Hi, my name is Julie, I’m a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) and sometimes I really suck at assessing wine. I have a lot of good days but have equally bad days where I get nothing but cherry in my red wine – #basic.
I love the days when I’m “on.” I sniff and sip and conjure up all sorts of cool adjectives, analogies and stories to paint the perfect picture of what I’m experiencing. Writing or talking about wine on those days is downright gratifying. Other days, I am obligated to assess wine and can only come up with “it’s good” (or bad). I’ve taken classes, read books, drank a lot of wine for many years and know typical characteristics of grapes and regions but have days where I am one of the dumber people in the wine world.
So why confess my deficiency? Because I know I am not alone. I know some professionals suffer in silence over their bad days. I know there are many others who may not want to confess inadequacy in this competitive wine world. To all of you, I’m saying, “It’s okay to not nail it everyday.” Let’s not lose sight of the passion behind wine making and the reason for it’s existence. Wine is not just a topic to be studied so one has knowledge to spew at a moment’s notice. Wine is a pleasure, it is social, it is unifying and best of all, magical at making memories…even when you can’t eloquently describe what the heck you’re drinking!
by 
