In November 2012, I completed my Advanced level WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) education and started the Purple Teeth blog. Now it's November 2013, I simply cannot believe the year of wine and travel I've had. Nor could I believe being on of the top performing graduates, invited to participate in a scholarship contest. Not a bad result considering the age at which I've taken up a life in wine.
Warning! This post is nostalgic and self indulgent. Look away now if you've religiously read all blog posts in the last year.
Warning! This post is nostalgic and self indulgent. Look away now if you've religiously read all blog posts in the last year.
A prayer board from a shrine in Kyoto. I'm definitely living the adventure!
Dance shoes and dim sum - a good excuse to visit Hong Kong I want to capture the last year in one place so that I can remind myself just how lucky I am. I'm so grateful to have experienced all that I have, and there is just so much more to learn, do and see when it comes to wine and spirits. My next challenge is generating enough income from my wine exploits to keep learning, exploring and sharing my knowledge and passions with you...
I started with travel to Hong Kong - a trip to see one of my oldest friends & a chance to explore whether selling dance shoes would keep my finances afloat. The dance shoe idea fell by the wayside, but I discovered The Flying Winemaker, had my first taste of Gimblett Gravels wine, explored a million dim sum, tasted the best Peking duck in Hong Kong and decided my favourite tea is Dong Ding Oolong. It was here also, that a Chinese fortune teller advised me that the year ahead would be "very good year" and filled with lots of singing, drinking, dancing and parties. I don't think a year has ever been so accurately predicted by the fortune sticks!
I started with travel to Hong Kong - a trip to see one of my oldest friends & a chance to explore whether selling dance shoes would keep my finances afloat. The dance shoe idea fell by the wayside, but I discovered The Flying Winemaker, had my first taste of Gimblett Gravels wine, explored a million dim sum, tasted the best Peking duck in Hong Kong and decided my favourite tea is Dong Ding Oolong. It was here also, that a Chinese fortune teller advised me that the year ahead would be "very good year" and filled with lots of singing, drinking, dancing and parties. I don't think a year has ever been so accurately predicted by the fortune sticks!
Dong Ding Oolong tea, my Chinese Fortune, carving my Peking Duck at the table
December was the usual whirl of parties, expensive meals with friends, drinking at home, even more ridiculously expensive meals with friends, and finally a new year celebration that was all about dancing as over 200 international West Coast Swing dancers congregated on the Radisson at Heathrow for New Year's Swing Fling. I am planning to repeat the experience again this year.
There was plenty to blog about in January too, with trips toIceland - where beer was more of a local specialty than wine - as well as some amazing dancing and vodka drinking (as well as wine) in Budapest. This trip had much more of an effect on the wine year ahead than I could have ever expected...
There was plenty to blog about in January too, with trips toIceland - where beer was more of a local specialty than wine - as well as some amazing dancing and vodka drinking (as well as wine) in Budapest. This trip had much more of an effect on the wine year ahead than I could have ever expected...
Iceland and Budapest - cold places to choose in January but very warming experiences
The bonnie banks of Loch Lomond February continued with delicious and wine-filled lunches with friends, a trip home to Scotland to visit the family and do some more dancing. My mum finally got the chance to cheer me on in a dance contest. There was also much wine tasting with friends at another dance event in Southport and a realisation that running wine tasting events was how I'd really like to bring my passion for wine to you, even more than blogging. It did seem that life was simply too much fun with drinking, dancing and partying to put too much thought into a business plan. I may be slightly regretting that now as I see the dwindling nature of my bank balance, but on the other hand, it has been an amazing year!
Sampling Serbian Wines with customers in Marlow and Willamette Pinot Noir March saw another epic tasting event, "Spain versus the rest of the world" hosted at The Copse - a lovely English country house available for hire in the countryside near Henley. In fact, I was there again this week running another event with a few less wines but no less fun. It was possibly the first and last month that "wine of the week" ran every consecutive week of the month - beginner's enthusiasm?
I also found myself doing some market research at Alfred the Grape in Marlow for the DiBonis Serbian winery. Strange things really were happening to me since taking up blogging.
The big event in March though, was my trip to dance in the USA. Washington DC also hosted a visit from my Oregon based friend whom I hadn't seen in many years, and allowed us to indulge in many delightful meals, wines and more wines with the odd cocktail thrown in. It was here that I fell in love with Viognier from Virginia and Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley. They aren't the kind of wines you'll find in the supermarket, but they are worth seeking out if you want to see what America has to offer outside of California. Of course, California has some excellent wines, being the world's 4th largest wine producing "country", but these gems offer something that's not been (perhaps over-) ripened in the California sunshine. Hopefully I'll be able to visit Oregon in the next year to sample many more fabulous wines and keep my friend connection going.
