Wine Australia is continuing its commitment to global wine education with the 2012 Wine Australia/Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) travel scholarships awarded at the WSET Graduation Ceremony in London, UK, on Monday 24 January. Nine scholarships were awarded including for the first time, as part of Wine Australia’s ongoing focus on the Australian domestic market, an Australian scholarship.
The scholarships provide an opportunity for WSET graduates to learn more about the Australian wine industry with a study trip to Australian wine regions. In UK/Ireland/Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific the scholarships were awarded to top-scoring students who completed the WSET Diploma. Students from China, Australia, north-east and south-east Asia who completed the Advanced Certificate were also awarded the scholarship via an application process. Wine Australia has worked with WSET to award a range of scholarships since 2007, with the aim of increasing Australia’s wine presence and reputation among wine educators, trade, retail and media in all key markets.
2011 Wine Australia Travel Scholarship Winners:
• Paul Dietz, Australia
• Peter Dreykluft, Europe
• Brendan O'Toole, Asia Pacific
• Gary Hewitt, Canada
• Mary Margaret McCamic, USA
• Paul Kiernan, Ireland
• Sophie Liu (Hui Liu), China
• Jie-Eun Lee, South Korea
• Nikhil Agarwal, India
The winners’ backgrounds include wine marketing, education, importing, media, winemaking and retail.
They will be visiting renowned Australian wine regions in March this year.
Annabel Mugford, Wine Australia’s Key Relationship Manager, said the scholarships were another opportunity for Australia to take a global leadership role in trade and consumer wine education.
“It is very encouraging to see the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the WSET graduates and I congratulate all of the scholarship recipients,” she said. “The scholarships are a tangible way for wine enthusiasts in our key international markets to further promote Australian wine to consumers, trade
and the media.
“The objective of the scholarship is to raise awareness and knowledge of the fine wine and regional
personalities that the Australian wine community has to offer. As a result of the visits, the scholarship
winners then become Australian fine wine ambassadors in their markets.”
“We are excited for the first time to have offered and awarded the scholarship here in Australia. As part of our increased focus on the domestic market we are building a group of well educated and passionate wine professionals who Wine Australia will work with to encourage Australian’s to discover our exciting range of Australian wines and wine regions to visit. We look forward to welcoming Paul Dietz to this group.”
In 2009, Wine Australia was the first country-specific marketing body to become a Gold Corporate Patron of the WSET, demonstrating Australia’s ongoing commitment to wine education. Wine Australia continues its commitment to wine education, through the support of global education providers, ongoing investment in tutored masterclasses and the delivery of an educational platform
FURTHER ENQUIRIES:
Annabel Mugford, Key Relationship Manager, Wine Australia
Tel: +61 8 8228 2074 or +61 428 113058
Email: annabel.mugford@wineaustralia.com