NEWA September Bulletin

Welcome to September 2024!
It is the end of summer for most people, and that means readjusting life back to cooler weather, school, work, or all of the above. 

In our house, all the kids are done with school. College life has come and gone and everyone is working toward figuring out adult life. That has meant a couple of them have returned to the house for short periods: one while transitioning to becoming an EMT, the other while he is figuring out the next steps in life and where to actually move on to after spending several years in Maine. Whatever the case, and wherever they end up, it reminds me of the possibilities the world can present to us. Taking advantage of this can be very rewarding and set you up for life down the road.

We have had numerous conversation here lately about taking a step or two so that you can take another step or make a move after that. You have to prepare yourself, often with more school or a sideways job move, in order to get to the place you really want to achieve or that which sets you up for your true career move. You have to constantly be looking after your future self, and this is a lesson a lot of younger people often overlook.

As someone who has always worked toward certain goals in life, I have had to be mindful of the situation I was in but also what I could be doing to make myself either more valuable at the job I was working or could add to my future plans. Being an educator in the wine and drinks business was and is a goal of mine and earning certain qualifications, studying to pass exams, and getting certified to teach and ultimately run a successful drinks school, has been the plan for many years. This has played out, but I still am working to improve my school, my offerings and what I do to adapt to changing needs in the market. I progress with new courses and additional material delivery that can enhance my student's education and perspective on this industry. 

Recently this has meant partnering with local shops to produce education materials, adding in-person classes to our offerings, creating more content - especially video - supporting the efforts of our programs and our partner programs, as well as adding more and more resources to our membership and student access pages. All while building the new content for the beginning of the WSET academic year, that just opening this past August.

So for September, however you may be turning the page from summer to fall, vacation to work or school, here are a few options to perhaps take advantage of while you consider what moves you might want or need to make while moving through your career or personal education journey...

In-PERSON Level 1 Courses on Offer for Fall 2024
We receive a lot of inquiries for in-person course offerings, and the reality is that we are very selective about when we are able to offer the in-person sessions. this is due to several factors. The first is that we tend to focus our in-person sessions with industry groups, such as distributors. With limited time available to host courses, this has been the most effective use of our time and ability to offer in-person. But with some of newer partnerships (which have grown out of those industry relationships), we are going to offer a level 1 WSET Wine and a level 1 WSET Spirits session, this fall. See our listing for these classes to book your enrollment in these one day sessions.

New content on our site
We are constantly adding material and content here and there to the site - mainly in the Resources tab, which services current student needs. Sometimes though we do add material to the open portion of the site - often through this page and the bulletin / blog posts that form the content below. Take a look a the video posts Brian Mitchell has been producing with Worldwide Wine & Spirits (480 Queen St. Southington, CT). There will a series of these quick learning videos being added all month long. Initially focused on spirits 101, we will continue to add educational material over time.

Beer Level 1 is on sale for September
For the month of September, we are discounting the newly added WSET Beer Level 1 course. This is brand new offering in the WSET portfolio, and we are very pleased to be one of the few APPs that has this course listed and open for booking. Normally priced at $249 for the online course, we are listing this currently at $199 for all classes in the academic 2024/2025 year. That is eleven classes with start dates each month through July 2025. We will run this pricing through the end of the month of September, only, but you do have the opportunity to register for any class in the academic calendar, which means you can book now for a class that might fit your schedule better later in the year, perhaps.

SEPTEMBER Course Registration Deadlines
Please be aware and pay attention to the following registration deadlines (indicated in red below) happening this month...

WSET Beer Level 1
Sep 23, 2024 > Oct 20, 2024 (Sep 15)

WSET Wine Level 1
Sep 16, 2024 > Oct 13, 2024 (Sep 8)​
Sep 30, 2024 > Oct 27, 2024 (Sep 22)

WSET Wine Level 2
Sep 16, 2024 > Oct 20, 2024 (Sep 8)​
Sep 30, 2024 > Nov 3, 2024 (Sep 22)

WSET Wine Level 3
Sep 16, 2024 > Nov 17, 2024 (Sep 8)
Oct 7, 2024 > Dec 8, 2024 (Sep 29)

WSET Spirits Level 2
Sep 30, 2024 > Nov 3, 2024 (Sep 22)

WSET Spirits Level 1 and Level 3 courses are offered starting in October and November - please refer to our main listing in the SHOP for full enrollment details.