Consider yourself something of a wine connoisseur? Time to find out how well you really know your stuff.
You can put your nose and palate to the test thanks to the English speaking blind tasting events organised by the Italian Wine Academy (IWA), a wine school based in Verona, Italy with the next three events confirmed for October and early November.
Taking place in the headquarters of the Academy, located in the VeronaFiere compound, the first event was held in June 2020 when the Italian Wine Academy, an Approved Programme Provider qualified to teach WSET wine courses, decided that to further extend their courses they would offer blind tasting sessions for students, always in English.
The idea behind the initiative is not only to give participants additional practice tasting wine before their exams, but also to help them gain English language skills that will enhance their confidence and employability.
These classes guide students through a tasting of three different wines, blind, using the Wine and Spirit Education Trust’s (WSET) Systematic Approach to Tasting ® (SAT). At the heart of WSET courses, there is the notion of building a common vocabulary designed to aid students in communicating about wine in an international context.
Lead by native speaker and faculty member Dr Rebecca Lawrence, students are encouraged to use the session to learn new vocabulary and express their views on the wine, its characteristics, and qualities, using clear, confident, and most importantly, correct, English.
Each blind tasting event sees participants join tables with social distancing measures in place, while host Dr Lawrence (DipWSET) explains how to taste like a pro, offering specific tips according to the wines selected and the event’s theme.
As Stevie Kim, founder of IWA comments, “we’re privileged to have a native speaker from the UK leading these courses. The stereotypes are true, Rebecca is very strict and inflexible, but this is exactly what you need when using the SAT, and when learning to communicate at a higher level.”
She added: “I saw an opportunity to give our students and WSET community in Verona that extra added value that is so often missing: more time with wines, more language practice, and transferable skill-building for their futures.”
During the 30 minutes session, three different bottles – with their labels covered – will be shared, and attendees will have time to taste and guess what they’re sampling, based on the clues provided and their own sense of smell and taste.
This means that students cannot form assumptions about the wine ahead of time, and forces them to think on the spot when describing wines, this enhances quick reactions in a second language (the majority of attendees are Italian native speakers or have English as a second or third language), a skill that is fundamental to working and presenting wines; a sommelier or sales representative may know their wine, but not what a client will ask about it! Dr Lawrence then guides the students through her tasting note, inviting discussion.
Feedback from the students has been resoundingly positive, in a recent anonymous survey responses said that the sessions were “very useful for both the terminology and technical tasting skills”, and many attendees commented that the tastings were not only a change to improve their language skills but to meet others and expand their English speaking network in Verona. “It’s a truly promising way to connect, learn something new, and discover new wines” said one of the participants, who recently attended a WSET qualification course.
Details about the English Speaking Blind Tasting are released on the Italian Wine Academy social media channels and for more information please email: info@italianwineacademy.org.
