Education - deborahparkerwong

Benjamen Montpetit is the Marvin Sands Endowed Chair in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis.

Meet UC Davis Yeast Biologist Benjamen Montpetit

September 10, 2025 deborahparkerwong Education, The Tasting Panel, Wine

The University of California, Davis, has a long history of groundbreaking research that has significantly impacted the global wine industry.[…]

Dismantling the Intimidation of Learning

March 14, 2025 deborahparkerwong Learning, Education

For years, I thought there was a secret club of “math people.” They just got it, as if the ability to comprehend complex formulas came baked into their DNA. The textbooks seemed pretty impenetrable, especially for higher-level math and statistics.

Chianti Classico Offers Free Online Education

November 18, 2024 deborahparkerwong Chianti Classico, Education, Italy, Olive oil, Wine

If studying Chianti Classico has not made your list of New Year’s resolutions, the Consorzi Vini e Olio Classico has just handed you an incentive; a free, online training program – Mooc Chianti Classico.

Sweet Wine Becomes a Bridge to Dry

July 18, 2024 deborahparkerwong Education, sensory, SOMM Journal, Sweet, Wine Tasting, WSET

Let’s introduce novice wine consumers to the sweet wines of the world first and bridge them to dry styles made from the same grape varieties.

Taking a Closer Look at Modern Hybrids

August 10, 2020 deborahparkerwong Wine, Austria, Education, SOMM Journal, winegrowing

In the search for alternative ways to control grape vine diseases while reducing the use of synthetic herbicides and pesticides, a cadre of modern hybrids—second- and third-generation interspecific varieties— are demonstrating considerable promise in both the vineyard and the glass.

Highlights from WSET Wine Education Week

October 14, 2019 deborahparkerwong Education, Uncategorized, Wine, WSET

The SOMM Journal’s Global Wine Editor, Deborah Parker Wong, DWSET (’09), recently hosted three professional mixers marking the 50th anniversary of the London-based Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).

Parker Wong teamed up with three Sonoma wineries—Balletto
Vineyards, Sangiacomo Wines, and McEvoy Ranch—in welcoming WSET
alumni and students as well as members of the trade to taste and network
during Wine Education Week, held September 9–15. Three lucky attendees were awarded access to a Level 2 online certification course.

The Myth Buster: Dr. Paulo Lopes dispels long-held beliefs about cork

February 13, 2018 deborahparkerwong cork, Education, Packaging, Portugal, Research, sensory, sensory science, SOMM Journal, Technology, wine faults

When it comes to wine storage, old habits are hard to break. But Dr. Paulo Lopes, Research and Development Manager[…]

Sicily’s native grapes and the dawn of Italian wine culture

September 5, 2017 deborahparkerwong SOMM Journal, Education, Italy, Native varieties, Sicily, winegrowing

Sicily’s native grapes and the dawn of Italian wine culture.

The trilemma of primary, secondary and tertiary aromas

August 12, 2017 deborahparkerwong Education, sensory, SOMM Journal, Wine

Primary wine flavors (the combination of aromas and tastes) come from the grape variety itself and are almost always fruity except when they’re not. Secondary aromas are those associated with post-fermentation winemaking and include yeast, lees, yogurt, cream, butter or cheese and a full spectrum of flavors derived from oak. Tertiary flavors are defined as deliberate oxidation, fruit development, bottle age or any combination thereof.