All things wine and beautiful...

I'm studying at the moment. Well, not right now, although my text book is lying next to me, open as if the knowledge may be imparted by osmosis. Simply having it open implies that it's in use and hence, somehow, making it into my brain.

Now, I like telling people I'm studying. It's like when I first got reading glasses. People told me I looked clever. I only realised later it affirmed their belief that I was fast heading down the decline called "closer-to-40-than-20". But when I tell friends I can't come out to play and add in the reason: "I have to study," which is usually followed by a sigh, they immediately get all: "Oh! Wow! What are you studying?" I usually scoff (us clever people do that - we scoff. In a I'm-very-clever-to-be-studying-past-a-school-leaver's-age scoff-like way) and tell them that it's very intense. Lots of technical data, two exams a practical and a theory and I feel all so overwhelmed. I then scoff again (so clever!).

They usually sound appropriately impressed by my-oh-so-clever-decision-to-extend-my-knowledge-beyond-Britney-Spears.

"Yes, that's all very daunting clever one, but what are you actually studying," is often the persistent nag to take it further than me just being clever, to which I respond: "Wine."

And, while the response is usually a retraction of the impressed-ness and a more "oh dear, the silly boy hasn't realised that you just need to drink it" I do have to qualify my decision...

You see, studying wine has become a huge passion of mine. I cut my teeth as a writer for a magazine that focused on wine and food. The magazine gets sent out to members of a wine club (not an insignificant number) and I would read about all these wines that were described as having a delicious cat's pee aroma on the nose and feel quite confused. I even went to the tastings and was allowed to judge (although no one ever came to pick up my scores). This proved that I knew nothing about wine as each wine I rated with a firm twenty-out-of-twenty was proclaimed "baaaaaaaaaaaad" by the panel of old people. Some even told me the wine was corked.

While I never took my interest further I started to love drinking wine.

So I decided to join the Cape Wine Academy and did their first course. I'm now on the second tier and have, as I said, two exams. The first is about winemaking process, differences in varietals, viticulture, wine-growing regions, fortified wines, brandy and sparkling. It's massively technical but so interesting. Who knew that a simple glass of wine could hold so much value, depth and history. It's like travelling to a vineyard in a glass. Hence the fact that I don't drink wine from the Free State - who wants to go there?

My second exam is a tasting exam. Seven or so wines are placed before me and i have to judge the wines. I have no idea what they are and can only see that they are red or white. I then have to describe them, judge them and, in conclusion, identify if it is a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot (for example), tell the examiners what year it was produced, what alcohol content it has, name the region I think it was grown and take a stab at what producer it is.

Needless to say, I'm drinking, um, I mean tasting a lot more wine than usual and trying to study in between...

I'm thinking of starting a separate blog to this describing my wine adventures. Hmmm, I wonder if anyone would want to read that?