Bibendum is teaching bartenders and sommeliers about eco-friendly winemaking

On-trade drinks supplier Bibendum has launched a one-day training course to educate customers about sustainable winemaking practices.

The Mindful Winemaking Course, which launched on Wednesday 24 October, covers subjects like organic, sustainable, biodynamic and natural winemaking to provide bar staff and entrepreneurs with “an in-depth knowledge that can easily be passed on.”

Modules on the course include a basic introduction to biodynamic vinegrowing, as well as helping sommeliers and staff determine when a natural wine, which can often appear hazy and carry a vinegar-like scent, is faulty.

Julia Bailey, Head of Customer Training at Bibendum, said that, although sales of organic and natural wines in supermarkets have picked up in recent years, sustainable wine production is still a confusing subject for staff in the on-trade thanks to a “myriad of labelling terms and different certification bodies.”

While a number of countries have their own regulations and requirements for a wine to be labelled as organic, there are no legal definitions for ‘natural’ wine.

“The challenge we have as an industry is that these philosophies can be challenging for consumers to understand with a myriad of labelling terms and different certification bodies, each with their own intricacies of legislation.

“We think it’s about time people really got under the skin of these specialist approaches and fully understood them, which is why we have designed this unique one-day course.

“We believe that staff in the trade should not only feel confident talking about these wines, but they should be using their knowledge to actively shape their guests’ drinking habits.