LONDON, U.K. — The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the first-ever global Wine Education Week.
Taking place from September 9 to 15, Wine Education Week celebrates the diversity, taste and culture of the world of wine with a program of interactive events focused on learning about and enjoying wines from across the globe.
The event will kick off September 9 with food and wine pairing launch events across the world at 6 p.m. local time in 24 countries. Starting with Auckland, New Zealand and ending with California, WSET is aiming for a continuous 24-hour global food and wine tasting session.
In the U.K., the launch event will also be an opportunity for wine lovers to help break a Guinness World Record for the largest ever recorded sommelierie lesson.
In Canada, launch events will take place in Toronto and Vancouver, hosted by IWEG Drinks Academy and Statera Academy respectively.
“Wine Education Week is a celebration of our mission to inspire and inform wine lovers across the world,” says Ian Harris, CEO, WSET. “With exciting events taking place everywhere from New Zealand to Thailand to Mexico and, of course, our home in the U.K., I can’t think of a better way to mark WSET’s 50th anniversary and the progress we have made in wine education over the last half-century.”
Following the launch, Wine Education Week will continue with more than 450 events in 46 countries. In Canada, WSET course providers are organising 15 events in five locations, including VinoZen in Burnaby, B.C.; University of Guelph in Guelph, Ont.; Statera Academy in Vancouver; IWEG Drinks Academy in Toronto; and CO.OP Wine Spirits Beer in Calgary. A complete list of Canadian events is available here.