Resources & Links
• Join the newsletter and get weekly tasting sheets, updates, and bonus content: www.wineeducate.com/newsletter-signup
• Ask a question via the SpeakPipe link in the newsletter

How to Contact Us
• Website: www.wineeducate.com
• Instagram: @wineeducate
• Send a question: Look for the SpeakPipe link in the newsletter

Episode Summary
In this Thursday Q&A episode, Joanne answers a question from Jonathan: “When should I use a decanter?”

It’s a great question—and one that many people are afraid to ask. Joanne walks through the main reasons to decant wine and when it might actually make things worse. From young reds that need to open up, to natural wines with reduction, to bottles with sediment, she covers the practical (and avoidable) reasons for decanting. And yes—she even shares a story about vintage Champagne in a decanter.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode
• Why decanting helps wines "open up"
• When sediment makes decanting necessary
• How just opening the bottle early can often be enough
• Why most wines don’t need to be decanted
• Which wines are good candidates (and which aren’t)
• How older wines can be fragile and fall apart after decanting
• Why you don’t need a fancy decanter to try this at home
• The controversial truth: Yes, it’s okay to decant vintage Champagne!

Wines Mentioned
• Young, tannic reds: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, Barolo
• Natural wines (with reduction)
• White Burgundy (and other age-worthy whites)
• Vintage Champagne (when you’re feeling bold)

Key Takeaway
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Wine is about enjoyment, so if you’re curious—experiment! Use what you have, taste as you go, and don’t worry about “rules.” Even a science beaker can be a great decanter.

Resources & Links

• Join the newsletter and download the full tasting prompt sheet: www.wineeducate.com/newsletter-signup

How to Contact Us

• Website: www.wineeducate.com

• Instagram: @wineeducate

• Submit a question for the podcast: Use the SpeakPipe link in the newsletter

Episode Summary
Welcome to Episode 56 of the Wine Educate Podcast. It’s Tuesday, which means we’re continuing our Summer Tasting Series—short, practical exercises you can do at home or with your tasting group to build your sensory memory and confidence with aromas and flavors.

This week’s focus is on herbaceous aromas, a key cluster on the WSET SAT. Joanne walks us through how to identify and experience the following aromas: green bell pepper, grass, asparagus, tomato leaf, and blackcurrant leaf. Not to be confused with herbal notes, these green aromas are especially common in Sauvignon Blanc and less-ripe Cabernet Sauvignon.

You’ll get tips on where to find these ingredients—whether it’s the farmer’s market, your own backyard, or a trip to the store—and why it matters to train your brain to recognize them. Joanne also shares how to link these notes to specific wines, with suggestions to try New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Bordeaux-style Cabernet blends for real-world examples.

Whether you're studying for WSET or just want to be more confident in your tasting, this episode will help you file those aromas into your internal “flavor cabinet” with clarity and a little bit of fun.

Tune in, sniff around, and start building your aroma recognition skills one wine at a time.

Next Steps
Download the companion tasting sheet from the newsletter. Not on the list? Visit www.wineeducate.com/newsletter-signup

Resources & Links
Sign up for the newsletter: www.wineeducate.com/newsletter-signup
Ask your question for the podcast: SpeakPipe link in the newsletter

How to Contact Us
Instagram: @wineeducate
Email: joanne@wineeducate.com
Host: Joanne Close

Episode Summary
You’ve just come back from a week of learning, wine tasting, and exploring the vineyards of France—you’re full of enthusiasm and new knowledge. But how do you talk about wine with friends and family without coming across as condescending? In this episode, Joanne tackles a thoughtful listener question and shares real advice on how to talk about wine in a way that’s approachable, fun, and respectful—without dulling your passion or making anyone feel uncomfortable.