I also found myself doing some market research at Alfred the Grape in Marlow for the DiBonis Serbian winery. Strange things really were happening to me since taking up blogging.
The big event in March though, was my trip to dance in the USA. Washington DC also hosted a visit from my Oregon based friend whom I hadn't seen in many years, and allowed us to indulge in many delightful meals, wines and more wines with the odd cocktail thrown in. It was here that I fell in love with Viognier from Virginia and Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley. They aren't the kind of wines you'll find in the supermarket, but they are worth seeking out if you want to see what America has to offer outside of California. Of course, California has some excellent wines, being the world's 4th largest wine producing "country", but these gems offer something that's not been (perhaps over-) ripened in the California sunshine. Hopefully I'll be able to visit Oregon in the next year to sample many more fabulous wines and keep my friend connection going.
Blues dancing in a brewery April's drinking (and dancing) highlight was undoubtedly another trip to Glasgow and featured dancing in the West micro-brewery although looking back on my photos, I see that I also managed to sit outside and enjoy a delicious Gewrztraminer from Alsace (one of my favourite wines) - a gift from a dancer. Dancing and drinking have clearly become inextricably linked! I was definitelyloving life, living it large and savouring the freedom from Corporate Shackles. Being able to travel and dine in lovely venues now seemed like the life I was born to live, but someone really needed to tell the folks at National Savings & Investments this, as I've still not had that Million Pound Premium Bond prize I'm relying on to continue this wonderful life... So, I studied for my licensing qualification to enable me to start seriously marketing my tasting events.
Nihonshu offerings at a shrine in Tokyo Immediately after receiving my license, adventures in alcohol, gratitude, exploration and living it large continued in May when I fulfilled a long held ambition to visit Japan. I discovered Umeshu (Japanese plum wine which has more in common with sloe gin than true wine) and Saké (Japense rice wine, more correctly known as Nihonshu, that's actually closer in production to beer) as well as Japanese beer, whisky and yes, actual grape wine. The trip featured more than just alcohol and was undoubtedly one of the major highlights of my year, if not my life. The food experiences were weird and wacky, and it's here that I discovered Japanese green tea bears no relation to the lovely green teas I'd enjoyed in Hong Kong. I also experienced great generosity and generosity of spirit which was to continue into June.
In an observation tower with Mr DiBonis Returning to Hungary and Budapest this time was my first international teaching gig for my new "dance confidence" classes. I'm so grateful to Adam and Rita for giving me this opportunity. It has led to invitations to teach at other events in the UK and for next year I can look forward to a trip to Russia and my former homeland of Switzerland. I've also branched out and given 1-1 coaching on confidence and all without the aid of a glass of wine! I even ended up dusting down my TEFL qualifications and teaching English, with the aid of Skype, to students in Moscow and St Petersburg. What a wacky development in my wine year. And yet, it wouldn't be Purple Teeth if June didn't deliver some alcohol-related discoveries. Following my January trip and my March wine research, I was honoured to be invited to visit the DiBonis winery in Subotica, Serbia. Tasting award winning fruit brandies and wines directly from the oak barrels was an amazing experience and I'm hugely grateful for the welcome that DiBonis provided me. I'd love to bring these wines to market in the UK , as when I shared one at a dancers' wine tasting later in the month, it was a huge hit and would probably be a bit of a bargain.
Sadly, I hadn't yet been hit with the business planning bug, but I had proven to some rather sceptical people that wines worth £15 were frequently far superior to those at £5. So, one mission was accomplished. I also forged a friendship with another local wine blogger Perfect Friday Wine and it's great to have a fellow oenophile as a local friend! Inspired by me, I cannot claim, but she's also now resigned her corporate job and is about to launch selling wines on Maidenhead market on Saturday 23rd November, so if you're in the area, do pop along and pick up her French fancies.
Sadly, I hadn't yet been hit with the business planning bug, but I had proven to some rather sceptical people that wines worth £15 were frequently far superior to those at £5. So, one mission was accomplished. I also forged a friendship with another local wine blogger Perfect Friday Wine and it's great to have a fellow oenophile as a local friend! Inspired by me, I cannot claim, but she's also now resigned her corporate job and is about to launch selling wines on Maidenhead market on Saturday 23rd November, so if you're in the area, do pop along and pick up her French fancies.
