Barossa wine school for China

A new initiative has been launched to educate Chinese wine drinkers about the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley.

The Barossa Grape & Wine Association (BGWA) has developed a Barossa ‘wine school’ that will educate students in Hong Kong and China about the Barossa wine region. The school, which will be an Australian first, is set to open at the end of the year.

The school has been developed by the BGWA in conjunction with strategic planning and brand development specialist Winehero. Paul Henry and Lucy Anderson of Winehero recently visited the Barossa with the scheme’s two partners in Asia, Stephen Mack, chief executive officer and wine educator with Asia Wine Service and Education Centre (AWSEC) and wine educator Wendy Qi of Ease Scent, to meet with local wine industry representatives.

The wine school curriculum was drafted by wine writer and educator Tyson Stelzer, who also played an integral role in the development of the syllabus.

The wine school syllabus is based on the BGWA’s “Barossa Chapters” document, which details the attributes of the region, its old vine plantings, sub-regions, multi-generational wine producing community and food and wine culture. Additional training materials will include videos, booklets and other teacher resources. Wines being used to illustrate the program will be drawn from in-market availability.

“Stephen and Wendy spent a week here fully immersed in the region. It was our intention to help them gain a full understanding of the region, to give them the best possible starting point to kick off the wine school,” said James March, communications and marketing manager BGWA.

The school will be managed by AWSEC and Ease Scent in market, using the syllabus and learning resources developed by the BGWA to support the delivery.

The wine school will begin in Hong Kong and Beijing, although further locations will be explored as the program rolls out across Asia in consultation with AWSEC and Ease Scent.

The school will consist of various levels, starting with a level one introductory course of two to three hours, which will lead on to a more intense one-day level two course looking deeper into the Barossa message. Students completing the courses will be presented with a certificate

“Our focus was really about how we could gain an influential regional brand position in Hong Kong and mainland China. We were motivated to drive education primarily to create a new generation of Barossa wine specialists in these markets. Education has been widely acknowledged as a key priority and we wanted to develop a syllabus that would sit across all markets to tell our story. We view it as a long term position to work in these markets,” said March.