?+¦-+?+¡Personally, I’d like to learn a lot more about wine. But the few wine courses I have attended here and in Burgundy have ended in tears, harassment, pain and expulsion and that was before the tasting side of the programme started.
But if I had the time and was accepted the internationally-acclaimed International Wine&Spirit Education Trust would be a good place to start, seeing they now have local representation in Cathy Marston. Yorkshire’s loss is our gain. And true to form, Cathy was actively promoting all this wine education stuff during Cape Wine 2012, forming relationships between this education body and the South African industry.
Press release from our Cathy:
The International Wine Education Centre (IWEC) celebrated the successes of their students at an MCC reception at Caroline’s Fine Wines in Strand Street on Wednesday evening. The IWEC is the only approved programme provider in South Africa for the internationally-recognised Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) wine courses. WSET offers courses aimed at enthusiastic amateurs and industry professionals alike and the qualifications are acknowledged as the standard for wine education in 58 countries around the globe.
Joined by a host of winery personnel, journalists, MW’s, WSET educators and prospective students, WSET’s International Business Development Director, Jude Mullins AIWS, made a short speech before presenting successful students with their certificates and pins. In her speech, she talked of the importance of wine education for the industry and how many MW’s and other wine industry luminaries began their careers with WSET. The presentation party took place in the middle of Cape Wine 2012, the most successful wine trade show ever held in South Africa, and Jude mentioned how the WSET courses give South African wine students a truly global qualification which will stand them in excellent stead for their future careers and wine appreciation development.
Cathy Marston AIWS, owner of the IWEC, said ?+¦?+º?+¦I am very proud of all the hard work and effort the WSET students have put in over the year. South African wine is expanding across the world and it is a fitting time for us to start to offer global wine qualifications ensuring that South Africans have all the tools necessary to compete in international wine markets.?+¦?+º?+æ So far this year a total of 32 students have passed Level 1, 23 have passed Level 2 and 7 have succeeded in the intensely-rigorous Level 3. In addition, the IWEC has successfully taught 10 students from the Four Seasons Resort on Mauritius.
The next Level 3 course starts on 18th October in Cape Town and the last Level 2 course of the year will be over the weekend 17th/18th November at Glen Carlou. All details of the courses can be found on www.thewinecentre.co.za. In addition, the IWEC will be offering courses in Johannesburg and elsewhere in South Africa in 2013 and the new year will also see the introduction of new courses, including specialised ones on spirits, wine service and the highest WSET qualification, the WSET Diploma.
For more information about WSET courses in South Africa or The International Wine Education Centre, please contact Cathy on cathy@thewinecentre.co.za or on 072?+¦-+?+¡390 9166.
Enjoyed this article?
Subscribe and never miss a post again.
I can’t praise Cathy and the quality of the WSET courses enough. We completed the level 3, and even though its a hell of a lot of work and quite challenging, we breezed through it because of the quality support we received.
I’ve had the misfortune to have had extensive dealings with a local wine education body, and it truly is chalk and cheese. Not just in the quality of the material taught, but also the management side.
Excited that level 4 is going to be offered. After level 3 we said “Never again” , but that diploma sounds awfully attractive.