Winners for the Spanish Wine Certification Course Are…

June 29, 2009

By Gabriella Opaz on Wednesday, 24 June 2009. Catavino.net

Although we may have “eluded” to the fact that we were going to choose a single winner for each city the Certified Spanish Wine Course will be held, we’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and thanks to the gracious offer from The Wine Academy of Spain we are able to offer all those who submitted an entry a chance to take the course! Which means, that each one of these fabulous winners will given a 3 day course jam-packed with information on Spanish wine for free!

What’s so great about this scenario is that the information they’ll be given will only be the icing on the cake, because all of these winners are either head-over-heels in love with Spanish wine or have a profound curiosity already, making their attendence one of passion, rather than one of convincing.

And to be quite honest, I’m incredibly envious of their prize, because despite the fact that I live in Iberia and have the ability to speak with winemakers whenever I need to, there is something wonderful about sharing your learning with other like-minded students in a formal classroom. Plus, their teachers are completely immersed in both the culture and the field itself, providing them with a priceless resource to take advantage of. What we’ve learned, like the Spanish language, has come purely from our everyday life experiences, rather than from a pedegogical experience. Granted, both ways of learning are equally valid, but a classroom can provide a strong foundation to build upon, unique onto itself. And with any luck, we’ll all benefit from their learning as they wax on in their blogs about the: major Spanish appellations, various micro-climates, vastly different soils, rich and dramatic history, unique wine styles, and of course, native grape varieties - a favorite topic of mine!

With that, we give all of these winners a huge congratulations and wish them all the luck in the world as they embark on an exciting summer course. If only all things in life were this much fun! Please be sure to click through to their sites and read about why they want to learn about Spanish wine!