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Vinitaly names four Italian wine ambassadors in Chengdu
Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) has named another four Italian wine ambassadors during this year’s Chengdu wine fair, after a week of lecturing and tasting under the guidance of Sarah Heller MW and Henry Davar.
The four wine professionals achieved the title after attending the second edition of the VIA course in Chengdu consisting of four days of lectures, guided tastings, tasting labs, and a thorough examination featuring a written test, a blind tasting, and a group video presentation.
The overall count for VIA-certified Italian wine experts and ambassadors after the Chengdu course has now reached 181 professionals, of which 168 are ambassadors and 13 are experts.
The five day in-depth course from 16-20 March was held at the Xanadu Hotel, where 30 Chinese wine professionals delved deep into Italian native grapes and territories.
The newly named four VIA Italian wine ambassadors are:
- Long Zhang, Wine Educator at Ease Scent
- Marisa Wu, General Manager at M&B Wine Co.
- Yong Xue, Wine Training Manager at Vats Liquor Chain Store
- Guangshuai Zhang, General Manager at Pro Italy international trading Co., Ltd.
Flavio Innocenzi, commercial director of Veronafiere, who opened the ceremony praised the entire class for the work they are doing in the market promoting Italian wines, and gave words of encouragement to those unsuccessful on this attempt, reminding them that being part of the community of passionate Italian wine lovers makes them ambassadors in their own right.
Stevie Kim, managing director of Vinitaly International and founder of the Vinitaly International Academy, drew comparison between WSET and VIA, saying: “We aim at becoming like the WSET system. Just as WSET qualifications are globally recognised as the international certification in wine and spirit knowledge, VIA aims to be the gold standard of Italian wine learning, coupled with an alumni programme that has built a global network of highly qualified Italian Wine Ambassadors to support and promote Italian wine throughout the world.”
The next VIA Italian Wine Ambassador courses include the flagship edition in Verona, Italy, in the lead-up to Vinitaly from 29 March to 2 April; New York City from 24 to 28 June, as well as a number of additional locations in the US and Asia.