In This Episode:

• How to avoid "winesplaining" and connect instead

• What to do when someone is wrong without embarrassing them

• The difference between being helpful and being the wine fact police

• Connecting wine to other interests: history, gardening, art, food

• Remembering that wine is about enjoyment—ice cubes and all

• A few stories from the vineyard and lessons from real life

• Why a little kindness goes further than a textbook correction

Key Takeaway:
Share what you love about wine in a way that invites curiosity, not correction. Be the person who brings others in, not the one who pushes them away.

Resources & Links:
Sign up for the Wine Educate newsletter and download the companion tasting sheet: www.wineeducate.com/newsletter-signup

How to Contact Us:
For questions, speaking requests, or upcoming classes and trips, visit www.wineeducate.com or find us on Instagram @wineeducate.

Episode Summary:
In today’s tasting episode, Joanne shares a practical, at-home exercise focused on how sweetness in food can dramatically affect the taste of wine. This is one of those structural components that’s hard to memorize from a chart but easy to understand once you experience it.

Using a dry white or red wine and something sweet—maybe a bite of chocolate—you’ll explore how sweetness in food increases the perception of bitterness, acidity, and alcohol in wine, while reducing its fruitiness and body.

Joanne walks through how this concept shows up in real-life dining situations (like ordering dessert after a bottle of red) and why you should always consider a dessert wine for sweet foods. She also explains why this lesson is relevant for WSET students at every level and how tasting exercises like this can lock in your learning for exam day.

You’ll also hear about a clever pairing strategy from a Bordeaux winemaker who served sweet wine with umami-rich dishes to create a beautifully balanced experience.

Takeaway:
Sweet food can rob a wine of its best qualities. Try this exercise at home and discover just how much sweetness changes your wine—and why pairing sweet with sweet is the key to a successful match.

Resources & Links:
Sign up for the Wine Educate newsletter to submit your question and get tasting sheets, study tips, and updates: www.wineeducate.com//newsletter-signup

About the Episode:
This week’s listener question comes from Liz, and it’s one many of us can relate to—how do you know when it’s the right time to open a special bottle of wine?

In this episode, I walk you through the key components that make a wine age-worthy—acidity, tannin, sugar, concentration, and complexity—and how proper storage conditions play a big role in how a wine matures over time. I also share strategies for checking in on how a bottle might be drinking now (even if it’s not yours!) using tools like CellarTracker and Wine-Searcher.

If you’re sitting on a wine you’ve been saving for the “perfect” moment, this episode might help you decide whether to wait—or go ahead and pull the cork.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why most wines are not made to age and are best enjoyed young

• What structural and sensory traits give a wine aging potential

• How bottle variation and storage conditions affect aging

• How to use online tasting notes to guide your drinking window

• Why sometimes, it’s worth drinking the wine now—and creating a memory

Ask Your Own Question:
Got something you’d like to hear about on the podcast? Leave me a voice note through SpeakPipe—the link is always in the newsletter. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for listening, and don’t wait too long—life is short, and the wine is probably ready.

Resources & Links
Subscribe to the newsletter to get the Body Exercise Handout: www.wineeducate.com/newsletter-signup

Have questions or want to share how your tasting group is doing? Email me: joanne@wineeducate.com

Episode Summary
In this Tuesday Tasting episode, we’re revisiting one of my favorite exercises for helping students understand a core component of wine tasting: body. This is a concept that comes up frequently in both Level 2 and Level 3 WSET exams, and it's something many students struggle to pin down confidently.

We’re stepping away from the wine glass—at least temporarily—and heading to the fridge. This episode walks you through a tried-and-true tasting experiment using skim, 2%, and whole milk to illustrate how body feels on the palate. It’s a simple way to isolate that sensation of “weight,” and it gives you a clear reference point that you can carry into your wine tasting practice.

Whether you're studying for the exam or just want to fine-tune your palate, this is an exercise worth doing—and worth repeating.

In This Episode
Joanne breaks down how to approach the concept of body in wine and explains how alcohol, tannin, and sweetness all contribute to it. She shares her go-to “cheat sheet” for estimating body and guides listeners through a fun, low-pressure experiment using different types of milk to simulate the light-to-full body spectrum.

