Celebrating Performance – Wine education

A joyous evening filled with lots of wines, good food and great company. Company of fine people who went against excuses for busy schedule and other no-no to meet their target. Individuals who made it and earned the title, Certified Specialist of Wine.

Certified Specialist of Wine is a theory-intensive programme targeted to develop confidence over fundamentals of viticulture and wine making. On top of that, a main part is the understanding of wine-producing countries, their regional requirements, laws and styles. While some believe that wine education should consist of tasting, the curriculum is designed otherwise. In my opinion, this makes sense for people who study trends and styles, or approaching wine industry from an analytical and research mind. In the industry, this will fit the bill for people who are providing consultancy services.

Parents train their children to be the highest scoring kid in school. Young adults on cut-throat race for the highest honour class in university, endless accumulation of post-graduate diplomas and MBA credentials. It reaches a state of perverse obsession! But when professionals come face to face with continuous education programmes, “I can’t afford the time. It’s too expensive. I have enough experience.” and the most classic of all, “I’m too old for this.”

Structured programmes deliver contents from an international perspective. This is (no surprise) more effective compared to spending time and money on vineyard tours and market visits. Customers today are more well-travelled and learned. For those less familiar, a simple Google search or iPhone app can offer wine recommendations way before the sommelier can say bonjour.

Unfortunately professional education are often scorned by people who chose to bury their head in sand (perhaps for too long). No coincidence these are the same people who have an unrealistic sense of job security. This phenomenal negativity is not something for wine industry alone. Coming from a technology background, I carry a few programming certifications under my belt. Similarly, people who spent long duration in this field showed the same level of disdain about education.

The tragic fact is that they aren’t well versed with their stuff all the while, but able to make it sound like they do. Bah.

Each year Singapore Polytechnic’s Professional & Adult Continuing Education (PACE) academy conducts four wine classes. On average, each cohort has 15 students, a mixture of trade professionals and consumers. A small number, but not forgetting there are other education providers catering to various skill levels. PACE academy was where I started my first taste of wine education.

Additionally there are wine clubs and informal groups. Exploring, sharing, shaping and growing the consumers knowledge level, style preferences and encourages exploration beyond the known varieties. While the local market is filled with French, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and South Africa wines, there’s no stopping for consumers to seek Spanish, Portugal, Italian (increasingly popular) and fortified wines!

If you don’t know what they are looking for, how are you going to manage the sales? And much less about maintaining market position.

Should consumers take up courses? Only if you are willing to spend the money to widen your knowledge. It is unlikely for anyone to attend mechanical course before buying a car, but it can be enriching and handy at times. Otherwise, probably not.

Still, I enjoy stressing trade professionals that we are smarter than a fifth grader (or them).

Refer to the following links for more information about the courses they offer:

NTUC e2i