What’s Your Expertise? For Jeff Burrows, it's Wine!
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 1:50PMArticle by Becky Fillinger
Jeff Burrows
The North Loop, Mill District and Northeast are filled with wonderful restaurants, small businesses, architecture and parks. But the most amazing resource are the interesting people who live in our communities. I’ve met people who, in addition to their careers, pursue interests and develop skills that take them to the expert level. Meet Jeff Burrows – medical device engineer and executive prior to retirement. The North Loop resident recently acquired his Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) certification – and is a bona fide wine expert! We talked to Jeff about the certification and his interest in the program.
Q: You recently received your WSET certification - congratulations! Please tell us about the certification.
A: The Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) is a worldwide wine certification based in London. It's similar to the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS), but WSET is more wine production and wine business related vs restaurant service. There are 4 levels starting with the basics, concluding with the WSET Diploma for level 4. The diploma requires about 2 years of study, including 5 major exams and an in-depth research paper. When you're done, you know quite a bit about wines of the entire world, from France to Australia to China! In level 4, the exams are all long form written exams with additional blind tasting of wines. I recently completed my WSET Diploma, concluding with graduation at the Guildhall in London!
Q: Why did this level of knowledge about wine interest you?
A: The goal of WSET is to allow the student to connect what happens in the vineyard and winery to the style, quality and price of the wine in the glass. Through these studies, I have become more interested and knowledgeable about weather, geography, biology, farming, chemistry, history and business. Being a life-long learner, I have a subject with endless variety and depth.
Q: These certifications can open doors for many future callings - wine writing, academics, retail, distribution, restaurants and bars, consulting, and more. Do you have plans at this point on how you'll use your knowledge?
A: I have been writing a food and wine blog for 10 years, that's probably the reason I started on the certification path to begin with. The WSET diploma does lend a bit of credibility in the wine industry and sometimes grants me access I wouldn't have as a typical visitor. I plan to continue my wine writing and will be adding a teaching element in our local Minneapolis/St. Paul WSET school, the Vine Lab Wine & Spirits Academy.
Q: I imagine you’ll be in demand for wine tastings/educational events. Is that something you’re interested in?
A: I only do tastings and events for friends at this point. I'll continue to be pretty busy with my writing, traveling and instructing at Vine Lab Wine & Spirits Academy.
Q: How may we follow your news/contact you for booking?
A: I'm always happy to have new followers on my blog or other social media outlets. I blog at https://foodwineclick.com/ and I post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @foodwineclick. Wine enthusiasts at all levels from beginner to expert may find a WSET certification of interest at https://www.vinelabwine.com/.
