It is Friday morning and I’m sitting in a hotel conference center staring down eight imposing wine glasses. Despite the early hour and my jetlag, I am eager to learn about the wines in front of me. Yes, I know, for most people, drinking wine at 8:00 AM would indicate a problem, but I assure you, I am a trained professional.

As a member of the Society of Wine Educators, I have traveled to Eugene, Oregon to attend the annual conference and update my wine knowledge. Over the course of three days, I see much more of the hotel than the city itself, attending eleven educational seminars, an International Wine Tasting and the awards dinner. While a few of the seminars do not provide a tasting component, most do, averaging six to eight glasses each. One or two presenters even break the ten wine limit that had been mandated.

The session starts and the presenter regales us with stories on how the grapes in our glasses got their names. We are also provided with information on the twenty wine regions within Italy and the laws that govern the production of wine there. Her PowerPoint display is filled with breathtaking views of the various vineyards from which these wines come. Thirty minutes later, we commence with tasting. Concurrently, we are given specific details on the wines such as grape varieties, fermentation vessels and ageing length, among others.

With one’s palate at its peak in the morning, drinking this early is actually beneficial to the learning process. I pull the first glass toward me and tilt it over the white placemat to view the wine’s color and intensity. Next, I swirl the glass on the table to release its aromas and take a big sniff, carefully noting the scents I identify on my tasting sheet. I then take a sip of wine and swish it around my mouth, paying close attention to the sensations the wine produces in terms of its sweetness, acidity, structure and flavors. These, too, are noted on my sheet and then I pull a paper cup to my mouth and spit. Yes, it sounds, at best, un-ladylike and at worst, quite disgusting, but, with three more sessions, a lunch sponsored by Wines of Spain and tonight’s dinner all still ahead, I need to stay clearheaded and keep my palate sharp in order to give the eighth wine, and even the twenty-eighth wine, my full attention.

We finish tasting through all of the wines as the presenter wraps up her discussion. The last wine is a favorite of mine and though I am reluctant, this too is spat into the cup. On the way out, I pause to reconnect with a woman I met at last year’s conference and then meet up with another colleague who has attended a session on the globalization of wine. We briefly compare notes and head off to learn more. By the end of the weekend, I am exhausted, but, I hope, all the wiser.