Couch + cork

02/06/2025

We are thrilled to share that both Eva and Casey have passed their WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Level 1 in Wines! Here's Casey's certificate and Eva's headshot from a recent event in January!

01/26/2025

On 1/11, Nancy and Eva attended ’s Leading Ladies of Retail event in NYC, a leadup to .

In addition to Nancy introducing the wine and talking a little about entrepreneurship in rural America, she was asked to put together a door prize.

Here’s the Discover Bennington County Gift Basket, valued at $234:

watercolor bird notecards
hammered gold hoop earrings
shampoo & conditioner bar
green jade earrings
maple shortbread
candle (thanks to for recommending this and selling us your last one!)
logo tea towels
everything bagels
N/A beverages

Non-Vermont but awesome: signed bottle of sparkling wine.

couch + cork is always proud to show off where we live, work and play!

01/25/2025

Did we come back to because we were sent this photo of Blanche Ivory after one of our virtual charcuterie + champagne classes?

Of course we did!

Check her and her friends out 🐾

01/08/2025

Wishing Casey & Eva a great first day of school!

👩🏼‍🏫 Be sure to tell us what you learn today that you didn't know OR your favorite part of today's material.

Will anyone tie Kaiya's perfect score on Level 1?? We'll know in a few months!

01/06/2025

It's a BIG WEEK here at couch + cork. BIG 👏🏻 WEEK 👏🏻

We are thrilled to announce that Casey Lynne Rich will be starting her WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Level 1 on Wednesday through Commonwealth Wine School.

Casey has been assisting with tastings for a while now, allowing Kaiya and Nancy not to have to do every aspect of every tasting.

It's been awesome having Casey manage attendees, host our pre-tasting trivia and manage the chat. We're so excited that she's taking the next step and will be able to present tastings!

We're **pretty** sure this is going to be our biggest year yet (stay tuuuuuuuuned!) and we wouldn't be able to do it without people like Casey who are willing to take the plunge into the best dang wine tastings on the interwebs.

12/17/2024

At couch + cork we believe in kicking down barriers to access. We've had a very successful year and are proud to announce the following:

📚🤓🍷 We have donated to cover the cost for 1 student to complete their WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) through Wine Unify. When Kaiya was ready to start her journey in wine, she told Nancy about this program. Designed specifically for young Black professionals interested in wine, Wine Unify pays for not only enrollment in WSET programs of all levels but also all of the tasting samples and a set of high-quality glasses. They offer mentorship by other Black wine professionals and discussion groups.

🎹🪈🎤 As a child, Nancy found much joy and comfort in music. She started taking piano lessons at the ripe age of 4, competing in state competitions from Kindergarten through her senior year of high school. At 7 she picked up flute, at 10 she added voice - competing in all of these areas as a soloist and in groups. Thanks to the generosity of others she was able to take private lessons, giving her a place to be successful and thrive. We have donated through Newport Folk Festival to pay for one student's instrument rental and 10 lessons.

Thank you to all of our clients, because of whom we're able to help others learn, follow their passions and who knows, maybe unlock a career! Information on these programs are in the comments.

12/06/2024

📰 We are THRILLED to share some exciting news!

Since she was 15, Eva Capella has worked on the food side of couch + cork - assisting Chef Carolina, working catering and more. She also took on administrative work, managing corporate virtual tasting shipments and more.

Eva is about to turn 18 and, as of last night, is officially enrolled in Commonwealth Wine School. That's right, Eva will be taking her WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Level 1 in early 2025.

We're so excited to have Eva joining the ranks of our internationally-certified wine experts and can't wait to cheer her on!

09/17/2024

Who wants two free tix to tomorrow night's FINAL wine & cheese on the veranda featuring Spanish wine paired with delectable Spanish-inspired munchies?

Comment your fav gif to be entered!

Please note: we do not have an allergen-free kitchen and while we do our best, we cannot guarantee that there is no cross contamination. As people who have our own serious food allergies we want to make sure everyone can make the best decisions for themselves. Feel free to DM, text 802.440.0437 or email [email protected] with any allergen-related questions!

09/02/2024

Do NOT miss this last chance to enjoy wine and cheese on the Park-McCullough Historic Governor's Mansion veranda.

We’ll enjoy wines + cheeses from Spain — including one you’ve likely never tried — plus Spanish-inspired tapas + pintxos.

This is not a formal tasting. It’s a social event in a beautiful setting! We’re on hand to answer any questions and there is info about the wine + food but it’s really just a gorgeous stop in your week to see friends, including some you haven’t met yet.

Enjoy great company, a gorgeous backdrop, and a seasonal selection of wines and pairings, along with an inspired non-alcoholic option.

09/02/2024

🥓Yesterday, Nancy taught a crowd how to create a gorgeous graze board at Garlic Town, USA Festival.

Is this something you'd want couch + cork to teach virtually?

If so, would you prefer to grab your own ingredients, have a kit sent to you or have a choice?🧀

Send a message to learn more

08/31/2024

📰 Dispatch from The Garlic Town, USA Festival Demo Tent:

We are so thankful to everyone who stopped by today. Nancy loved teaching how to slay your graze board, the World Of Wonder princesses made all of the littles smile, Jim Thatch (on loan from the Bennington Theater) kept us guessing with Vermont and garlic trivia, Doug Eash amazed with magic and of course, the belle of the ball, Chef Cara delighted everyone with FOUR flavors of our 3-ingredient base GARLIC ICE CREAM! 🍨🍨🍨🍨🍨

Thank you to the Chamber of Southwestern Vermont for another fabulously stinky festival! We love curating great experiences under the tent.

