VIA in NYC

This past weekend, I spent time in New York City in order to attend the annual Vinitaly.USA expo, and more specifically, the Italian wine academy (VIA) course that is part of the Vinitaly program. This is my second attempt at this certification, and I am pleased to share that it went much better this time around.

So, a quick overview of the VIA course. This is the course and exam taken to achieve the Italian Wine Ambassador title. The majority of the course is done ahead of time online (dozens of hours of video and audio guide covering every major region in Italy along with key history and genetic information). The focus of the course is largely on Italian native grapes, of which there are hundreds, sometimes told through the lens of regions and appellations. The course covers eveyrthing from ancient history, climate, soils, culture, food pairings, and more, with the goal of educating well rounded ambassadors that can share the joys of Italian wine with trade and consumers. The main text book is Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0, if anyone is interested in seeing the depth and breadth of the materials. Prior to the in-person course, students also prepare a short group video on an assigned topic to demonstrate their ability to communicate. The in-person portion focuses on tasting, often allowing participants to try wines that are hard to find in their home markets. The tasting is led by Sarah Heller, MW, who has wonderful visual descriptions of wine. Finally, it concludes with an exam -- a blind tasting, short essay section, and 100 multiple choice questions.

As I mentioned, this past weekend was my second attempt at this beast of an exam. Last fall I went to Chicago for the in-person portion; Vinitaly USA was held at Navy Pier previously. I signed up, kind of on a whime because I was awarded a scholarship through my beloved Les Dames d'Escoffier, with about 5 weeks of study time and honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into! The experience opened my eyes to the huge expanse of Italian native grapes. I passed every section except for the multiple choice (you guys, I cannot emphasize enough the difficulty of these 100 questions). If you recall, I'd just recently received that year's MW results and decided to defer for the year, so I was feeling over all down about my abilities and chance for success in the realm of wine certifications. While I put it on the back burner for a bit, passing the VIA exam became more important to me than I ever thought it would be.

Which brings us to this year. Now I work for a winery that important Italian wine, and the Italian Wine Ambassador credential has become even more relevant to my life and career. I was honored to receive yet another scholarship to attend the course (this time from Women for Winesense) and I knew I bit more about what I was signing myself up for this go-around. It was a lovely time to be in NYC (You've Got Mail fans, say it with me: "Don't you just love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies.") Post exam, I enjoyed some shopping (well, browsing, not buying) at Saks Fifth Avenue and had a fantastic lunch at Angelina Paris. The course was as grueling as I remembered, but I was better prepared. I'm also working on the Italian Wine Scholar credential through the Wine Scholar Guild, which has a lot of crossover information -- the two programs complement each other nicely -- which helped, too. I left the exam feeling pretty good about the tasting and short answer sections, and better (but not confident) about the multiple choice.

To prepare, I focused largely on the theory side, rather than tasting. I have tasted many Italian wines through my WSET and MW studies, plus I genuinely enjoy them, so I often reach for an Italian wine to simply drink. I did watch the VIA videos on the tasting and listen to the podcasts provided by Sarah to refresh my memory -- their grid is very similar to WSET, with a few notable differences to make it more specific to Italian wines. Additionally, the identification is only worth a few points, whereas correctly identifying acid, color, quality, etc. is more important, which I felt fairly confident about anyway. I also knew from previous experience that the first day of the program would be spent tasting and calibrating with Sarah. Instead, I put my energy into the theory, which is a lot. I watched the videos and took notes, and then transcribed them into Quizlet for review. I also read/listened to/watched other resources to help reinforce the information, but they are clear that all questions are drawn directly from the Unplugged text, so don't get yourself confused between multiple sources.

Finally it was time for the pinning ceremony, where awards and new Italian Wine Ambassadors are announced. Well, not to brag, but...I ended up on the stage three times that evening! Our group won the award for the best video project (largely due to my co-horts and their wonderful delivery and editing skills). But then, I also won for best blind tasting (!!!). And thankfully, I received my pin, meaning I'd passed the exam and am now an Italian Wine Ambassador. This meant so much on several different levels. Of course, I was relieved to have passed and was gratified for the time and effort I'd put into studying. More so, though, this was the first wine exam I'd passed in awhile, and to have done extra well was extremely gratifying. I can still taste well, I do still possess those skills that helped me be so success during the WSET Diploma and MW Stage 1. As I prepare to leap back into MW Stage 2 and head to the seminar in February, this reassurance could not have come at a better time -- this was a confidence boost that I desperately needed, and it feels a bit like coming back into myself. Where have I been for the last two years? Lost, I suppose, and buried under grief and stress and depression and anger and mislaid obligations and a whole myriad of negative feelings. Anyway, its good to be back, and I hope to milk this feeling for as long as I can.

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Myself and Natalie Travis, fellow video project group member and Women for WineSense scholarship receiver, following the awards and pinning ceremony -- you can just see the joy and relief on our faces. And of course, hot chocolate at Angelina -- just like being in Paris, non?

Currently listening to: Bon Iver radio. It is just so atmospheric.

Currently drinking: chai tea lattes, as I try to check off my fall bucket list.

Oh, and here's the official press release -- congrats to all my fellow new IWAs!