WSET is launching its first ever global ‘Wine Education Week’ which aims to engage with the growing number of wine consumers around the world and encourage them to learn more about wine.
Taking place from 9-15 September, the education week forms part of WSET’s 50th anniversary campaign. The week kicks off with food and wine pairing launch events across the world at 6pm local time in 24 countries. Starting with Auckland, New Zealand and ending with California, USA, WSET is aiming for a continuous 24-hour global food and wine tasting session.
In Australia there will be a launch event in Sydney hosted by the Sydney Wine Academy. In the UK the launch event will involve an attempt to break the Guinness World Record title for the largest ever recorded sommelierie lesson which currently stands at 271 people.
WSET CEO Ian Harris said: “Wine Education Week is an inspiring initiative that promotes WSET’s mission to inspire and educate wine consumers as well as trade professionals.
“It is reaching out worldwide through our network of course providers to engage with consumers across every continent, from New Zealand to Thailand to Mexico. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate WSET’s 50th anniversary and to demonstrate the progress we have made with wine education over the last 50 years.”
In Australia WSET has three Approved Programme Providers: Queensland College of Wine Tourism, Sydney Wine Academy and the Prince Wine School, who between them will be offering more than 40 events at 17 different locations.
Following the launch, Wine Education Week will roll out with WSET course providers in 45 countries hosting more than 450 fun educational events to encourage consumers to learn more about wine and to drink ‘better’. With introductory sessions ranging from ‘Finding the Perfect Match’ to ‘World Wine Monopoly’ to ‘Mastering Maturation’, the events will help consumers make wiser choices when choosing a bottle and enable the trade to benefit from the increased likelihood of upselling.
Full details about the events taking place can be found here on the Wine Education Week website.