Tonight, I begin Unit 4 of the Diploma of Wine & Spirits. Unit 4 is comprised of Spirits of the World and will be presented over three Monday evenings, with a fourth devoted to a mock exam. The actual exam will be held on November 8, 2006.

This will be my third exposure to spirits, as this class of beverages was included in my two previous certificates. Interestingly, the Society of Wine Educators does not include spirits in any of its exams (at least, to date). I do think it is very useful to know and understand these liqueurs and other alcoholic beverages, as they do play an important role in the marketplace.

A large part of the exam is a blind tasting of three spirits. Accordingly, students are advised to taste beyond the samples provided in class. A group of us will meet directly after class tonight to begin our extra-curricular tasting and, after a flurry of e-mails, will have a fair number of spirits represented.

I look forward to continuing my exploration in the world of spirits.

In case you needed to add to your wine credentials, APCOR, a consortium representing the cork industry, has just launched its Cork Certification Course. As noted in their press release, APCOR is looking to improve its image with consumers and update them with regard to recent changes in technology.

The cork industry has really suffered lately, as faulty corks have continually been blamed for much, if not all, of the problems encountered with trichloroanisol (TCA). Wine contaminated with TCA gives off a musty odor and is considered faulty.  As noted previously, reports of cork failure have been as high as 12%, depending upon to whom you speak.

In an effort to assure consumers that cork still remains the single best wine stopper, APCOR has launched a series of advertisements and has enlisted Lisa Airey of the Society of Wine Educators to serve as a spokesperson. The new website and cork certification appear to be another component of their marketing efforts.

The site itself is fairly straightforward, highlighting the history of cork as well as recent advances in the manufacture of wine corks. The text lauds the naturalness of cork and attempts to tug at heartstrings in relating the ecological benefits of cork, namely serving as a habitat for the nearly extinct Iberian lynx, among other fauna.

To become certified, one must complete a set of twenty-five multiple choice questions, with a goal of scoring 80% or better. After reading through the website, I successfully scored a 96%, earning my new title as a Certified Cork Expert. Now, all I need is a larger business card to fit all of my credentials.

If you browse through a catalog such as Wine Enthusiast’s retail arm, there is a dizzying array of wine accessories. While many of these are fun to look at, it is not necessary for the average wine consumer to stock up on all of them. Unless you are buying a gift for a friend, you can keep things simple.

For most people, a trusty corkscrew will suffice. Unless you only drink wines under screw cap or crown cap (although it is getting easier to do so), you will need a cork screw. There are various models available from fancy counter-top options to the very basic waiter style openers.  I find that I am very pleased with a heavy duty waiter style corkscrew with a serrated knife attached. The knife is helpful in cutting the foil from the bottle.

I have been less happy with the stand alone foil cutters I have purchased in the past. They have either cut through the foil insufficiently or have done so at too high a point on the neck (I prefer to remove the foil below the lip of the bottle so that the wine doesn’t come into contact with the metal) . Hence, I have stopped using them altogether. Also, in many cases, you can slide the foil off the neck in one piece, making it even simpler.

Once the wine is opened, you’ll need some wine glasses and here I would recommend making an investment in crystal. One doesn’t need to purchase a myriad of different size stemware, but the use of a crystal-grade wine glass can enhance your enjoyment of the wine. Both Spigelau and Riedel make glasses at the lower-end of the spectrum, priced at about $10 per stem. An all-purpose glass will hold you in good stead for nearly all wines, with the exception of sparkling wines.

Beyond the corkscrew and glasses, most people don’t really need anything else. So you can save your pennies for buying wine instead.

This past weekend I had the good fortune to teach our From Vine to Wine class in the great outdoors, next to a beautiful vineyard at Vineyard 48. At the end of the class presentation, we were able to bring the participants into the vineyard to witness veraison.

Veraison is the point in the grape’s development when it begins to ripen and take on color. Prior to veraison, all of the grapes in the vineyard are green. Once veraison starts, the red varieties take on their various shades of red, while the white varieties turn more golden in color. This photo perfectly captures this process in action as the grapes shift from green to red and both colors are visible on the vine and, as shown here, even within the same bunch.

As the summer eeks out its last days and we move into fall, the ripening will continue. The sugar levels within the grapes will continue to increase as the acid levels fall. Moreover, the phenolic compounds — tannins and anthocyanins — will develop during this period. Both sugar level and phenolic ripeness are important in determining when the grapes will be ready to harvest.

When these two qualities are in proper alignment, as determined by the winemaker and vineyard manager, harvest will commence with the grapes brought in from the vineyard and into the winery where art and science combine to craft a wonderful wine. I can hardly wait.

Yesterday, I attended a symposium on Understanding Regional Identity through Wine Styles. Presented through the Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and sponsored by several local winery and industry organizations, the program centered around Mary Ewing-Mulligan, MW and Ed McCarthy’s new book, Wine Styles.  In addition to hosting these authors, the symposium featured Collin Alevas of The Tasting Room restaurant and Jean-Luc Le Du of Le Du’s Wines.

After a brief welcome and introduction by Larry Perrine of Channing Daughters, Mary kicked off the event with a discussion on the need to approach wines through a new lens. Previously, wine has been parsed by region, grape variety and score, but none of these options lends itself well to the average consumer. If, instead, we group wines by their overall style, such as fresh, unoaked whites or spicy reds, we can empower the consumer to trust his/her palate and encourage a diversity of wine tastes. Mary and Ed’s premise and fuller conversation bring up a number of important points, which will be examined further at another time. For now, it is sufficient to note the relevance of their remarks to promoting diversity in wine styles by giving people permission to like whatever style of wine their palate prefers, removing the element of judgement or a sense of right and wrong.

The program continued with a presentation by Collin on the selection of wines for his restaurant, which exclusively offers American wine. He provided the participants with an opportunity to taste two wines — a unique CA Pinot Noir, with a cloudy appearance and interesting story as well as a WA Nebbiolo. Overall, his message was that of the need to tell stories about wines to engage consumer interest and sell wine. After a lively interaction, the group broke for lunch, during which participants had the chance to taste through wines from Channing Daughters, Raphael and those poured during the earlier tasting exercises.

Resuming in the afternoon, Jean-Luc shared his experience in the wine trade, first in his role of sommelier at Daniel restaurant and now in the context of a wine shop owner. He spoke about the difference inherent in Collin’s life — the restaurant customer is a captive audience — compared to his, whereby the retail customer can comparison shop (moreso than ever with the Internet) and his inability to be there when they open the bottle.

As a final installment to the day, Ed led a roundtable discussion of the panel, with Collin replaced by Richard Olsen-Harbich of Raphael, given his early departure. The participants were eager to ask questions of all panel members and many interesting discussions took place regarding wine styles and other wine topics. Overall, it was a very productive conference, as the wine industry came together to both explore and share many ideas about the world of wine. All in all, a definite class act.