All you need to know about great wine
Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher! - Japanese Proverb
Before my first winery job as a wine server, I studied and read about grapes, wines and vineyards for months.
Yet what really brought it all to life for me was standing in the middle of the Rolling Hills - Estate Vineyard at Leonesse Cellars with owner, Mike Rennie. With gritty, sandy-loam soil under our shoes and a warm summer sun reddening our faces, Mike explained with a passion root-stocks, clones, bi-lateral cordons, spurs and canopy management. In a short time I felt like a certified grape grower. I found myself quickly sharing this new-found knowledge with our winery guests. - Hats off to a Great Teacher!
Twenty years earlier I learned how to "taste" wine!
Shortly after my twenty first birthday, my Uncle Johnny took me to dinner in a Meditarranian cafe. He ordered White Zinfandel for me and Sangiovese for himself. An Italian wine connoisseur, Johnny carefully tipped the brick-red wine to the edge of his glass, analyzing the color and clarity over his linen napkin. Awe-struck, I watched as he raised his glass to the light, gazing into the liquid treasure as if it was a gem or a potential lover. As only a passionate Italian can do, he demonstrated the swirling of the wine, the chewing, the backwards whistle and the discussions and stories that follow a sip of great wine.
When I landed my current job as winery host and educator at Leonesse Cellars, these vivid memories came flooding back to me, expressing themselves in my personal passion for wine and an enthusiastic presentation reminicent of my Uncle's. - Hats off to another Great Teacher!
Research shows that 75% of what children learn comes from what they see their parents and teachers "doing."
As an adult still clinging to a childlike sense of wonder, I surround myself with passionate winemakers, oenologists and wine educators in wine-tastings, vineyard walks, workshops and dinners. At Leonesse Cellars I am always learning and eagerly passing on what I learn to others.
I always say, "Keep studying and keep reading and by all means, keep sipping great wines with great teachers!"
My current "Teacher/Mentors:"
Tim Kramer - Winer Maker , Leonesse Cellars
Mike Schnell - Oenologist, Leonesse Cellars
Dana Andrus - Wine Educator, Robert Mondavi Winery
Yet what really brought it all to life for me was standing in the middle of the Rolling Hills - Estate Vineyard at Leonesse Cellars with owner, Mike Rennie. With gritty, sandy-loam soil under our shoes and a warm summer sun reddening our faces, Mike explained with a passion root-stocks, clones, bi-lateral cordons, spurs and canopy management. In a short time I felt like a certified grape grower. I found myself quickly sharing this new-found knowledge with our winery guests. - Hats off to a Great Teacher!
Twenty years earlier I learned how to "taste" wine!
Shortly after my twenty first birthday, my Uncle Johnny took me to dinner in a Meditarranian cafe. He ordered White Zinfandel for me and Sangiovese for himself. An Italian wine connoisseur, Johnny carefully tipped the brick-red wine to the edge of his glass, analyzing the color and clarity over his linen napkin. Awe-struck, I watched as he raised his glass to the light, gazing into the liquid treasure as if it was a gem or a potential lover. As only a passionate Italian can do, he demonstrated the swirling of the wine, the chewing, the backwards whistle and the discussions and stories that follow a sip of great wine.
When I landed my current job as winery host and educator at Leonesse Cellars, these vivid memories came flooding back to me, expressing themselves in my personal passion for wine and an enthusiastic presentation reminicent of my Uncle's. - Hats off to another Great Teacher!
Research shows that 75% of what children learn comes from what they see their parents and teachers "doing."
As an adult still clinging to a childlike sense of wonder, I surround myself with passionate winemakers, oenologists and wine educators in wine-tastings, vineyard walks, workshops and dinners. At Leonesse Cellars I am always learning and eagerly passing on what I learn to others.
I always say, "Keep studying and keep reading and by all means, keep sipping great wines with great teachers!"
My current "Teacher/Mentors:"
Tim Kramer - Winer Maker , Leonesse Cellars
Mike Schnell - Oenologist, Leonesse Cellars
Dana Andrus - Wine Educator, Robert Mondavi Winery
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