Between the Vines: One woman's wine-soaked musings

Ten new grads from the WSET diploma program at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Vancouver

It's so much more than simply drinking wine, you know...

The International Culinary School (ICS) at the Art Institute (AI) of Vancouver celebrated its second round of WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) diploma-program graduates last night at Culinaria Restaurant.

While the ICS has offered the diploma courses by correspondence for several years, it now offers the full program in a classroom setting. This is just the second bunch of folks who have completed the diploma while attending classes on-site.

This year's 10 graduates, who come from varying backgrounds and career streams, chose to pursue their diplomas for very different reasons, with one thing in common—the love of wine.

Congratulations to all the graduates for very hard work, very well done. See a full list of the graduates at the end of this blog post.

A special round of applause is due Neil Punshon, Plamen Velikov, Katherine McEachnie, and Megan Carson for achieving a Pass with Merit, which is no easy feat within the WSET diploma program.

WSET 2010 diploma graduates Neil Punshon, Plamen Velikov, Katherine McEachnie, and Megan Carson achieve a Pass with Merit designation

And, a further singling out is deserved by Velikov, who achieved the status of top Canadian student and has been awarded a study tour of Australian wine-growing regions, courtesy of Wine Australia. 

Also attending the graduation celebration were several of the instructors:

Mark Shipway, AIWS, FWS
Wine Instructor and Department Head,
The International Culinary School

Barbara Philip, MW
Wine Instructor, The International Culinary School
Portfolio Manager, BCLDB
Co-owner, Barbariain Wine Consulting

Iain Philip, AIWS
Senior Wine Instructor, The International Culinary School 
Co-owner, Barbariain Wine Consulting 

Michaela Morris, AIWS
Wine Instructor, The International Culinary School 
Co-owner, House Wine

2010 WSET Diploma Program Graduates:

Plamen Velikov / Saverio Schiralli Agency
Neil Punshon / Liquid Art Fine Wine
Megan Carson / Personal Interest
Katherine McEachnie / MW candidate
Sherry Adams / Andrew Peller Ltd
Karen Smith / Personal Interest
Courtanie Cooper / Boneta Restaurant
David Jonathan Munroe / Libations Liquor Store
Chris Giroux / Anarona Wines & Bacchus at The Wedgewood
Amy Farnsworth

Salut!

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

First round of French Wine Scholar classes completed at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Vancouver last week: first time offered in Canada

I finished up my French Wine Scholar (FWS) classes last week with a classroom exam, followed by a five-course wine-paired dinner at Culinaria.

Offered at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Vancouver, the nine-week French Wine Scholar program was quite an experience. During its course, we tasted eight wines each class; studied French wine, French wine-related history and French-wine laws, region by region; and learned about the dirt, weather, topography, and all other things that go into making terroir.

This was the first time the French Wine Society program was offered in a classroom setting in Canada and I'm thrilled I was able to participate. The start-up details for the next FWS class follow at the end of this post. Scroll down to find out how you can join in.

Mark Shipway, wine instructor and department head, shared that part of his job here at The International Culinary School is to "expand our wine program offering and come up with new ideas and new courses that have both educational value and are appealing to our current and former student body. The French Wine Society’s program perfectly meets the criteria. I am teaching it personally because I’ve travelled to France since I was a kid and I love French wine!" Shipway continued, "France is the most important wine producing nation in the world and I want to try and give students an understanding of that with this course."

At first concerned if the FWS would work well with the established and world-recognized Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) program, Shipway determined early on that they are, indeed, very complementary study streams.

"Firstly, the French Wine Scholar is an advanced program so we need students to be able to taste wine systematically as well as have a basic understanding of Appellation Contrôlée when they start this course. The WSET program provides that foundation and we have stipulated WSET level 2 as a minimum requirement. I thinkthere is a natural progression for a student who has taken WSET level 3 and who wants to continue studying wine but cannot commit to the intensive two-year study of the WSET Diploma program," said Shipway, who commented further, "I also think the FWS is great preparation for those waiting to start the WSET Diploma. As far as focus is concerned, WSET’s is very much about understanding wine from a business andscience perspective, whereas the French Wine Scholar is much more about understanding the history of the French wine regions as well as focussing more on appellation and terroir."

When asked why someone in the hospitality industry and/or a wine enthusiast would want to take this course, Shipway replied, "Whether you're a hospitality industry professional or simply someone who loves wine, you'd want to take this course to learn more about French wine and taste a whole bunch of very cool stuff. Not only that, but to increase your comprehension of wine as a whole. Once you’ve understood Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, then you’ve understood wine. That won’t make sense to a lot of people reading this right now, but it will start to when you’ve taken the course."

I can attest to that.

Next French Wine Scholar program begins Tuesday, October 5 at 6:00 p.m. For more information, write to Mark Shipway at [email protected].

