The Wine & Spirit Education Trust Will Host a 24-Hour Global Wine and Food Tasting to Launch Wine Education Week Beginning September 9
London, United Kingdom (May 14, 2019) – The world’s largest provider of wine and spirits qualifications, the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) will celebrate its landmark 50th anniversary by hosting the first ever global Wine Education Week from September 9-15, 2019. Originally founded in 1969 for wine and spirits professionals, WSET has since opened its courses to enthusiasts and this year’s Wine Education Week seeks to engage with the growing population of wine consumers worldwide by teaching them to drink better.
“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”.
To launch the Wine Education Week, WSET has coordinated a continuous 24-hour global wine and food tasting that will start in Auckland, New Zealand, and end in California, USA. The campaign will start on Monday, September 9, at 6 p.m. local time and continue around the world in 24 countries. In the U.K., the launch will also include an attempt to break the Guinness World Records’ title for the largest ever recorded sommelier tasting, which currently stands at 271 people. Events will also be held in New York, LA, Vancouver, and Hong Kong.
The launch events will be supported by the WSET’s global network of brand ambassadors, including three in the U.S.: Chelsie Petras of ChelLovesWine, Kelly Mitchell of The Wine Siren, and Alyssa Vitrano of GrapeFriend. International ambassadors include Olly Smith in the U.K. and Terry Xu in China.
Following the launch, Wine Education Week will rollout to WSET course providers in 45 countries and host more than 450 fun, education events designed to encourage consumers to learn more about wine and “How to Drink Better”— WSET’s motto for its 50th anniversary. Introductory sessions are designed to engage consumers and provide them with the knowledge to make more educated choices when choosing a bottle of wine, spirit or sake. Ranging from finding the perfect pairing to how to mature wines, there will be more than 65 events in 30 locations across the country.
To learn more about WSET courses and find a local Approved Program Provider, visit wsetglobal.com.
About the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET)
WSET is the largest global provider of qualifications in the field of wines, spirits and sake. WSET offers qualifications across four levels, from one-day beginner courses through to an expert level diploma. Courses are available in more than 15 languages and over 70 countries and are open both to industry professionals and interested enthusiasts. Qualification levels 1 to 3 are recognised by the UK Government (Ofqual) and all WSET qualifications have a strong reputation worldwide as the industry standard for knowledge. In the last academic year (2017/18) 94,822 candidates sat for a WSET qualification, and since 1969, WSET has awarded more than half a million individuals a WSET qualification. For more information about WSET, please visit www.WSETglobal.com.
