By Jerry Kolins, MD, DipWEST, Certified Sommelier In a previous blog I confessed that the skill set needed to successfully complete a medical education and obtain the degree cannot match the expectations of the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS). https://www.vinesociety.com/post/on-wine-medicine-and-the-obsession-with-grape-growing It is now time to share my experience in trying to enroll in a three-day course intended to provide further education and training needed to advance

By Jerry Kolins, MD, DipWSET, Certified Sommelier The Vine Society of Davison, North Carolina brought us the Greater Lake Norman Wine Summit on Friday, December 12, 2025. This symposium featured three master sommeliers, wine producers from around the world, and about 184 wine enthusiasts who yearned to learn. Let me say a few words about the term symposium. Many of us attended symposia in our professional life. Usually, these were events that consisted of didactic presentatio

Fresh into my new role as the Wine Director, I see a table bring in a bottle of Antinori’s Tignanello. A smile can’t help but cross my face - one of my epiphany wines, my second one to be exact. Years ago, one sip of a 1997 Tignanello awoke my palate and I swear timelines shifted. Colors seemed brighter. The world felt larger. This is what an epiphany wine can do for your palate, brain, and in my case. . .life. It led me to think about epiphany moments; the wine, the conversa