A Votre Santé

Copyright © 2010 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Sumac Ridge NV Tribute served to honour WSET diploma grads

The Art Institute of Vancouver hosted a graduation reception last week for its first round of WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) diploma recipients.

To achieve the diploma, one must complete Level 4 of the WSET program, which is no easy feat; in fact it often takes students three years to complete the four units of Level 4.

Sumac Ridge Estate Winery supplied their NV Tribute, a sparkling wine made from chardonnay grapes using the methode classique. This wine was "created to honour world class athletic performance as it takes centre stage at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games" but served to honour the WSET grads, too. 

At the reception to receive their diplomas and celebrate all their hard work were:

• Louise Wilson of Andrew Peller Limited,
• Harry Hertscheg of Vancouver Playhouse Int'l Wine Festival,
• William Johnson of Poplar Grove,
• Tim Ellison of Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts,
• Sarah McCauley of Blue Water Cafe,
• Wes Hunter of Hotel Rialto, and
• Sharon McLean, wine instructor at The Art Institute's Vancouver Island classes, who was recognized for being The Art Institute of Vancouver's top WSET Diploma graduate 2009. To commemorate this achievement, Sharon was awarded a bottle of vintage champagne and an engraved crystal Riedel decanter. But that's not all. Sharon was also recognized for being the top Canadian graduate (including graduates from the BCLDB & those from IWEG in Toronto) and for this she was awarded an an all-expenses-paid two-week study trip to Australia next spring, courtesy of Wine Australia.

 
Sharon McLean says a few words and thanks study buddy Louise Wilson

 

From left: Mark Shipway, Harry Hertscheg, Sharon McLean, Louise Wilson,
Wes Hunter, Barb Philip, Michaela Morris, and Tim Ellison

Many people, including instructors, came to the event to show their support to the graduates. And Sachi Singh, manager/instructor at The International Culinary School, made sure everyone's glass was full and the appetizers kept coming.

Betty Verkhuil of Vancouver International Film Festival& Film Centre
and Shelley Hamer-Jackson of Wine Australia celebrate with grads

 

 
Mark Shipway and William Johnson are all smiles

 

More smiles...this time from Sarah McCauley and Harry Hertscheg

 

Sachi Singh makes sure our glasses are full

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.
 

Harry Hertscheg earns WSET diploma then tells us what's up at 2010's Playhouse Winefest

Harry Hertscheg, executive director at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, was recognized at the WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) diploma graduation ceremonies this last Thursday evening at The Art Institute of Vancouver.

Not only is Harry the top dog at the Playhouse Winefest, he's a top dog in formal wine studies. One of the original few who started studying in the WSET diploma program when it was first offered at The Art Institute of Vancouver, Harry passed his final exam "with merit." A big deal, indeed.

Watch and listen as Harry tells us about the upcoming Playhouse Winefest, April 19-25, 2010. You'll hear a lot of happy chatter in the background as the other graduates, their teachers, and their supporters celebrate.

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.

Art Insitute Vancouver hosts its first WSET Diploma Graduation Ceremony this Thursday

Yes, I go to wine school. Wine college, to be exact.

I go to wine school to gain technical knowledge of the juice I love. I go to wine school to learn about the dirt and the weather in the places from which my beloved juice hails. I go to wine school so I can taste all sorts of wines, smell them, feel their weight, and learn what foods to serve with them.

 
Not a wine-school project, but this is some of the wine we tasted
during our fun-filled wine bloggers' conference in Santa Rosa in July

I go to wine school so I can sound somewhat credible when I share my excitement in print or online with the rest of the world.

But really, I go to wine school so I can learn
how to help you learn
how to love wine as much as I do.

And, when I received word in August that I had passed my WSET level 3 exam and had been awarded the Advanced Certificate, I (A) literally jumped for joy and (B) cracked a bottle of bubbly.

WSET stands for Wine & Spirit EducationTrust and is highly respected world wide for its courses in wine and spirits. We're lucky that we've got our own access to WSET at the International Culinary School (ICS) housed at the Art Institute of Vancouver, right on the corner of Granville and Dunsmuir Streets.

The Art Institute started teaching the diploma-level (level 4) WSET course in 2006 and this Thursday, September 17 will find three students from that original class, along with eight others, eligible to participate in the AI's very first WSET Diploma Graduation Ceremony.

Expected to attend are wine educators Barb Philip, MW, Iain Philip, Michaela Morris, AIWS, and Mark Shipway, AIWS. As well, nine of the graduates will be there to accept their diplomas: Harry Hertscheg (Playhouse Wine Festival), Tim Ellison (PICA), William Johnston (Poplar Grove), Sarah McAuley (Blue Water Cafe), Shane Taylor (Blue Water Cafe), Sharon McLean (International Culinary School), Vanessa Queyranne (David Hermann & Sons), Louise Wilson (Andrew Peller Ltd.), and Wesley Hunter

Of course, I'll be there to cheer them on, take a few notes, and snap a couple of pics.

Salut!

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Rake. All rights reserved.