We will have compostable/recyclable cups next year; thank you for that feedback!! See you next year!

08/16/2024

We love what we do, we love doing it together, and it shows.

08/14/2024

🚨 Park-McCullough Historic Governor's Mansion's wine & cheese on the veranda event featuring Spanish wine, tapas and pintxos has been postponed until September 18.

If you're a member in good standing of the Shires Young Professionals send us a DM and we'll send you a code to get 20% off. You must order your ticket by midnight 9/13.

We cannot WAIT to enjoy Spanish wine and cheese, and Spanish-inspired tapas and pintxos with you, including bread made from scratch!

Enjoy great company, a gorgeous backdrop, and a seasonal selection of wines and pairings, along with an inspired non-alcoholic option.

08/13/2024

🍷 Hi, everyone, Nancy here. I wanted to share something from behind-the-scenes. This is a long post, which is rare for us, but I feel like it's important to show the not-so-pretty side of couch + cork sometimes!

We pride ourselves on providing the best-possible wine tasting experiences. To guarantee this, we have a system in place, that we've built since 2019, to make sure that everything is perfect for your event. Whether in-person or virtual, there are many steps that lead to your tasting: things you don't see but are a part of.

🛑We require a date, time and headcount to book a tasting.🛑 We pride ourselves on limiting the chaos that comes with planning an event. We value your time, but I also value my time and that of those who work with me. We make it clear from the start: if we don't have a date, time, and headcount we can't book your tasting. As soon as we have this, the tasting is locked in.

📆 Back in early July we received a form through the website asking about a tasting. We immediately responded and the next day had a phone call. In the initial email and phone call I mentioned that we require a date, time and headcount for the tasting. While I got a time, the client did not have a time or headcount. I let her know I'd answer all of her questions and whatever else she needed but that she could not book a tasting without the time and headcount.

📧 Two days after the phone call I got a less-then friendly email that she had not received any sort of confirmation. I emailed her back (her preferred way of communicating) that while I had the date, I still needed the time and headcount.

🤷🏻‍♀️ There were a few more emails, including getting to a headcount, but no matter how many times I asked for the time or said, "I still need the time in order to book your tasting," they would not answer.

Our final exchange was simple. They sent an email that asked: What else do you need from us?

I responded: I just need the time and then you're all set.

This final exchange was on July 12. And that was the end of it. Not a peep after.

📱 YESTERDAY I had a voicemail asking me to confirm that everything was ready for their tasting this Thursday. Honestly, I didn't even remember the exchanges. Having someone start the process and then ghost us isn't completely out of the norm, so I've stopped fretting when it happens.

💻 I went back through my emails and saw the exchange. Because I organize and save everything.

I sent an email letting her know that because she had not given a time, she had not booked a tasting.

We have a virtual that night, but we don't HAVE to do those together, one could do that and the other could do this one. It would mean a last-minute wine delivery, but it's not the worst thing ever.

✒️ When I received a response email, it included that at the same time I emailed her asking the date (which time, she didn't say) she spoke to someone else on the phone at couch + cork and told them the date. She "figured we communicate?"

⚠️ I'm the only person on the phone and unless it's a corporate client, I'm the only one on the emails. I checked our phone logs... one call with them on the 9th. No subsequent calls.

⚡️ The alarm bells went OFF. This is NOT the couch + cork vibe. And so this morning I sent an email saying we're not doing the tasting because I'm not sending one of my folks into a situation that feels off.

TL; DR: the customer is not always right. We will work our hardest to accommodate everyone but not at the expense of feeling safe and certainly not for people who aren't truthful. That's setting up my employees for failure and I will never do that.

08/05/2024

Be sure to enter for a chance to win a free ticket to Park-McCullough Historic Governor's Mansion's next Wine & Cheese on the Veranda event. All information below - click and follow the instructions at the original post to enter!

07/31/2024

🇪🇸 Coming up on 8/14 from 5:30-7:30 pm, Wine + Cheese on the Veranda at Park-McCullough Historic Governor's Mansion. This month we're featuring Spanish wines, tapas and pintxos!

🍷 Spain has almost 70 designated wine regions producing everything from super-dry sparklers to sweet sherry for dessert. We'll enjoy three: a cava (Spain's sparkler), white and red paired with some Spanish-inspired cuisine.

🥘 Tapas are small versions of entrees... things like croquettes, small servings of paella, patatas bravas and tortilla española.

🥖🧀🫒Pintxos are snacks, usually affixed to a nice, crusty piece of bread with a toothpick. We'll have B O T H for you to sample along with the wines.

These events are a great way to get out, meet others and enjoy some delicious wine and snacks without the formality of a tasting or class. That said, one or two of our experts will be on hand to answer any wine or food-related questions you have.

Thanks to Park-McCullough Historic Governor's Mansion for having us, Centerline Architects for Sponsoring and everyone for supporting these fun, summer night events! Get your tix below!

Enjoy great company, a gorgeous backdrop, and a seasonal selection of wines and pairings, along with an inspired non-alcoholic option, thanks to our Presenting Sponsor-curators, couch + cork.