Taking it up a level...

My WSET Level 2 badge... Dead chuffed!

Where to start?
There's been so much going on since my last update that I'll need to take a moment to put it all in the right order...
Hard to think that as I signed off that update, I was about to start my Level 2 Wines and Spirits Education Trust course with Gary Carter DipWSET at the Shropshire Local Wine School in Shrewsbury.
Three intensive sessions later (and a whole bunch of tasting) I'm pleased to say that I passed!
As I write I'm still waiting for my badge and certificate, but I am at least starting to put some of that knowledge to practical use.
Just before Christmas I think it was, I saw an ad on Facebook from Hencote, who were looking for people to help with vineyard tours.
Initially they had the required personnel, but a few weeks ago I was contacted by Mark Stevens, co-general manager, to see if I was still interested. Naturally, I jumped at the chance and was lucky enough to follow Mark and then sommelier Sahara Gomez as they took a couple of parties round.
On Saturday, if the rota still applies, I'll be doing my third unaccompanied tour.
I always credit the lovely Wendy Gedney, who runs vineyard tours in the Languedoc in the south of France, for the inspiration behind my interest in wines. She famously told me that to do what she does, I'd have to know more about wine than just how to drink it. She was right. So I did learn a bit more and now I'm happily following (however tentatively) in her footsteps.
It's fascinating to get an insight into how a vineyard works, how the winery functions and how that all fits into the retail side of the business at a place like Hencote. And, after months of sitting in a box talking to myself, or someone distant on Zoom or Teams, it's great to actually talk to real people face to face.

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The Rowton Vineyard Twins, Zoe and Melissa Evans have been busier than ever, popping up here and there with events, guerrilla wine bars and a couple of English wine tastings.
We attended one of the tastings where they showcased their test wines Pink Fizz 2018 and Solaris 2020 alongside wines from Hattingley Valley and Sixteen Ridges among others.
The scrawly mess on the right is my effort to keep up with them.
​Great food pairings from Mel, by the way.

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Looking to the future, I'm trying to figure out a way of turning Shropshire Vineyards into something more than just a website.
I am really keen to promote the wines and winemakers of Shropshire and surrounds, which is partly why I did the WSET course and why I was also hopeful of joining the tour team at Hencote to gain further experience.
Towards the back end of 2021 and early on this year, I enrolled on the Startup Masterclass programme run by Johnny Themans and team at Good2Great.
The course lasts eight weeks and covers just about everything a startup business needs to know. I wish I'd have had that kind of insight earlier, because while the course reinforced some of the things you kind of know when you're doing your own thing, it definitely shows you what you don't know and really should. Special shout out from me for two of their advisors, Eddie Allan and Sarah Bishop for their invaluable advice and support.