Wine competitions are a sport, right?

We’ve all heard of wine competitions right? In one of my earliest Weekly Blogs, I shared a secret confession with you – I’m uber competitive, but mostly with myself! So it probably will not surprise you I’m going to compare wine to sports! What the heck, has she lost her mind? She is a true nerd. Dumb, just dumb.

Don’t worry, if you’re thinking it, I could have predicted your response! My premise, however, is not about competing against another wine team or sommelier or wine nerd, it’s how you prepare to have a great game or match just as you prepare to have a great wine experience!

Take any sport – golf, tennis, pole vaulting, gymnastics, cheerleading, football (American or European) – while anyone can put on the right outfit or equipment and give it a go, there’s a very high probability, ok 99.9999999% chance, that their first attempt will not be hugely successful. Instead, when we make a decision to try a sport at any age, we start with the basics, the foundation, the rules, the language. Handling the equipment correctly. Holding the racket, ball or club. Positioning your body in the right way.

The list of details goes on and on and on. Only those who make a commitment to build upon a solid foundation can really experience all a sport has to offer and may ultimately rise to the top of their chosen sport, even win a few medals, trophies or championships.

Wine certifications are their own form of wine competitions.

When it comes to wine, building a solid foundation of wine knowledge, learning a common wine language and trying as many different styles, varietals and regions translates exactly the same as learning a sport. 30 – Love. If you know tennis, you know this is a score. Birdie, Par, Bogie, Eagle. You golfers out there know these terms well.

At first they may have seemed like a foreign language, but your foundational learning of the sport transitioned these terms to common knowledge. Same goes for wine! The more you learn, the more you’ll appreciate the nuances the world of wine has to offer and by learning the language, wine will be less scary and less like being dropped off in a foreign country without a single clue as to how to speak the language! Wine is a sport and I’m committed to becoming an expert in my field!!! Who wants to be on my team?!