The Caribbean Wine Diaries
Written By: Dylan York on Thu, Nov 8th 2007
Meet our new Caribbean Wine Diaries columnist - Dylan York...
My name is Dylan York and I am training to be a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine. For me wine is an experience that bookmarks the best times of our lives. I enjoy sharing experiences with people who are just getting into wine as well as the avid rare wine collector. The people who are interested in learning more about wine are the ones who will always enjoy it more than anyone else, because not everyone starts out with a great palate and an immaculate wine cellar.
I was born in a small rural town of Greenville, Mississippi and to this day most of my family does not understand what I do for a living. I was not raised in a family that had wine with dinner or even understood the place of wine and cuisine. My exposure to wine began when I was 18 years old working in the restaurant business. I still remember trying to impress a girl with dinner and wine, when I purchased my first bottle, Gallo Cabernet Sauvignon, with a fake ID and proceeded to accidentally freeze it in a rush to "chill" the wine. A few years later, after learning the basics, I walked into a wine shop and spent two thousand dollars of student loan money on several cases of wine and a copy of Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia. This is when I began to learn about wine.
Now fast forward ten years later to where I am now: the wine buyer for a major wine retail store. I make great money, good benefits, but have no time to study for what is going to be the biggest step in my career, which is to begin the Level 4 Diploma Course for the MW Program and sit for the Advanced Sommelier Certificate. This will take at least two years and require more attention than I will ever have if I remain employed; however, I have a plan.
My girlfriend was recently accepted to medical school in the Caribbean. I have decided to pack up all of my wine books, quit my job and spend the next two years studying wine on the beaches of Grenada. My goal is to pass the WSET Diploma Course and the Advanced Sommelier test. I invite you to follow along as I embark on a two year journey through the world of wine and gourmet cuisine in the Caribbean. I will be discussing detailed wine facts, new wine trends, food and wine pairings and everything that I discover in the next two years. I would like to reach out to anyone who loves fine wine and cuisine and is looking to learn how to enhance their experience.
Please join me as I prepare myself to someday sit among the select few who hold both an MW (Masters of Wine) and MS (Master Sommelier).
