is that there are so many DOCs and sub-zones in Tuscany that sound the same: Montecarlo, Montecucco, Montalcino, Montalbano, Montespertoli – seriously?!

The Wine Scholar Guild has an online Instructor Q&A Forum – and from what I can tell, there is a pretty quick turnaround for responses. However, it also appears that this isn’t used very frequently (the last post was almost four months ago). With the in-class study route, you still have access to this Q&A Forum – plus your instructors from class as well as other students. And sometimes, just knowing there’s a wider safety net is comforting – even if you don’t need it.

In-Class Experience: Pros and Cons

As I mentioned, I flew to Portland a few weeks ago to attend a weekend long intensive course for the second half of the IWS certification which focuses on Central and Southern Italy. I was planning to continue with self-study, but after seeing that an in-class option was available and taught by two of my very favorite wine instructors – I knew I wanted to do this second part with them.

Mimi Martin was my WSET Level 3 instructor in 2017. For Level 3, being able to connect the dots between many different concepts is imperative to passing the exam. This wasn’t a memorize and regurgitate kind of thing – you needed to thoroughly understand the material and be able to explain your reasoning behind an answer. In classes, Mimi broke down all the required text into manageable sized sections that made it easier to understand the details – as well as to see the big picture. After passing Level 3 (with Distinction!) I started looking at wine in a whole new way – thanks in large part to Mimi.

I’d taken a couple classes with Tanya Morningstar Darling at Northwest Wine Academy when I lived in Washington. She has such a unique way of approaching wine education – seriously, she sometimes makes me feel like I’m combining my wine studies with meditation. Her teaching style eliminates much of the franticness of memorizing and cramming and leaves me with a true enjoyment of learning. (Did that sound as Zen as I think it did?) She recently started her own wine events and education business fittingly named Cellar Muse and if I’m ever back visiting while she has one of her classes in session, you can bet I’ll be there.

So, besides (hopefully!) having awesome instructors like I did, here are some other benefits to attending class in person:

Connecting with other students. When you’re part of a class, there’s often a sense of “we’re all in this together!” type of thing. You realize you’re not the only one frustrated or overwhelmed. My recent IWS class happened to be one of the most enjoyable classes I’ve ever been in. I got to know some wonderful people that I’d only “met” previously through social media and I also reconnected with a gal from my hometown that I’d known back in junior high. She’s now a winemaker – what a small world. I have no doubt that I’ll stay in touch with many of these future Italian Wine Scholars.

On the flipside, let’s be honest: you’re not always going to get a “dream class” of awesome students. There are plenty of irritating or know-it-all wine students and it’s quite likely one or more may be in your class. The degree to which they bother you depends on your tolerance level (undoubtedly higher than mine) and their specific behavior which, in my experience and to put in WSET terms, can range from:

Medium Minus: Mildly annoying – they chime in with every…single…little…aroma that they smell; to
Medium Plus: Rather obnoxious – they correct the instructor when she’s off by one kilometer on the distance between two villages in Burgundy; to
High: Infuriating, they claim to have passed the WSET Level 3 with Distinction without studying and condescendingly call the whole process “ridiculously easy.” (Yes, I’ve mentioned him before . . . clearly he grinds my gears. Thankfully, I’ve only “met” this type of student online).

Wine Tasting! This is a HUGE plus with the in-class route. You get to taste, evaluate and discuss a number of wines during class – which not only gives you a better overall sense of the region you’re currently studying, but also helps you continue to improve your tasting skills. During my weekend intensive class, we tasted almost 50 different wines over 3 days! Many of which I wouldn’t have been able to find in my area had I opted for self-study.

And now for the cons . . .

Intensity of Focus. These days, most of us aren’t used to sitting and focusing for hours at a time on our particular course of study. Going the classroom route requires lots of both – particularly if you enroll in a weekend intensive class like I did. My attention drifted off as the day went on as I started researching which food truck I was going to grab dinner at after class and how late Powell’s City of Books was open (FTR – 11pm).

My tasting notes also dropped in detail over the course of the day – from elaborate, several paragraph long descriptors of structure and aromas to “deep ruby, cherry and balsamic” near the end of the day. Plus my back hurt like hell. If you’re under 35 – you won’t understand. But someday you will. Just trust me – it sucks.

Tangents and Rabbit Holes. While in-class discussion can be interesting, it can sometimes be time consuming. For example, after reviewing the various biotypes of Sangiovese, my class got on the subject of clones. Which, although educational, wasn’t particularly relevant to the class at hand. And, after this discussion went down the proverbial rabbit hole, we ended up running out of time to thoroughly cover a few regions.

