Last week, I earned my introductory sommelier course certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers. The class was pretty intense, and I learned a lot. The exam was challenging, too. That means that I am currently the most highly educated wine professional in this area. What does that mean?

Well, that means that we are well on our way to making the Darjeeling Café the wine destination of Virginia. We are centrally located in Staunton, Virginia, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley surrounded by vineyards and wineries, and we have the most extensive wine list in the region. Our cellar currently feautures 156 different labels! Many of them are local, regional, or state wineries, but we also have a wonderful selection of old world and new world wines, too.

Isn't that cool? Soon, I want to get my certified sommelier level. Then, maybe I'll even do my advanced level. To do the advanced you have to be able to blind taste a lot better than I can now, but I will persevere!

Tonight, we are hosting a Rock Star Wine Dinner featuring some wines owned by rock stars and a dinner menu inspired by their songs. We're also starting a class on the 30th called Wine for Nubes. That's going to be a monthly thing. I just got finished talking with someone about doing a wine festival in Staunton. Things are happening.