#questforthegreenpin

[wineworldtv]

Got two new books today. The clock has started. #advancedsommelierexam #questforthegreenpin #sommlife #sommelier #lifewithmark https://www.instagram.com/p/CL-vaBpLOj-/?igshid=19xttii5mhjb6

[wineworldtv]

Made my first time in-person appearance to tasting group today since all this craziness started. This is what I brought for show and tell. Plus a service practical and 100 question exam. #satxsomms #sommlife #questforthegreenpin https://www.instagram.com/p/CBduHXLpo_H/?igshid=1h0hyyq1r38cu

[wineworldtv]

A little tune up tasting today. Nailed the whites. Well I called the @trimbach Austrian (sorry guys). The reds needed some work. Perfectly described them, made the wrong calls. No worries. I’m getting stronger with each tasting and confidence is building. For me, I feel tasting has been my biggest weakness of the three things I do for the exam. I know, weird considering I’m also a wine critic. These last few weeks has really solidified my tasting theory and I’m more confident I’ll do well. I’m at the point where I think I’m equally strong in all three areas. Now it’s time to execute. #questforthegreenpin #advancedsommelierexam #sommlife #lifewithmark #inowknowkungfu <-matrix reference ;) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9ZzxNKHLEs/?igshid=qi5mg0yzag4x

[wineworldtv]

Back to hermit mode. 4 days till advanced somm assessment. NOT the exam. A test in order to take another test. #questforthegreenpin #sommlife #sommelier https://www.instagram.com/p/B5vg8VZngSM/?igshid=goz2f29ohh0k

[wineworldtv]

It's begun. I officially threw my hat into the ring to eventually take the @mastersommeliers_americas Advanced Sommelier Exam in 2023. First up is the Knowledge Assessment in November. Assuming I score high enough, I'll get an invitation to take the Theory portion in April of 2023. Once I pass that, I'll take the Service and Tasting portions in July of 2023. There is no October option, which I'm totally down with. If all goes well, which I honestly expect it to, I'll be proudly wearing the "Green Pin" next year. You'll notice me less and less over the next several months on the socials. I'll probably even delete the apps once I get into 2023 off my phone. I'll have videos into next year, but probably have a hiatus at some point. I've intentionally not signed up for the exam recently for many reasons, but I feel now is my time. Will I pass? I can't guarantee it, but I feel good about it. I never stopped studying, and all those maps I've been making are an integral part of my preparation. Will I attempt the Master Sommelier exam? I haven't made that decision yet. It really all depends on passing the Advanced and how well I pass it. But who knows? Maybe I'll be an MS in 2024 :) #sommlife #questforthegreenpin #advancedsommelierexam https://www.instagram.com/p/CjZhkR8NJqY/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wineworldtv]

1/3 of the important winegrowing areas in Austria done. Steiermark aka Styria. #winemaps #wine #sommlife #questforthegreenpin #austrianwine #austria https://www.instagram.com/p/CiYdwIzLn7o/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wineworldtv]

I may not be able to attend @texsom but I’m getting my reps in. I’m there in spirit. #sommlife #texsom #wine #questforthegreenpin #lifewithmark (at High Street Wine Co.) https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch0fwgVLKhP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wineworldtv]

Starting my work on my Austria maps. Here is a lesson in precision vs accuracy. The Cyan line is from the Austrian government and it is an administrative boundary of a cadastral community. The magenta line is my trace of the same boundary as indicated via Open Street Map's Mapnik overlay. I also have a pic without my trace in magenta and those boundaries are indicated with a dash and dot type of grey line. Also included the satellite version for reference. The cyan line is very precise. It follows the boundaries exactly when looking at the Mapnik map. But it's shifted a fairly consistent amount. In this case to the east (right) and a little bit to the north (up). The Austrian government's boundaries are the only ones from a free database that don't have a copyright from GADM, the organization that has them. The rest do, but GADM allows non-commercial academic use. Lots of maps that used these administrative boundaries use these files from GADM, and a couple others, but never correct them. I could do the same, but I quickly figured out that all of them are off to a certain degree. GADM seems to be the closest and it's sometimes highly accurate. Why does that matter? Well in some ways it doesn't because of how the winegrowing areas are created. Lots of land is included that don't have vineyards so being off a few miles isn't a big deal. But, there are places where the vineyards are right along a boundary, and THAT IS important to me to get right. This is why I'm claiming my maps will the the most accurate AND precise for the winegrowing areas of the world. Most of the time I'm redrawing the lines. I've gotten better at efficiency, but it's still a long a tedious process. #maps #winemaps #map #winemap #wine #googleearthpro #googleearth #mapnik #openstreetmap #sommlife #questforthegreenpin https://www.instagram.com/p/Chyw191uZIx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wineworldtv]

