Kerry Godfrey
wine lover
Portland, Oregon
"Being a jeans-and-a-T-shirt kind of guy, I don't believe in wine being an elitist thing."
At the end of the day, the real reason people study wine & spirits is because they love it. That's what it's about.
Sometimes, though, it's easy to lose sight of that. Most of us are familiar with the intimidation factor that can come with impenetrable wine lists, arcane tasting rituals, snooty servers, and know-it-alls (who often don't). Kerry's goal is "to have as much fun and learn as much as possible."
"Knowledge is the best tool to expand the world of wine."
The things he has learned in the WSA classes "give you that personal power, that personal confidence" to fully enjoy the world of wines and spirits — on your terms. "They gave me a solid, overall picture of the wine world. Climate, geography, varietals — how it all goes into the wines I love and points me toward new things I wouldn't have known about." Of his instructors, Kerry says:
"Adam and Mimi are so into it. They have talent."
"Adam cracks me up," Kerry adds, noting that the Recreational Classes are "fun and light-hearted, but substantive. Adam and Mimi have a great deal of knowledge, and they're really engaging." So much so that he went on to take the Intermediate course, and plans to get his Advanced Certificate. In fact, so great is Kerry's enthusiasm that we may soon have to move him to the Career-Changer page.
But that's another story for another day. The bottom line is that Kerry loves learning about wine — without the pretense, thank you very much. Happily, he says, "The WSA isn't up on a soap box."
"I went into it for fun and to expand my wine knowledge and so far the journey has been great."
Cheers, Kerry!
Photo by HELSINQI, 2008, at Pour Wine Bar & Bistro in Portland.