{"id":545,"date":"2017-05-02T01:02:33","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T01:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=545"},"modified":"2017-05-02T01:07:42","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T01:07:42","slug":"the-educator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=545","title":{"rendered":"A Field Guide to Servers – Part 5 – The Educators"},"content":{"rendered":"

We finish here Power Tasting\u2019s Field Guide to Servers, our exclusive introduction to the fauna found in tasting rooms.\u00a0 We have saved the best of the species for last.\u00a0 You may read the entire series: the Pourers<\/a>, the Hosts<\/a>, the Sellers<\/a> and the Retainers<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

What\u00a0 is an Educator?<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 An Educator is someone employed by a winery to explain to visitors what is being served, what aromas and tastes to pay attention to while sipping and generally how this wine fits into the winery\u2019s past releases and its overall philosophy of winemaking.\u00a0 He or she may be working there to fill in the time until the release of his or her next book on oenology.\u00a0 An Educator not only knows wine but is excited by it and is eager to share his or her expertise with others.\u00a0 The hallmark of an Educator is his or her ability to gauge the level of knowledge and interest of the visitor and to adjust his or her discourse accordingly.\u00a0 You can expect an Educator to ask you some questions to figure out what you are interested in, not just what the winery wants you to hear\u2026and buy, of course.<\/p>\n

\"dog_teacher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

How can you recognize an Educator? <\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Sadly, the Educator is the rarest form of the Server species, so when you encounter one you should be particularly attentive.\u00a0 There are young Educators but most have the maturity to have learned a great deal about wine.\u00a0 Telltale signs of the Educators is that that they listen first, then talk; they converse, not harangue; and while not opposed to selling you some wine, they realize that an educated consumer is their best customer.\u00a0 Particularly in wineries with a wide range of products \u2013 whites and reds, various varietals, different price points \u2013 an Educator will lead the visiting tasters where they want to go.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>How to get the greatest advantage from an Educator?<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Listen.\u00a0 Ask questions.\u00a0 Learn.\u00a0 Think about what you\u2019ve been told as you smell and taste the contents of your glass.\u00a0 Like a Host, the Educator wants you to enjoy your wine, but only an Educator wants you to gain an understanding of why<\/em> you are enjoying your wine\u2026or not, if that\u2019s the case.\u00a0 Like a Retainer, he or she wants you to understand what makes the winery you are at unique.\u00a0 But he or she is not as impressed with the owner as with the vineyard manager and the winemaker who together craft a philosophy of wine that in the end winds up in your glass.<\/p>\n

Where are Educators found? <\/em><\/strong>\u00a0While in theory an Educator could be found anywhere, for the most part they inhabit the better wineries, the ones with high ratings in the magazines and high prices at the cash register.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t only that those are the ones that can afford Educators.\u00a0 More important is that Educators have integrity and are uninterested in spending their days praising wines that don\u2019t deserve praise.\u00a0 In some of those other wineries there may be people wearing little badges that say they are Wine Educators.\u00a0 At most, those have learned the descriptions written by their wineries\u2019 PR departments.\u00a0 A true Educator not only knows about the wine he or she is serving, but can make comparisons with other vintages and other wines, not only from that producer or that region.\u00a0 When you encounter an Educator, treat him or her with respect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We finish here Power Tasting\u2019s Field Guide to Servers, our exclusive introduction to the fauna found in tasting rooms.\u00a0 We have saved the best of the species for last.\u00a0 You may read the entire series: the Pourers, the Hosts, the Sellers and the Retainers. What\u00a0 is an Educator?\u00a0 An Educator is someone employed by a … Continue reading A Field Guide to Servers – Part 5 – The Educators<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=545"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":553,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545\/revisions\/553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}