Linda Coco, CSW
Linda Coco, CSW, was born on a military base in Japan, but grew up mainly in Colorado Springs CO. She attended the University of Colorado and while there met the man she would marry, an ROTC midshipman. After his commissioning in the Marine Corps, they spent eight years at domestic and overseas duty stations, and started a family. In 1993, they moved to Montana to raise their son and daughter. Her husband owns a financial firm and Linda works from home doing bookkeeping and event planning. They enjoy their life on a ranch, raising chickens, beekeeping, gardening, and mounting a cheerful defense against snow drifts.
It was an off-hand comment from her daughter, who works in the restaurant industry, that gave rise to Linda’s interest in wine. It happened like this: Linda’s mantra had always been ‘drink what you like’ and what Linda liked was a concoction of White Zinfandel and Sprite; her daughter gently suggested she might want to try something new. And a new trajectory in Linda’s life was launched. In 2013, she purchased several books on wine, attended every tasting she could find, and became interested in working toward some sort of wine certification. As she investigated possible courses of study, the Society of Wine Educators’ CSW program stood out, with its comprehensive manual, various online study aids, webinars, and Miss Jane’s CSW online class. She studied for a full year and passed the exam on her first try. That was just the beginning. She is studying for her French Wine Scholar certification and also preparing for the CWE and may pursue the WSET program as well. She thoroughly enjoys attending the SWE annual conferences, which whets her wine appetite even more.
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Linda does not work in the wine industry at this time, but does serve on the board of the Montana Grape and Winery Association, which advocates viticulture and wine making in the state. They are particularly working with universities in the state and in Minnesota and North Dakota in the development of cold-hardy cultivars, which have proved successful in the climate there. She launched a local chapter of the American Wine Society in 2018 and organizes tasting events for the chapter. She enjoys hosting wine education theme parties and the most rewarding thing for her is to see someone experience an ‘Ah-Ha’ moment with wine. “Its proof positive that wine is divine!”
In Linda’s words: “. . .my mantra is still ‘drink what you like’ but now with a caveat: ‘be willing to try something new.’ As an added forewarning, there’s the risk of becoming an impassioned wine aficionado with an insatiable thirst to learn everything about wine! I’m a walking, talking, sipping testament to that!”
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