I started studying wine through the International Sommeliers Guild in 2007,  completing all three levels within two years. It was never my intention to work as a professional sommelier, I just really love learning about wine. Our travels have only ever been to wine producing countries – this past October we went to Portugal to learn more about Port. We’ve travelled extensively throughout France, visiting the Loire (2 times), Champagne (3 times) , Bourgogne (6 times), Alsace (3 times), the Jura/Lavoie and, most recently, the Rhone Valley. We’ve travelled to Spain, Italy and Germany to further our knowledge. Locally, we have been to the wine producing region in British Columbia (Okanagan Valley) many times, travelled to the Napa/Sonoma Valley in California, and also to Washington State. We actively participate (my husband shares my passion) in a local blind tasting group that we helped to establish in Calgary. We’ve met these fellow wine lovers (locally) through the Vivino App. Recently, we met with users of the app in Germany and have done tastings and visited vineyards, meeting with winemakers.