Bastille Day fireworks and dancing on the beach We had one of the best Julys we have had in some years, weather wise, so I spent much of the month drinking sherry and Riesling to refresh me. I also indulged yet further in dancing with highlights being seeing the Bastille Day fireworks over Cannes from a boat in the Med followed by some dancing on the beach, though the pinnacle was definitely converting Polish vodka drinkers into Riesling fans.
Should I be worried? All my birthday cards featured alcohol... The fun didn't end here though and I was back to France in August for another week of dancing all night with long days in the sunshine. It's here I tasted probably the cheapest wine I've ever drunk. Back in the UK, I hosted a whisky tasting with an international audience, where we indulged in home made sloe whisky, Bourbon, blended and single malts through to the people's choice, 15 year old Glenmorangie's Nectar D'Or (finished in a Sauternes cask - always the link with wine!). August marked the official year's anniversary of the end of my corporate career and I did a lot of reflection, while also taking the opportunity of my birthday month to crack open some of my absolute favourite wines.
Less exotic, but nonetheless fabulous, were dance trips to Blackpool and the Norfolk Coast. It may not be Cannes or Montpellier, and the draught wine at Wetherspoons may have marked an all time low, but I still had a lot of fun with friends old and new, which was just as well, as September was to be a virtual dance free zone...
Less exotic, but nonetheless fabulous, were dance trips to Blackpool and the Norfolk Coast. It may not be Cannes or Montpellier, and the draught wine at Wetherspoons may have marked an all time low, but I still had a lot of fun with friends old and new, which was just as well, as September was to be a virtual dance free zone...
Seafood + Albarino + Sea View = happiness September's highlight was undoubtedly the trip to Valencia - a little impromptu but no less fabulous for it. Fantastic weather, amazing food, and delicious wines at bargain prices. The climate of this region is amazing and I'd like to help people discover more of the wines, and the sweet Mistela made from Muscat in a similar style to Pineau de Charentes.
Grape varieties like Bobal, Monsatrell and Verdil all delighted and I tried to make up for the lack of dancing with swimming and cycling round the city. It's fair to say that the high availability of foie gras and black pudding probably meant that unless I suddenly became Lance Armstrong, I was unlikely to cycle off my gourmandise intake, but every morsel was worth the waistline punishment. And I'm sure the sunshine melts away some of the fat anyway...
In other news, I also continued to enjoy new experiences, such as a Plan B gig at the Sheperd's Bush Empire, a completely unexpected and "on the day" decision which led to a meal at Wahaca were I enjoyed my first ever Hibiscus Margarita - I can assure you, it won't be my last. I also climbed the O2 with my friend, Karen, and we indulged in an array of Greek delights afterwards, including a nice glass of Agiorgitiko (a Greek red wine variety). At the same restaurant, the waiter tried to correct my pronunciation of Viognier to Vinegar so many times, that I felt moving to Greek wine was probably for the best!
It's great that our wine world offers so many different varieties and tastes to delight us. It's such a subjective subject, with everyone favouring something that may be a complete turn off to another. That's why I am now thinking of offering a bespoke wine buying service, tailored to you. Lifestyles of the rich and famous, but with a Purple Teeth (affordable) price tag. Do let me know if you'd be interested in that! During September I also came close to securing a "real job" albeit outside of a big corporate. Receiving the call to tell me I hadn't got the job was one of those moments when I just knew that I was on the right track here. Wine will, by hook or by crook, have to be part of any real job or portfolio career from now on!
Grape varieties like Bobal, Monsatrell and Verdil all delighted and I tried to make up for the lack of dancing with swimming and cycling round the city. It's fair to say that the high availability of foie gras and black pudding probably meant that unless I suddenly became Lance Armstrong, I was unlikely to cycle off my gourmandise intake, but every morsel was worth the waistline punishment. And I'm sure the sunshine melts away some of the fat anyway...
In other news, I also continued to enjoy new experiences, such as a Plan B gig at the Sheperd's Bush Empire, a completely unexpected and "on the day" decision which led to a meal at Wahaca were I enjoyed my first ever Hibiscus Margarita - I can assure you, it won't be my last. I also climbed the O2 with my friend, Karen, and we indulged in an array of Greek delights afterwards, including a nice glass of Agiorgitiko (a Greek red wine variety). At the same restaurant, the waiter tried to correct my pronunciation of Viognier to Vinegar so many times, that I felt moving to Greek wine was probably for the best!
