The Society of Wine Educators’ Certified Wine Educator (CWE) exam is fast upon me. I am retaking the varietal blind tasting portion again after failing to succeed last year.

With the exam taking place on October 16 in D.C., I am ramping up my studies and trying to hone my blind tasting skills. It is a challenge. I have some great moments and then others when I identify wines so completely inaccurate that I am embarrassed. The good news is that my husband has noted that some of these wines (likely due to the inexpensive nature of them) are atypical for their variety or origin, further complicating my task.

Of course, no one likes to fail. But, I feel the pressure even more keenly given the expense of the re-take fee plus the roundtrip train fare on Amtrak. The bright spot is that I am having lunch with my friend and fellow wine educator, Heather, who lives in the Metro D.C. area.

I did correctly identify all four white wine samples yesterday, so perhaps I am getting better. Only two more study days to go.