The Wine Education Centre (WEC) is the prime provider of wine education for consumers and trade in Western Australia and the educational arm of Wines of Western Australia
Providing quality wine education for well over 40 years, the Wine Essentials Course is designed to increase your wine knowledge and develop your palate. The only prerequisite is a love of wine. It is also an appropriate course for those about to enter the wine trade, with a Certificate of Merit awarded upon completion. Throughout the year, Old Bridge Cellars also hosts the Wine Education Centre’s specialty wine courses. These are short courses which focus on a particular style or region. All courses are managed by Blair Hill, who comes with a wealth of wine industry experience.
Develop Your Wine Knowledge and Palate
What Does It Take to Win Gold?
Venue: … by Old Bridge, Queen Elizabeth St, North Fremantle
Date: Thursday 10th September 6.30pm – 8.00pm
Price: $55
Ever wondered what it takes for a wine to receive a Gold Medal at one of Australia’s most prestigious wine shows?
Join us at … By Old Bridge Cellars for a fascinating evening with award-winning winemaker and respected wine judge Liv Maiorana, as she takes you behind the scenes of the Australian wine show system.
Having judged at numerous wine shows across Western Australia, including the Perth Royal Wine Awards, Liv returns to the judging panel for the 2026 Perth Royal Wine Awards. Drawing on her experience as both a judge and winemaker, she will explain how wines are assessed, how medals are awarded, and what separates a Gold Medal wine from the rest.
Throughout the evening you will taste wines exactly as judges do, comparing medal-winning examples side by side:
Gold, Silver and Bronze medal-winning Chardonnays from the same class
A second class of red wines (variety to be confirmed), featuring Gold, Silver and Bronze medal winners
A Gold Medal-winning Fortified to conclude the tasting
On arrival, enjoy a Gold Medal-winning sparkling wine, with a gourmet cheese plate included.
Liv is the owner and winemaker of SXSW Wines in Margaret River. She has earned widespread recognition for her innovative approach to small-batch winemaking, including being shortlisted for the 2022 Halliday Wine Companion Dark Horse Winery Award and winning the 2019 Young Gun of Wine People’s Choice Award.
SxSW is an artisan winery based in the Margaret River wine region, producing wines of distinction that combine respect for the land with innovative viticulture and both traditional and contemporary winemaking techniques. Liv and Mij farm a small certified organic vineyard in Wallcliffe, crafting wines that express both place and personality.
Wine Essentials Course – September 2026
Venue: By Old Bridge Cellars North Fremantle
Date: Commences Tuesday 2nd September – 22nd September, 2026
6.30PM – 8.30PM (four weeks – two hours per week)
Price: $395 pp (15% off for WoWA Members and their staff)
The Wine Essentials Course is held over four consecutive weeks, the course covers six wines per session.
The course provides the necessary information for all wine enthusiasts who are looking to increase their wine knowledge and approach to tasting. It is also an appropriate course for those about to enter or are in the wine trade.
- Week One – Learn how to taste and assess a range of wine styles and understand the wine show system in Australia.
- Week Two – White wine production, styles and botrytis cinerea (noble rot).
- Week Three – Red wine production, styles, importance of oak and cellaring potential of wine.
- Week Four – Food and wine matching to be held at Samsons Paddock restaurant, Mosman Park.
- Plus a Saturday vineyard visit to the Swan Valley or Perth Hills and the Essential Wine Tasting Guide.
Contact Person: Blair Hill
Telephone: 0417 987 461
Email enquiries: [email protected]
Sparkling Wines of the World
Venue: By Old Bridge Cellars North Fremantle
Date: Tuesday 24th November 2026, 6.30 – 8.30pm
Price: $99 pp
Contact: Blair Hill 0417987461 [email protected]
Explore the wonderful world of sparkling wines. You will be guided through a range of the world’s best sparkling wine styles including Champagne, Cava, Prosecco and others.
Blair Hill DipWSET will discuss the regions of origin and the methods of production for each of the styles. There will be up to eight wines tasted throughout the two hour session and some premium cheese plates provided.
Proudly supported by
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]