She also touches on how to translate this into a wine tasting, offering examples of wines you can use to reinforce what you learned through the milk exercise. Plus, there’s a reminder about wine tasting order and why it matters more than we think.

If you’re already subscribed to the newsletter, check your inbox for a printable version of the milk experiment, along with discussion prompts for tasting groups. And if you're not on the list yet, you can sign up anytime at wineeducate.com.

Want to Share Your Results?
Joanne would love to hear how this exercise goes for you or your tasting group. Just hit reply to the newsletter email—or send a note to joanne@wineeducate.com—and let her know what you discovered.

Resources & Links
Connect on Instagram and join the conversation: @wineeducate
Have a wine question for Joanne? Email joanne@wineeducate.com

Episode Summary
In this Thursday episode, Joanne digs into a frequently asked—and slightly spicy—topic: what exactly is a sommelier? Who gets to use the title, and how has the meaning shifted over time?

She traces the word’s origins from its Old French roots (spoiler: it involved pack animals) to its evolution in aristocratic households and, eventually, the modern fine dining scene. Drawing from respected sources like Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion to Wine, Joanne breaks down the traditional definition—and then explores how that definition is being stretched today.

With the rise of formal certifications (like CMS and WSET), social media, and pop culture (hello, Somm), the title “somm” is now being used far beyond the restaurant floor. But is that a problem? Or just part of natural language evolution?

Joanne plays devil’s advocate, shares some historical perspective, and invites you to weigh in. Whether you work in a restaurant, retail shop, tasting room, or classroom, this episode offers food for thought on how we define roles in the wine industry.

In This Episode:

• The origin and history of the word "sommelier"

• The traditional definition (and who sets it)

• The modern shift: somm as a role vs. somm as an identity

• How wine professionals in education, retail, or distribution fit into the picture

• Why the term can be controversial—and why it still matters

• A call for listener thoughts and discussion on Instagram

Join the Conversation
Have an opinion about the word “somm”? Find the discussion post on Instagram @wineeducate and share your thoughts. This is one where we want to hear from you.

Resources & Links
Access the Oak Aroma Kit PDF, wine examples, and tasting group prompts by signing up for the newsletter at www.wineeducate.com/newsletter-signup

How to Contact Us
Email Joanne directly at joanne@wineeducate.com to share feedback, questions, or episode ideas.

Episode Summary
Welcome to Episode 50 of the Wine Educate Podcast. It’s a milestone week—Joanne just had a birthday, and we’ve reached our 50th episode. To mark the occasion, this episode brings you a fun, practical exercise to help improve your tasting vocabulary, especially for those studying for the WSET Level 3 exam.

Today’s topic is oak aromas and flavors—one of the most commonly underdeveloped sections of student tasting notes. Joanne explains why “oak” is not a sufficient descriptor and walks you through how to build your own Oak Aroma Kit using things you likely already have at home. From vanilla extract and baking spices to chocolate, toast, dill, and even suntan lotion, this is a creative way to get those key aromas into your memory before the exam.

She also shares tips for using your new kit in a tasting group and how to tie these aromas back to real wine examples, including wines that clearly express American oak and French oak.

In This Episode

• Why generic terms like “oak” cost you points on the WSET exam

• A walkthrough of each aroma listed under the Oak cluster in the Level 3 SAT

• How to assemble your own oak aroma kit with household items

• How to turn it into a tasting game with friends or classmates

• Where to find wines that highlight oak character for comparison

• A special listener request: Joanne wants to hear from you

Episode Homework

• Sign up for the Wine Educate newsletter to receive the Oak Aroma Kit PDF

• Gather the kit items from around your house and start practicing

• Share the episode with your tasting group and try the recall game

• Taste and compare a wine that shows clear oak character—American and French

• Email Joanne and let her know what episodes or topics you’ve enjoyed most

Looking Ahead
The tasting series continues next week with more exercises to strengthen your sensory memory and build confidence for the exam. Stay tuned, and as always, thank you for being part of the Wine Educate community.