April 12th – This week Vinitaly International Academy welcomed 5 new certified Italian Wine Ambassadors into its community, marking 235 Ambassadors and Experts worldwide. Now VIA turns its attention back to its Verona Flagship edition, and one of the biggest markets for Italian Wine, the United States, with newly formatted hybrid editions with online lectures and in-person socially distanced tastings.
Coming up on its 18th Edition Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) offers the gold standard for Italian wine education. It is a fully rounded approach to the study of Italian wine, that focuses not simply on the appellations, but covers a vast array of the native grape varieties, whilst also offering a deep dive into the history, culture, and philosophies that have shaped the long history of Italian wine. As Pedro Ballesteros MW has said “Italy is one of the most fascinating wine countries, full of jewels to discover, historical backgrounds to understand, flavors to feel and remember, subtleties to spot, visions to share. VIA offers a unique opportunity to get to grips with such precious knowledge.”
One of the overarching aims of VIA is to be constantly building its ecosystem. In this way, the Faculty and VIA team have built a strong and committed community that many wine education programs lack. Beyond becoming an Ambassador or Expert community members benefit from the most up-to-date information about Italian wines thanks to Chief Scientist Prof. Attilio Scienza, as well as trips and access to producers and wineries in the territory. Besides, once certified as an Ambassador or Expert there is the option to become an Italian Wine Educator, an ancillary qualification that gives participants the possibility to teach the preparatory VIA Italian Wine Maestro course.
The next course will be the 18th edition of the VIA Italian Wine Ambassador course, which will be marked by a return to Verona for another flagship edition. This new flagship course will be the first to utilize an agile format with the online theory classes continuing, but students coming together in Verona to be led by Faculty members through guided tastings and Q&A sessions ahead of the exam
Later in 2021, VIA will return to offer courses in the USA. Previously these have had to be limited to particular cities, but now thanks to a reformatted agile course, applications can be accepted from all over the country, broadening the scope like never before and offering opportunities to more students than ever. Reformatted to be more agile, VIA USA will combine the online on-demand theory sessions with in-person tastings proposed for July at Tasting Centers across the United States.
This newly reformatted course truly shows VIA at its best, as demonstrated by the enthusiasm of participants, “Vinitaly Academy Agile edition has made the impossible possible: making us feel part of the VIA Community during this difficult time. I was able to feel surrounded by fellow classmates, share my passion for Italian wine, and feel close to the heart of Italy through my screen! I was completely blown away by the enthusiasm and knowledge shared by excellent Italian wine experts Henry Davar and Sarah Heller MW!” Roddy Ropner IWA.
Recruitment for both courses is now open and candidates can apply at: https://vinitalyinternational.
About Vinitaly International Academy:
Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) aims to be the gold standard of Italian wine education. VIA offers a complete educational path with standardized courses that will teach professionals and educators to master the diversity of Italian wine in a rigorous, organized manner. VIA’s main objective is to foster a global network of highly qualified professionals such as Italian Wine Ambassadors and Italian Wine Experts: in turn, they will support and promote Italian wine throughout the world. VIA’s ecosystem comprising the main institutional bodies and associations in the Italian wine industry strives to be the conduit between the leading players in the Italian wine scene and international professionals.
To know more about VIA, please visit: https://vinitalyinternational.
