So, who am I? I am by profession and inclination an academic, a social scientist, to narrow the field a bit more. I spent about a two decades in the halls of academia after my PhD, on three different continents. I have carried out fieldwork on sustainable wine making in Austria and the UK since 2014, although my interest dates back even further. The fieldwork has been done in conjunction with my research partner, Julia Leijola, a photographer and anthropologist. We’ve helped with harvests, interviewed winemakers and others involved in the wine industry. Julia and I have been lucky to work with caring, committed winemakers, who have thought deeply about what they are doing, and trying to achieve. And, who, not incidentally, make wonderful wines. I’ve also done most of what is known as the WSET (Wine and Spirits Educational Trust) training, which is the closest the wine industry has to standardised training. Full disclosure here: While I received a Distinction (the highest category of grade) in their Level 3 (Advanced) course, I ultimately dropped out of the Diploma, their highest degree. I took all the exams at least once, but I decided ultimately that my poor sense of smell and other factors meant that I would better spend my time elsewhere. Hence, in part, the reason for this blog.
Special thanks to Charlotte Milbank (aka TY) for her massive help with the Instagram side of things.
To get in touch, e-mail me: greatersenses [at] chriskaplonski.com