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Terroir in Napa Valley Wine: Fantasy vs Reality

by Deborah Bennett
IntoWine Founder Brad Prescott's 4 Reasons to Join the IntoWineClub:
4. Our wines are highly unlikely to be found in your grocery store's wine section.
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By nature, my mind has always rebelled against being force-fed facts like a goose whose ultimate destiny is foie gras.  But comes a time.....Comes a time when you need to prove you know the difference between your Charmat, Crémant and Charente...your Brouilly, Rully and brouillis...your Guyot, Grolleau and Grillo.  And evidently, for me, the time was now.

So.  30 hours of class, 105 hours of studying and 325 flash cards later, I've taken my first certification exam.  Those numbers strike me as being humorous, heroic and outrageous all at the same time -- which pretty much sums up my life since I moved to Napa Valley five months ago, so why should a certification exam be any exception?

I'll find out the results in a couple of months.  People ask, "Why will it take a couple of months?"  I personally no longer ask questions like that.  Because I'm getting certified.  And I'm no longer playing by the rules of my own game.  Not by any stretch of the imagination.  I don't even begin to ask why I need to know the answer to questions like, "What is the Bulgarian equivalent of the French quality classification "Appellation Contrôlée?"  The reason I need to know the answer to questions like that is clear.  It's because.  Just because.
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Comments

These are just the best posts! Thanks so much, Deborah.

Literally, about one hour ago, I applied for the first time to work in Napa, and realized that if some great twist of fate placed me in the Valley, I would be relocating lickety-split! That I happened onto your postings was a real boon. 

From what you say, I may be in an oddly good position for finding work, as I am relatively new to the industry and am only seeking out entry- or near-entry-level positions. (The one I applied for was in a visitors center, and my only other experience has been, indeed, in a tasting room--which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way:-))

Also, I am taking the Level 3 WSET exam in a couple of weeks, so I completely relate to your musings on needing to know certain facts: I find that I feel as if I am paying dues simply by forcing these things into my head! Ah, well--all in the pursuit of a different lifestyle, yes? I'll get there, I am certain, and perhaps we'll meet someday in that small world known as Napa.

Continued great fortune to you, and thanks again:

Sandy Robinson, Rochester, NY

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