Turning Whiskey Into Wine

I spent the two years between undergrad and GSB working at Kings County Distillery, New York City’s oldest operating distillery. I learned all about malting and mash bills, fermenting and distilling and everything in between. I could wax poetic about moonshine and bourbon, and I gave distillery tours to beginners and professionals alike.

However, I never learned about wine or beer.

Many people were dismayed with my asymmetry of knowledge. How could I easily describe the different geographies of whisk(e)y making, but know next to nothing about other types of alcohol? When it came to wine, in particular, all that I could do was say what I liked and did not like once I tasted it.

From my perspective, the wine world seemed much more challenging to get into than the whiskey//spirits world—there seemed to be an almost exclusive culture about it, which was intimidating, even for someone who worked in the industry. Of course, much of this was in my head, and I’ve resolved to learn much more about wine. It feels like a life skill.

Fluency in any sort of language makes you a more textured character. As an undergrad English major, I have a deep affinity for language, and I’m excited to learn how to put words to what I taste. In particular, I’m highly value precision and accuracy of language, and this class seems like a helpful opportunity to engage in that dynamic.

Plus, this kind of stuff is fun. Why else would I have spent two years being the least cool person in a very cool craft whiskey distillery?