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My 2021 Wine Resolutions

2020 is finally over with! Hallelujah!

It was a rough year for a lot of people and I am sure we are all glad to have it in the rear view mirror. But unfortunately, just because the date on the calendar has changed, doesn’t mean the world has.

2021 will still be filled with uncertainty, so for the sake of my own mental health, I will be choosing to focus inwards and only on those things over which I have control.

Fortunately for me, one of those things is my passion for wine!

Regardless of how sideways the world may be right now, the world of wine is only a sip away. And wine education is only a click away!

This year I am going to set some wine-related goals for myself. I intend to expand my knowledge, sharpen my skills, and find ways to be social again.

And we all know that goals are more likely to be reached when they are written down! So here I am, sharing my wine goals for 2021 with you.

Complete WSET Level 2 in Wines

This one was technically a 2020 goal, but due to Covid-19 restrictions in Edmonton, it had to be postponed. My exam is now scheduled for the end of January. That means this month will be filled with studying and memorization so I can crush that test!

I am also currently registered for a few more online and real-life wine courses through Fine Vintage: Wine Course Level 2, Food and Wine Pairing, and The Business of Wine.

Of course, I’ve got a whole wish list of additional courses I’d love to take, but I also have a wedding to pay for this year so that may be it for me. But we shall see!

Get more familiar with blends

For the last year and a half, I’ve dedicated the vast majority of my wine studying to getting to know the characteristics of individual grape varietals. Granted, I’ve still got a long way to go (there are so many!), but I’ve definitely been ignoring blended wines for way too long.

I will be spending the next few months focussing on familiarizing myself with the most famous and popular wine blends from around the world.

Blending is such an incredible part of the science and art that goes into winemaking and I am so excited to start learning more about it.

Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing what I learn in lots of articles along the way!

Host Blind Tasting Parties

Okay, admittedly this one is a little out of my control, depending on how this vaccination rollout goes. But it’s still something I want to get back into doing, as long as it’s safe to do so.

I used to host a blind wine tasting party at my house every month, where I provided four wines, hidden by paper bags. Everyone got a blank tasting sheet and we walked through the tasting process together, comparing notes, and chatting away. Everyone would write down their best guess for what grape varietal they were tasting (we weren’t too serious, just doing our best guesses), and at the end of the tasting I would reveal the correct answers. The person with the most correct answers won a wine aroma wheel poster!

It was a great opportunity to get together with friends, practice our tasting skills, and it encouraged me to study up on each wine before the party.

We haven’t been able to have any parties since moving into our first home, even though one of our requirements was that it have ample space for entertaining! So I just can’t wait to be able to get people together again and to share my love of wine with them.

Grow QueSyrahSarah.com

This blog has been an absolute God-send for me this year, as it’s given me something both fun and productive to focus on when the rest of the world felt like it was crumbling down around me.

In addition to continuing to building my base of articles on the basics of wine for all you wine babies out there, I also want to direct more energy into the creative side, with improving my graphic design and photography.

And I’m going to increase to posting two articles a week instead of just one. I can’t help myself, I’m just too eager to share!

I’d also like to build a sense of community here. I want to be your go-to resource for all the questions you’re too shy to ask a sommelier, and I want you to feel confident and have fun when it comes to tasting wine!

If there are any other ways that I can do that for you, I’d love for you to let me know. My instagram DMs are always open @quesyrahsarah_wineblog.

Do you have any wine-related goals for 2021? I’d love for you to share them in the comments and we can keep each other accountable!