The Wine Education Centre (WEC) has been providing quality wine education in Western Australia for more than 40 years.
WEC delivers practical, industry-focused wine education for hospitality, retail and wine professionals, building the knowledge, confidence and skills needed to recommend and sell wine with assurance.
Wine Education for the Trade
The Western Australian wine industry relies on knowledgeable hospitality and retail professionals to influence purchasing decisions and create better customer experiences.
Yet many front-line staff receive little formal wine training and lack the confidence to talk about wine, particularly Western Australian wine.
The WEC Trade Education Programme addresses this gap with accessible, practical and relevant training covering:
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Sensory evaluation
- Wine faults
- Front line wine service
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Still wine production
- Vessel types
- Aged wines
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Wine styles and regional differences
-
Food and wine matching
- Sparkling wine production
Essentials One Day Course
$2,500 + GST
A one-day introductory course (approx. six hours) designed for the trade and covering the essential foundations of wine knowledge
Includes:
- Sensory evaluation fundamentals
- White wine production
- Red wine production
- Wine storage options and ageing
- Wine service essentials
- Common wine faults and identification
- Food and wine pairing principles
- Overview of Australin wine regions
- Introduction to WA wine regions
1. How to Taste Wine and Wine Styles
- What is wine?
- Structure of a grape and how it affects wine style
- Fermentation process
- How to taste wine using the Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT)
- Understanding the olfactory system and its role in smelling and tasting wine
- Varietal labelling
- Wine faults
- Service Techniques
2. White /Sweet Wine Production
- Video presentation from Wine Australia
- Vintage overview and vineyard importance
- Regional differences:
- Cool climate vs warm/hot climate
- Impact on wine style
- Winemaking processes
- Botrytis cinerea
- Food pairing for white wines
3. Red Wine Production
- Video presentation from Wine Australia
- Winemaking differences between white and red wine
- Malolactic Conversion (MLC)
- Carbonic Maceration
- Maceration
- Vessel types
- Oak
- Concrete
- Terracotta
- Uses and benefits
- Wine ageing fundamentals
Essentials Plus Two Day Course
$3,500 + GST
An expanded foundation programme providing a deeper understanding of wine, with additional practical tasting and a dedicated focus on sparkling wine.
Includes everything in Trade Essentials, plus:
- Sparkling wine production
- Additional guided tastings
- Extended sensory evaluation
- Deeper exploration of wine styles and production
1. How to Taste Wine and Wine Styles
- What is wine?
- Structure of a grape and how it affects wine style
- Fermentation process
- How to taste wine using the Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT)
- Understanding the olfactory system and its role in smelling and tasting wine
- Varietal labelling
- Wine faults
- Service Techniques
2. White /Sweet Wine Production
- Video presentation from Wine Australia
- Vintage overview and vineyard importance
- Regional differences:
- Cool climate vs warm/hot climate
- Impact on wine style
- Winemaking processes
- Botrytis cinerea
- Food pairing for white wines
3. Red Wine Production
- Video presentation from Wine Australia
- Winemaking differences between white and red wine
- Malolactic Conversion (MLC)
- Carbonic Maceration
- Maceration
- Vessel types
- Oak
- Concrete
- Terracotta
- Uses and benefits
- Wine ageing fundamentals
4. Sparkling Wine Production
- Key grape varieties used in sparkling wine
- Sparkling wine production methods:
- Ancestral (Pétillant Naturel / Pet Nat)
- Charmat (tank method)
- Transfer method
- Traditional method
- Key sparkling regions:
- New World – Australia and NZ
- Cava regions
- Northern Italy
- France (includes Champagne)
- Regional influences on sparkling wine style
- Sparkling wine and Champagne labelling terminology
This program is supported by the Wine Industry Partnership, an industry-led initiative supported by the WA Government.
Your Wine Education Starts Here
Whether you’re new to the wine industry or looking to build the knowledge and confidence of your team, the WEC provides practical education designed for the realities of the trade.
Courses are managed by Blair Hill DipWSET, WEC Director and Educator, bringing extensive experience across wine education, sales, marketing and the Australian wine industry.
Blair Hill DipWSET – WEC Director/Educator
BPE, DIP ED (UWA), GRAD DIP BUS
(MARKETING) (ECU) DIP WSET (WSET-UK)
In addition to his longstanding role as Director at the WEC, Blair’s wine education experience includes the delivery of Level 2 and 3 of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) courses, and a sessional lecturer at Curtin University in Sensory Evaluation 202, a second-year Oenology and Viticulture unit.
In his ‘day job’, Blair consults to a number of Western Australian boutique wineries in strategic sales, marketing and business development across domestic and international wine markets. He is a Director of Vintage Fine Wine Distributors (VFWD), which imports and distributes exclusive French, Italian, South African and ultra-premium Australian wines of provenance and regionality.
Blair has been the wine reviewer for ABC 720 radio’s ‘Afternoons’ for ten years, for which he won the Court Wine Bar/Wine Press Club Media Award. He has judged at a number of regional wine shows including the Geographe, Swan Valley, Perth Hills and the WA Boutique Single Vineyard Wine Shows.
For all enquiries regarding courses, email Blair at [email protected]