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The Cellar Scholars
Ep. 01 Featuring Jolene Family Winery
THE CELLAR SCHOLARS
OUR STORY
Get to Know Us
Akeyla and Tom are wine educators trained through the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust (WSET). Akeyla is Level 3 in wines and Tom is a Level 2 (working on Level 3). WSET is the oldest wine education program in the world. WSET has graduated training programs in wine, beer, sake and other spirits. We are not Sommeliers. We want to teach you about wines not to sell you wines.
Tom McCune
My name is Tom McCune and I am a life long medical educator. One of my areas of research has been the physiology of tasting and smelling. In medicine we have an adage, ’See one, Do one, Teach one’, because the best way to master a topic is to teach it to someone new. Knowledge is a 360 degree process, because I learn from my students and as well from my colleagues. I came late to the excitement that is wine and I chose to increase my knowledge of grape growing and wine making through the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust (WSET). Join me on my wine adventure. I will teach you what I know. You can teach me what you know. And let us gain new knowledge of wine together.
Akeyla Porcher
My name is Akeyla Porcher and I am a Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 certified, with merit, wine professional; also known as a wine nerd! My wine journey started a few years ago in 2015 when I decided to try and learn more about wine. I went to wine bars and wineries as much as I could, and I loved every minute learning about wine. After feeling "challenged" by a sommelier to have the "right DNA", I became more determined and began working in a small wine bar during the COVID Pandemic. It was the best decision I could have made. As my knowledge grew I began to speak to my family about wine and my passion for it, and I learned that my great-great grandmother, who were sharecroppers in southern Virginia, grew her own grapes on her land. Additionally, she made the communion wine for the family church! Wine runs in my blood. I am exactly where I am meant to be, which is sharing wine with you. Cheers friends!
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