WSET Alumni Parties - Portland and Seattle

OK WSET Alums, it's time again to drink some wine, eat some food, see old friends and meet some new ones. We sincerely hope you'll join us for one or both of these events!

Portland Alumni Party
Wednesday, July 7, 6pm
The Wine & Spirit Archive, 828 SE Ash Street #204

Seattle Alumni Party
Sunday, August 8, 5pm
DeLille Cellars, Woodinville, WA

Don't forget to RSVP!

Payment Plans for WSET Courses

If you're ready to take your knowledge of wine to the next level - or maybe even launch a new beverage industry career - WSET Wine Certification Courses are a great way to establish a strong foundation of wine knowledge, make industry connections, and learn to taste wine like a professional.

To insure that these classes are available to everyone, we offer installment plans that allow students to break their tuition up into a series of monthly payments - at no additional charge.

If you plan to join us this fall, be in touch to get your payment plan set up. Payments are due on the 1st or 15th of each month and the last payment must be received by the end of the course.

Become a WSA Member!

If you're a frequent wine-buyer or class-taker, you can't afford to NOT become a WSA Member. Join the club and receive invitations to member-only events and great deals on wine, tastings, and classes.

Annual membership is just $30 - so once you've attended your free Friday Night Tasting and purchased a few bottles of wine, you're already in the black. For our WSET alums, the math is even easier (see below for details)!

Membership includes:

WINE DISCOUNTS - 10% off ALL wine purchases. 15% off case purchases (including mixed cases and special orders).

TASTING/CLASS DISCOUNTS - 10% off classes, tastings and events (excludes WSET Certification Courses).

COMPLIMENTARY TASTINGS - Free admission to a Friday Night Tasting of your choice. WSET Intermediate Alums receive an additional "+1." WSET Advanced Alums receive an additional "+2" OR - in lieu of the tasting - free admission to a recreational class of their choice (space permitting - we reserve 3 "free" spots per session).

SPECIAL EVENTS - Admission to member-only events (minimum of 2 per year).

PRIORITY ACCESS - Early registration access for all classes and events.

SWAG - Your very own WSA Spit Cup!

Paul Cunningham Photo Opening - Friday, May 7

Our first installation is up - work by Portland-based photography, Paul Cunningham who recently documented harvest and crush in the Willamette Valley.

Drop in anytime over the next month to view Paul's work or - better yet - join us for the show's opening on Friday, May 7 (4 to 7pm) when we'll be pouring a selection of our favorite French "oddities" (unique wines from strange places)!

WSA Has New Home

It's a fact. After 3.5 years of toting wine and glassware to various sites around town, we've finally landed at our permanent home: 828 SE Ash Street, Suite #204!

The building is known as Pine Street Studios or - for the food-minded among you - "that building that houses Simpatica and Biwa." Needless to say, we look forward to eating very, very well over the next few years. And we don't mind walking a few blocks to Le Pigeon or Beaker and Flask either.

Stay tuned for additional details about hours, opening events, etc. and plan to drop in on us sometime in March!

New Year's Resolution - Learn More About Wine!

If your resolution for 2010 is to learn more about wine, join us as a "Frequent Flyer" in our 2010 Wine Passport Series. We asked 12 of our favorite Portland-based wine professionals to join us for this series and asked each to select the wine region they are most passionate about. Their interests spanned the globe from the dry-farmed vineyards of the Barossa Zone to the steep, schistous rock faces of the Douro Valley and included little-known regions such as British Columbia, Canada; Savoie, France; and Lombardy, Italy.

Join us for a single session ($50), or sign up for our "Frequent Flyer" Program and save on multiple registrations. Save 20% on a Platinum membership, $15% for a Gold membership, or 10% for a Silver membership.

See the entire schedule and get registered here: http://www.wineandspiritarchive.com/classes/winepassport2010.html

Happy New Year! Hope to see you in class soon!