15 nights in the Westin Excelsior

I'm finally actively improving my knowledge about wine by doing more than just quaffing noticeable quantities of the stuff. Tonight I started my sommelier course and so far so good! Held at the Westin Excelsior for a total of 15 weeks, the course is the first of 3 steps on the way to becoming a professional sommelier. The class was really interesting, and, although we were in 100+ people in the room, I managed to have a natter with the 2 guys either side of me – a gynaecologist and someone who used to be a waiter in a Cantine in Tuscany. After a lesson on how to hold the glass, what glasses to use for what, and how to use (or not) the corkscrew, it was time for the tasting. We sampled a champagne from a boutique French producer – toasty and smooth – a sweetish Italian white that would work like a chutney with cheese or salami – full of pineapples and bananas, just delicious, although I was missing a great piece of Parmeggiano or Pecorino to go with it – and a full-bodied red – from the Bolgheri vineyard, which smelt of cabernet and tasted of Merlot – full of stewed plums and raspberries. I have my blue leather Associazione Italiana Sommeliers wine glass box, with space for 3 glasses and the corkscrew, and 2 enormous books to study in Italian. So I look the part, even if I am not entirely sure of all of the descriptive words used by the teacher during the session. Next week, the biological side of wine producing, followed by tasting another 3 wines - surely my favourite bit of the lesson...