Today’s lineup. Looking forward to tasting some great wines and gaining more knowledge of Cava. #sommlife #questforthegreenpin (at Lamberts Downtown Barbecue) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgwtr3bLzat/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wineworldtv]

What I brought to show and tell at tasting group this morning. #SATXSomms #wine #deductivetasting #blindtasting #sommlife #questforthegreenpin https://www.instagram.com/p/CbYICgPLx8l/?utm_medium=tumblr

[wineworldtv]

I attempted to prep for the Best Sommelier competition happen in Houston this weekend using the @mtwwines. I had some challenges. Mostly because I used my oldest kit which was at least 3 months past its “expiration date.” I did get grape variety on most of the wines, so that’s good. Also, this particular kit had wines that will almost certainly not be in my advanced somm exam. I recorded all of it because I want to do a true deductive tasting to show what it’s like. I did go over by 1:34 too. I do have some kits that are right at the 12 month limit. Why? Because I cancelled my subscription precisely because I wasn’t using it. Considering my oldest kit was from 15 months ago….yeah. I wasn’t using the service. I do like it A LOT. I just can’t justify the cost if I’m not going to use it. #sommlife #wine #questforthegreenpin #sommelier https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca6dVCqO-_y/?utm_medium=tumblr

[wineworldtv]

Don't mind if I do....Updating Wikipedia's list if Italian IGTs and DOCs. delle Venezie was promoted to DOC in 2017 and no one updated these lists. Lots of people like to rag on Wikipedia for being inaccurate. I beg to differ. Maybe in the early days there were more questionable posts, but overall it's pretty spot on. Lots of editors and I guess moderators keep an eye on it. At the very least you'll see a banner saying the veracity is in question or a page appears to be written like an ad. I think these edits take me over 10 edits? When I use Wikipedia, I tend to double check information if I don't already know it to be correct. Not because someone intentionally puts bad information or opinions in it, but because things like this happen. Something changes and the person who probably made the original page didn't stay up-to-date themselves or cared to update the page. #wine #sommlife #wikipedia #wikipediaeditor #italianwine #questforthegreenpin #winestudy https://www.instagram.com/p/CaujYKIrGXT/?utm_medium=tumblr

[wineworldtv]

Back at it. It’s been almost 2 months since I sat down with the group. Got an extra wine. Unfortunately wine 1 was corked :(. #sommlife #lifewithmark #questforthegreenpin #tastinggroup #blindtasting https://www.instagram.com/p/CaPvotorNH4/?utm_medium=tumblr

[wineworldtv]

After over a month off from doing a blind I was back at it @highstreetwine. Not the best results but I nailed Sancerre which I seem to miss all the time. Called wine 2 Italian Pinot Grigio but I did have GV in my initial. Completely hosed wine 3. While I described it correctly I went off the rails with a Burgundy call. Got that 4 was Syrah. Even perfectly described Rhône. But went Napa with it due to very ripe fruit. Went with the Nebbiolo for the flatbread. #sommlife #wine #blindtasting #questforthegreenpin (at High Street Wine Co.) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ3WJTWu4WK/?utm_medium=tumblr

[wineworldtv]

Tokaj PDO. All 27 villages (one of the labels is hidden). The main vineyards of the PDO too. Though there are other vineyards in the region that are most likely for other wines. I’m now on the hunt for the top vineyards as far as the exam is concerned. Between two sites I have about 18 or so. That’s probably enough. Just need to find out what all of their original classifications and locations are. Not that we’ll get asked anything other than maybe the 2 great first growths. And even then, it’s taken me almost two full days of searching the internet just to get what info I do have. Like there’s literally no full list from the original classification. And there were anywhere from 175-300 vineyards. The official Tokaj PDO document does have a list I can use, but the classification system isn’t actually a legal thing. Just a historical one right now. So there’s no current ranking. #hungary #hungarianwine #wine #sommlife #lifewithmark #sommschooladvanced #questforthegreenpin #ssa (at Tokaj wine region) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZvIDfMr94r/?utm_medium=tumblr

[wineworldtv]

Hungary wine map update. The Dunántúl is completed. Well the basic outlines of each area. I still have to go back and merge things and recolor the borders. It’s the most complex of the 3 regions. I’ll tackle the Duna and Észak Magyarország this week. Side note - found out how to type the Hungarian “o” and “u” with the double accent marks. For some reason Apple didn’t include them in the US keyboard when you hold down a key and get an accent menu. Both Mac OS and iOS. For Mac OS I set up the Hungarian QWERTY keyboard and an easy way to switch between the two. Fun fact about that. While both look almost the same, there are hidden differences so if I lock my computer with the Hungarian keyboard active, I can’t log in. Luckily I can unlock the iMac with my Apple Watch :) #wine #hungary #hungarianwine #sommlife #sommschooladvanced #lifewithmark #ssa #questforthegreenpin (at Hungary) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZYk_oSr5Dp/?utm_medium=tumblr