CLASS ACTS: Light-hearted tastings, or formal qualifications . . . there are plenty of opportunities to broaden your wine knowledge this autumn.
Up to now, only the Dublin-based Wine Development Board of Ireland (www.wineboard.com) had the authority to run the London-based Wine & Spirit Education Trust's (WSET) industry-standard courses here. But now one of State's best-known wine lecturers, Mary Gaynor, has been accredited to run the courses.
Gaynor began her career in wine in 1987 when she became the first person in Ireland to graduate with the WSET diploma in wines and spirits. She worked as senior lecturer for the Wine Development Board from 1989 to 2003. In 2002 she became the first Irish woman to have a Wine MBA conferred on her in Bordeaux. Since 2003, she has worked as a consultant.
Gaynor's operation, Wine Academy Ireland, based in Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, will offer a range of WSET courses including the foundation course, aimed at the hospitality industry; intermediate level, which is considered the basic standard for those working in the drinks industry; and an advanced course. The courses cost from €400 upwards. The autumn schedule begins on Monday, October 9th. Gaynor will also run basic wine appreciation courses.
For those who feel they still have more to learn beyond the WSET diploma, the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) offers the internationally recognised and notoriously difficult Master of Wine (MW) qualification. There are a total of just 250 MWs worldwide, six of them living in Ireland. u
SWOT UP ON WINE
- Wine Academy Ireland, The Quay, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, 056-7724894 If you'd like to know a little more about wine, and have some fun into the bargain, wine shops often run courses. Check out O'Briens (nationwide). Contact Des King on 01-2693139
- Gibney's of Malahide, Co Dublin, 01-8450606
- Donnybrook Fair, Morehampton Road, Dublin 4, 01-6683556 Berry Brothers & Rudd, 4 Harry Street, Dublin 2. Contact Denis Hartnett on 01-6773444
- Mitchell & Son, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, 01-6760766, and Glasthule Road, Sandycove, Co Dublin, 01-2302301