Course and effect

"Our aim", says Brigadier Andrew Paviour, director of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, "is to demystify wine at all levels." The trust, which has just celebrated its 25th birthday, has already done much to achieve that end. The practical nature of its Certificate, Higher Certificate and Diploma courses have influenced thousands of people in the wine trade and in the hospitality industry.

Without the diffusion of knowledge of wine, how it is made, and where it comes from, it is hard to explain the quality that is now available in the UK. The language of wine and knowledge of its provenance, formerly the preserve of a tiny elite, is now widely dispersed among the professions that sell or serve wine.

And the public is not only drinking more wine - more than double the amount of 25 years ago - but is doing so with considerably more knowledge. The trust has, in short, sent out waves of enlightenment, and it now admits members of the public to its courses, to the mutual benefit of the trade and its customers.

The impact of the trust's influence is best explained by the figures. Every year no fewer than 8,000 students sit its examinations at one or other of the 250 examination centres across the country. Altogether more than 100,000 students have sought qualifications from the trust.

An average of 84% who sit the exam pass the Certificate, while the pass rate for the Higher Certificate is 70%.

A typical reaction to the work of the trust comes from Pamela Gregory, head of the wine department at Terence Conran's Le Pont de la Tour restaurant complex in London. A Diploma holder herself, she says there is nothing more useful than to be able to send staff on the trust's courses.

A recent example was Olivier Merotto, a French wine waiter at Le Pont de la Tour, who attended the Diploma course. "It really did his confidence a lot of good," she says.

Another of the trust's contributions is training people who train. The rule is that you have to be two qualifications ahead of the course you are teaching and to hold additional training qualifications. Clare Young, who is in charge of wine at Young's Brewery, London, holds the Diploma and is an enthusiastic trainer.

Young's is now a recognised Wine & Spirit Education Trust training centre and the success of its wine-by-the-glass policy in its pubs depends in no small way on the knowledge of pub staff, who are encouraged to sit for the Certificate. "The range of information in the institute's course packs which we distribute to students are very helpful," says Young.

One of the most useful technical services that the trust has given the industry is a language and framework for a wine tasting system. A blank page from the student tasting book used in the Higher Certificate course shows country, region, name of wine, quality status, vintage, producer, supplier and so on at the top of the page, followed by appearance (clarity, intensity, colour, rim versus core); nose (condition, intensity, development, fruit character); palate (sweetness, acidity, tannin, fruit intensity, fruit character, alcohol, length); and a space at the bottom for conclusions (quality, maturity).

The more comprehensive list used in the Diploma Course includes such colourful entries as "tired", "animal" and "onion skin", to name a few.

Career development

For people who serve wine at the table or who buy wine for hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars, the courses provide not just a key to career development but a basic knowledge essential to operating procedure.

The trust also provides text books, videos and other visual aids, organises study tours and designs courses and training material for the specific requirements of individual companies.

It works closely with other organisations such as the Academy of Food & Wine Service and integrates scholarships and other awards.

As the organisation moves into its 26th year, its plans suggest no slackening of energy. At its headquarters at Five Kings House in the City of London it has just opened a second lecture theatre and tasting room. "The addition of this second teaching facility gives us a wonderful opportunity to extend our present range of events and to make them more flexible," says David Wrigley, who is the trust's head of education.

Among other things, that means a series of workshops on wine and food. They will examine basic elements such as sweetness, acidity, tannin and flavour and how they interact when wine and food are taken together. The trust's 17 permanent staff will also be involved in an extension of the "Training the Trainer" seminars, tutored tastings and seminars for Diploma graduates and budding Masters of Wine.

Caterer's own tasting panel will use the trust's new facilities for its next tasting. The event, featuring the Pinot Grigio wines of Friuli in northern Italy, will be reported in Caterer, December 15.n

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust can be contacted on 071-236 3551