This invariably happens in every class, but is nonetheless frustrating if you’re not participating in the tangential discussion. So, if you’re the one continuing to burrow down the rabbit hole – take into account your fellow students and whether they’d truly like to be joining you there, or whether it would be best if you followed up with the instructor on your own time. Otherwise, you might end up on my WSET Irritation Scale above. 😉

And whether you’re opting for self-study or in-class, I’m hoping you’ll find these outlines on Marche and Basilicata helpful to your studies! Best of Luck!!

Italian Wine Scholar: One Exam Down, One Exam to Go!

4 Oct 2018Italian Wine Scholar, Italy2 Comments

This past Monday I (finally!!) took my first of two exams in pursuit of the Italian Wine Scholar certification. This first exam focused on the wine regions of Northern Italy, as well as general information about the entire country (history, geography, soils, viticulture, etc.). The second exam will be focused solely on Central and Southern Italy. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m tackling the IWS primarily because Italian wines are my Achilles heel and I’m going to need to know this country inside and out for my WSET Diploma studies.

Since I opted for self study as opposed to an instructor led course, I was scheduled to take the exam online where a proctor takes over my computer remotely (to ensure there aren’t any hidden notes to cheat with) and watches me via camera the entire exam. While learning the names of dozens of grapes I’d never heard of like Timorasso and Marzemino, and memorizing a myriad of DOCGs, DOCs and IGTs, might sound challenging – I think the most stressful part of the whole experience for me was setting myself up on Skype and Adobe Connect the day prior to the actual exam.

First, I accidentally called the proctor on Skype while sitting in front of my screen in . . . well, let’s just say I was wearing something that I wouldn’t wear out in public as I had just gotten up from a nap. Thankfully, she didn’t pick up – so I dodged that bullet. But then I DID somehow leave a recorded message where you can hear Hubs in the background yelling “[insert my very private petname here] what’re you doing?” and me responding dopily “oh, just trying not to make a complete ass of myself in front of my examiner! Tee-Hee!” (Yes, I actually did say TEE-HEE). I’m not sure if this message was deleted despite my best efforts. But at least my proctor was classy enough not to say anything to me about it the next day. (I think she was British, and thankfully they’re into etiquette and manners.)

Now that I’ve had a few days to reflect on my whole exam experience, besides not leaving the technical setup to the last minute, I’ve realized there are several things that I wish I would’ve done differently for my first exam. At least I’ve got a “second chance” (so to speak) with my second exam, which I’ll be tackling early next year. So I plan to follow these helpful tips:

1. 10 Months is Waaaaay Too Long to Spend Studying for this Exam! I started my Italian Wine Scholar self-study course back in January – TEN MONTHS AGO. While I’m not making excuses, I did get derailed by some pretty big life events since then: moving from my beloved Washington state to Southern California, starting my WSET Diploma classes, and learning that the upcoming season of The Walking Dead will be Rick Grimes’ last. However, even after taking all these factors in account, I still should have completed my IWS exam sooner. For the second IWS exam – I’m giving myself three months of study time: November through January. Take the exam in early February, and move on!

2. No Multi-Tasking! One Exam at a Time. I love multi-tasking – I get half as much done in twice as much time. And that was definitely the case here. I tried to study for the IWS and my WSET Unit 2 Diploma exam at the same time. That didn’t work overly well for my brain, so I thought I’d try it again (what’s the definition of insanity?) and study for the IWS and my WSET Unit 5 Diploma exam. Surprisingly, this wasn’t optimal either. I’ve learned my lesson: for the next month, I’m focusing solely on my Unit 5 studies until exam day (November 7th). After that, I’ll jump into IWS Central/Southern Edition.

3. Use the Wine Scholar Guild Online Materials. The Wine Scholar Guild online resources are a wealth of information that I just did not take enough advantage of for my first exam. There are practice quizzes, flashcards, maps and short overviews of each wine region – a wine geek’s dream! During the last week of my studies, I tried to frantically make my way through some of these – and I’m glad I at least did this as some of the questions from the practice quizzes were quite similar to those on my exam. (Those of you planning to take the IWS exams – make a mental note of this!)

4. Don’t Focus So Much on %s. I spent a lot of time and brain space memorizing the various %s of permissible grapes in certain blends. Now, I’m not going to say that there weren’t any questions on this, but certainly not as many as my studies would have warranted. I would have been better off focusing on major bodies of water and synonyms for Nebbiolo instead (another mental note!)

5. More drinking!! This one should be easy enough to do. During my studies, I did manage to go through several bottles of Italian wine – but there’s always room for improvement! When there was a question about these grapes or appellations on the exam, and I was confident of my answers – in part due to the fact that I’d previously sat down with a glass (or two, or three) of the wine.

So, now I’m going to put my IWS to rest for awhile. I’m heading off with Hubs to our first ever Wine Bloggers Conference this weekend! Stay tuned!

Editors Note: as I was putting the final touches on this post, I received this email from the Wine Scholar Guild with my exam results. Now I’m thinking I should just do everything the exact same way for my second exam!