The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is appealing to the UK wine industry to help it kick off its Wine Education Week on 9 September by beating a Guinness World Record for the largest ever sommelierie lesson.
Olly Smith will host the event with sommellier Virgilio Gennaro
The record attempt, which is being hosted by TV wine presenter Olly Smith and sommelier Virgilio Gennaro at The Kia Oval, in London, is hoping to gather together more than 350 people to break the current world record.
The duo will guide attendees through a wine pairing masterclass, featuring four wines matched with complementary foods, while giving an insight into the art of pairing food and wine.
The current record for a sommelierie lesson that the WSET is hoping to beat stands at 271 people.
The event kicks off a week-long campaign that not only celebrates the Trust’s 50th anniversay, but aims to engage the growing population of wine consumers across the world, to encourage them to learn more about wine.
More than 450 wine-related consumer events will take place in 45 countries between 9-15 September, with launch events taking place in Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver.
More than 70 events willl take place in the UK during the week with sessions ranging from ‘Deciphering Wine Labels’, to ‘Matches Made In Heaven’, ‘Vine to Glass’, and a fizz-focussed ‘All That Sparkles’. The consumer events cater for novices to knowledgable consumers as well as those working in the trade,designed to help attendees make wiser choices when choosing a bottle, discover lesser-known wines they might not have tasted before and build their skills and knowledge.
A global network of brand ambassadors supporting the week include Olly Smith in the UK; Terry Xu in China; Alyssa Vitrano (grapefriend), Kelly Mitchell (The Wine Siren) and Chelsie Petras (Chel Loves Wine) in the USA.
Speaking at its launch in May, WSET CEO Ian Harris said the week was an inspiring initiative that promoted WSET’s mission to inspire and educate wine consumers as well as trade professionals. “It is reaching out worldwide through our network of course providers to engage with consumers across every continent, from New Zealand to Thailand to Mexico.”
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate WSET’s 50th anniversary and to demonstrate the progress we have made with wine education over the last 50 years,” he added.
Tickets to the Guiness World Record beaking event cost £20 and are available through Eventbrite.
