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By day, she grooms dirty dogs. But when day is done, Cathey Love, CSW, CSS, engages in her enthusiasm for wine and spirits. As she herself puts it: “I listen to whine during the day, and at drink wine at night at home.”
Cathey was born in Chattanooga, and Tennessee has remained her home. She has been self-employed most of her life: she sold Avon at age 13, waited tables dressed as Catwoman (therein hangs a tale) in 1980, later owned a carpet cleaning company, and for the past 17 years has run a professional mobile dog grooming business called “Love’s Touch,” a tip of the hat to her maiden name.
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Cathey’s love for wine and spirits began when she waited tables. The restaurant was called The Sailmaker, and all their staff dressed as characters from television or film—hence, the Catwoman. The wine they served was hardly stellar, so at that time she was ‘drinking cheap.’ The change came for her when a good friend married a man who taught wine classes near her current home in Knoxville. She could attend his classes, and it was then she was exposed to fine wine, and started learning about glassware, openers, proper temperatures for wine service, food pairing, things of that nature. Life intervenes and people move away, and that’s when the SWE makes an entrance.
Cathey started researching wine education online and found a variety of sources, including the Society of Wine Educators, and she saw that the SWE was having their conference in Orlando that year. She has a son who is a performer at Disneyworld, so it seemed a great opportunity to both see her son and learn about wine. And she was hooked. That was 2013. She has not missed a conference since.
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After the Orlando conference, she returned home and started studying for the CSW on her own. No webinars were available at that time and she did not work in the industry, so it proved a challenge. But she passed the exam on her first try, and thus encouraged studied for and passed the CSS exam a couple of years later. The CWE is one of her ambitions for the future.
Cathey loves all things wine. In her words: “I collect anything wine or spirits related. I love tasting new varietals and learning to pronounce their names correctly. I spend way too much time in thrift stores collecting wine and bar glassware. I get a little giddy when I find a piece of Riedel for under a dollar. Our house is over-decorated with wine related items.” A collection she is particularly proud of is a range of 35-40 items from Bond and Lillard, which was a reliable name in pre-Prohibition whiskey. Head’s up, those of you who are also collectors: she would love to have an old bottle with the original bourbon. She is also looking for a bottle of Ripple or Night Train for the bum wine collection, and would gladly pay the shipping. She can be found on Facebook. Can anybody help?
Thanks, Cathey, for your contribution to the Society of Wine Educators!
Guest post written by Reverend Paul Bailey
If you are a SWE certificate holder and would like to be featured in our “On the Radar” series, please contact our Director of Education and Certification, Jane A. Nickles: jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org