In 2009 I retired from 25 years in the military, packed 2 suitcases, and moved into a tiny apartment in Tuscany. Soon I would be immersed in a year-long professional Wine Studies and Enology program that would change the way I lived my life – and tasted wine – forever.
The first words out of my wine teacher’s mouth were, “Here in Tuscany, we live the wine.” And live the wine we did. The school was more than just lectures and hours spent in wine labs learning to see, smell, swirl, sip & summarize. We visited wineries, met some of the world’s greatest wine makers, harvested Sangiovese in the vineyards of Chianti Classico, and interned in enotecas and with sommeliers at VinItaly. We studied everything from Food and Wine Pairing to Viticulture, Wine Marketing, Wine Making to Beverage Service and Management. It was an education of many dimensions, and one that couldn’t be gained solely in a classroom.
Wine and culture were my assignments and I took them seriously. I was more than happy to taste as much extra credit as a woman in her early 40s – now free to explore life outside a regimented box – living in Tuscany could. It was as if my life was lighter, simpler, yet more rich and delicious than it had ever been. Living on less than half of the income of just a year before, I found my new life as a wine student yielded a million times more happiness and appreciation for life and the short time we are given to really taste and savor it.
I would return to Italy in the fall of 2010 to study advanced Italian and present a book project on Tuscan wines, ironically called “Living the Wines: Beyond the Books.” I proposed the title at my teacher’s house the night before midterms over a bottle of 1964 Margaux, based on the multidimensional lessons gifted to each of the wine professional students present that evening. The title stuck, although the book, my capstone project I took on as an alternative to working in an enoteca, fell through. However, most of the text now being used as a course pack for Tuscan Wine lectures. It feels amazing to have contributed to the body of wine knowledge in which other thirsty wine students are right now currently immersing themselves.
Later that fall I continued on to Southern France to attend another International Culinary Academy to study French wines and the French language. By the end of 2010 it was formulating in my mind wine education was definitely my passion and I wanted to share it with those who wanted to learn. I would continue to seek out programs that scratched that proverbial itch. If travel to more of the world’s greatest wine regions must be endured, well, I’d just have to suffer through them – one glass at a time.
Five years later I decided to formally hang my shingle and open Vino with Val, LLC, an education and professional tasting service in Colorado Springs. Through this service I continue to share life lessons through speaking engagements, and wine lessons in corporate and private venues. As a former fitness instructor and someone with a prolific background in briefing, narrating, and public speaking, I find it much more natural with a wine glass in one hand.
Through my studies I met an amazing group of people – primarily through the Society of Wine Educators. Upon attending my first conference in 2014 in Seattle, my newfound “wine tribe” made me feel like I’d found my wine home.
Then came the podcasts. First there was Wine Two Five. It was launched with a super fun friend and fellow Certified Wine Educator in April of 2015. Though we ended the show’s production in 2019, our greatest pleasure was found in our weekly Skype/recording sessions, and the interactions with the global community of wine lovers and friends who are all sharing in the exploration and adoration of wine.
In addition to Wine Two Five, the Wine Scholar guild asked me to step in and help with their new podcast series. I cannot even begin to describe the joy of working with some of the world’s foremost wine writers, educators, and sommeliers to create in-depth content for other wine lovers and learners.
Upon ending Wine Two Five, I knew that creating fun, informative content was still an itch that needed to be scratched. Although I’d been blogging since 2009, there was something about the podcasting space that I loved. In creating the Glass In Session® Winecast I was returning to my origins of creating content that was still important to me, but from a much more personal perspective. I view this new undertaking as an “audio blog” of sorts, an homage to my original blog of snark and adventure, Living out of the Box. The premise is an exploration of unusual aspects of wine and spirits from the perspective of those elements that make the beverage unique: an historical fact, an obscure grape, the winemaking process, style or origin of the beverage.
The Glass in Session® Winecast is an (mostly – minus the swears) unfiltered, unadulterated look at the world of wine and spirits through a creative lens, including a pour of silliness – because I can’t help myself. Wine should be fun in my world, and Glass in Session® is the manifestation of the full-time wine and personal journey that began a decade before the show’s launch.
I thank you for being here, sharing my passion for wine learning, and look forward to sharing a glass with you soon! Salute/Sante’/Cheers ~
Valerie