It's great that our wine world offers so many different varieties and tastes to delight us. It's such a subjective subject, with everyone favouring something that may be a complete turn off to another. That's why I am now thinking of offering a bespoke wine buying service, tailored to you. Lifestyles of the rich and famous, but with a Purple Teeth (affordable) price tag. Do let me know if you'd be interested in that! During September I also came close to securing a "real job" albeit outside of a big corporate. Receiving the call to tell me I hadn't got the job was one of those moments when I just knew that I was on the right track here. Wine will, by hook or by crook, have to be part of any real job or portfolio career from now on!
Always studying! October took me dancing to Poland, and Warsaw in particular, where I experienced my first ever taste of wine from Georgia. The former Soviet state is known as the birthplace of wine, and yet, I'd never had an inkling that wine was produced there, despite all my education. I aim to sample many more in the near future. I came to appreciate just how lucky I am that wherever I go, people are now keen to share their alcohol favourites with me, and ensure that I indulge in the local cuisine.
I also was invited to participate in the WSET Scholarship contest, and since it was almost a year since I'd put down the books and focussed on drinking, there was a lot of revision to be done. Let no-one say I didn't take it seriously! I was pretty sick during October, and vomiting on the way to the contest was probably not the best preparation for an exam featuring blind tasting, but it was a great opportunity and when it was over I jumped on a plane to Lyon for yet more dancing, fine food and wine with friends. And now it was REALLY time to knuckle down to business, surely. Yes, all that revision had somehow waylayed me from business planning yet again. Luckily a few more bookings for Tasting Events started coming in and a few more business ideas started to take shape over the occasional glass of wine, of course!
I also was invited to participate in the WSET Scholarship contest, and since it was almost a year since I'd put down the books and focussed on drinking, there was a lot of revision to be done. Let no-one say I didn't take it seriously! I was pretty sick during October, and vomiting on the way to the contest was probably not the best preparation for an exam featuring blind tasting, but it was a great opportunity and when it was over I jumped on a plane to Lyon for yet more dancing, fine food and wine with friends. And now it was REALLY time to knuckle down to business, surely. Yes, all that revision had somehow waylayed me from business planning yet again. Luckily a few more bookings for Tasting Events started coming in and a few more business ideas started to take shape over the occasional glass of wine, of course!
So now it's November, my first year as a qualified wino and certified wine bore is over, and I just want to reiterate that following my passions has led to one of the best years of my life. I appreciate that I've been in a very fortunate position, having spent the last few years of my corporate career ferreting cash away so that I could pay for such an awesome and hedonistic life chapter. But, if you can take a chance, please do.
We only get one life, and this year, we were reminded of how short that can be, and why waiting to have fun in retirement may not really be an option. So go for it. Do at least one of those things you've always wanted to do!
And if one of those things is learning about wine, then please get in touch and I'll do my best to help you. My new experiences continue, including tasting 100 year old wine this month, working at the International Wine Challenge basically being a wine weightlifter for the week. I met a lot of lovely people and did a lot of that singing the fortune teller warned me about. Now I'm filling in my visa application for a trip to Russia in January. I hope to launch a new wine service in the early part of 2014 and will continue to run wine tasting events while people want to learn from me. Wine of the week hasn't really got the traction I'd have liked, but blogging, like everything else, is a skill I have to learn.
If you've got this far, I commend you. I'd love to hear which blog posts you've enjoyed, which wine subjects you'd like to know more (and less) about, and how I can help you enjoy wine more. So please do get in touch via my blog comments, facebook page or twitter.
Thank you to all of you who've read my blogs and encouraged me over the past year. It means a lot!
Cheers!
We only get one life, and this year, we were reminded of how short that can be, and why waiting to have fun in retirement may not really be an option. So go for it. Do at least one of those things you've always wanted to do!
And if one of those things is learning about wine, then please get in touch and I'll do my best to help you. My new experiences continue, including tasting 100 year old wine this month, working at the International Wine Challenge basically being a wine weightlifter for the week. I met a lot of lovely people and did a lot of that singing the fortune teller warned me about. Now I'm filling in my visa application for a trip to Russia in January. I hope to launch a new wine service in the early part of 2014 and will continue to run wine tasting events while people want to learn from me. Wine of the week hasn't really got the traction I'd have liked, but blogging, like everything else, is a skill I have to learn.
If you've got this far, I commend you. I'd love to hear which blog posts you've enjoyed, which wine subjects you'd like to know more (and less) about, and how I can help you enjoy wine more. So please do get in touch via my blog comments, facebook page or twitter.
Thank you to all of you who've read my blogs and encouraged me over the past year. It means a lot!
Cheers!
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