When I attend one event, I’m invariably drawn into more fascinating things in the making. This story is one of them. I recently got to see Deborah Parker Wong at a Petaluma Gap Wine Growers Alliance tasting. This is her story.

SIDEBAR: My blog also serves the public, besides delivering wine info. Having been in FM radio and keeper of the public file, public service has become a big part of who I am, as well as the writer/publicist. This is why I take time to advocate for others in my field. It’s a big field and it’s filled with marvelous people.

Deborah Parker Wong is today’s wine educator you should get to know

From her Website, because I can’t condense this any better than she has:

Deborah Parker Wong, DWSET  (Wine & Spirit Education Trust with Distinction) is an opinion-leading communicator, journalist and author who specializes in the wine and spirits industries. As Global Wine Editor for m-dash Publishing’s The Tasting Panel, SOMM Journal and Clever Root  magazines, she writes monthly industry columns and reports on the global wine and spirits industries with an emphasis on technology and trends. She is the co author of “1000 Great Everyday Wines” and contributes thought-provoking content to industry trade publications including the former Vineyard and Winery Management Magazine, Spirited and Drinks Business which you will find posted to her archive site www.deborahparkerwong.com.

Deborah has an upcoming class on Hybrid Wine Faults.

I seem to have wine faults on my brain lately, as do others. It’s not the sexiest wine topic, but it’s a critical one. When you study this one, your entire wine experience is taken to a new level.

Hybrid Wine Faults class debuts at Cabrillo College

Wine Faults CAHM 133 is a hybrid, online class that will meet the first week of school (August 29) and the last week of school (December 19). The lectures by Deborah Parker Wong are delivered on the Zoom platform, and the faults tasting kits will be given to students on the first week of school. You’ll learn about common wine faults, why they occur, and in some cases, how to correct them. No more wondering what is wrong with your wine, you’ll have to tools to identify the problems.

To register as a student at Cabrillo College, go to www.cabrillo.edu. If you have any questions, please contact Sue Slater at suslater@cabrillo.edu

 

I highly recommend this class

I’ve taken a similar one, which has to do with wine flaws, how to know them, so you can recognize them and take advantage of upping all of your wine experiences.

When traveling on wine business to outlying areas, I’d ask for a specific wine, knowing full well it was going to be up for my inspection, first. If it showed any flaw I was “on it” as a teachable moment. Questions like, “How long has this bottle been open?” Or, “Do you know what TCA is?” Teachable; and, then I’d wax poetic.

If you don’t have this wine flaw tool in your tool box, you owe it to your palate and wine tasting education. Why? To better love wines from around the world, and know what’s right and what’s not. Brett is Brett, TCA is TCA, oxidized wine is just that – and you need to know them, so you can avoid a wine some people ask to have returned for a fresh glass.

By the way, for any neophytes: If you ask for a Pinot Noir, but you decide that you don’t like Pinot Noir; this is not a wine flaw, it’s a taste decision. Please don’t send it back. A restaurant is not a tasting room. You’re welcome.

And, how many glasses of wine does it take to have paid for the bottle in full? Yeah, one – maybe two. You can have another glass. The wine shop or the restaurant will return it to the wholesaler for reimbursement. It might even make its way back to the winery. It’s win-win for everyone. Even a winery wants to know if something has gone bump in the night.

More about Deborah from her Website

In addition to her work as a journalist, Deborah is an adjunct professor in the wine studies program at Santa Rosa Junior College and offers private certification courses as an approved program provider for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. She presents tastings and educational seminars to trade and consumer audiences and judges several wine competitions each year. She holds the Wine and Spirits Education Trust Diploma, is a member of the London-based Circle of Wine Writers and the California Teachers’ Association. Prior to her career as a journalist, Deborah co-directed The Medialink Group, a public relations and strategic marketing agency serving high-technology and luxury consumer goods clients.