What a fortnight it's been!

The first session of my Weinakademie Österreich studies towards the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Weinakademiker is now over. Crazy 11 days in Rust that, I dare to say, were much more transformative than I ever anticipated they could be.

I've met a group of another 31 individuals of very different backgrounds, highly motivated, passionate and invested into learning about wine and honing their knowledge and skills. I'm honoured and happy to now be able to call these people my colleagues and, in many cases, friends.

We studied with fantastic mentors who went to great lengths to pass as much knowledge and experience as humanly possible in such a short time. Among them, Dr. Josef Schuller MW, Ferdinand Mayr, Prof. Dr. Monika Christmann, Prof. Dr. Manfred Stoll, Frank Smulders and Caro Maurer MW.

We toured Kamptal, hosted by Michael Moosbrugger and Schloss Gobelsburg and Wachau, hosted by Roman Horvath MW at Domäne Wachau.

I received a scholarship from Vinea Wachau, gifted personally by Emmerich Knoll of Weingut Knoll.

We attended the Renommierte Weingüter Burgenland presentation of best Burgeland wineries at the Esterházy Palace, and visited VieVinum 2024.

I tasted north of 300 wines during the trip, a large portion of it blind. A decent amount on blind tastings we organized in the evenings with the fellow students.

I also wrote the first exam on viticulture & vinification from the series of theory & tasting exams with many still ahead of me (hoping for the best).

If there is one thing I want to say it's this: I'm incredibly happy that I gathered the courage to enroll and go for it.

There's lots of work and learning ahead of me to get through it, but I already know it will be one fascinating and deeply satisfying journey!

Last but not least, I want to thank Tysia for spending the whole time in Rust with me, supporting me day in and day out on this journey. She's made many friends on this trip, too — and visited many local winemakers, tasting 100+ wines herself as well.

See you all again in Rust in October!