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The Wine Scholar Guild is launching a Loire specialism with Pascaline Lepeltier MS
The Wine Scholar Guild is launching a new programme dedicated to France’s largest white wine region.
(Photo: Gerard Proust)
The course, which will launch in September 2019, will be lead by Master Sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier, as well as a string of heavyweights in France’s wine industry including biodynamic pioneer Nicolas Joly, UK wine writer Andrew Jefford, and American natural wine advocate Alice Feiring.
Lepeltier, who is currently currently a partner in New York wine bar RacinesNY, became the first woman to win the Meilleur Ouvriers de France (Best Craftsmen of France) competition in the sommelier category last November.
The Loire is France’s largest white wine region, the second largest for sparkling wines and the third largest overall producer of AOC wines in France.
It is “a region in change,” according to a statement from the Guild, “and one that is finally receiving well-deserved attention and recognition.”
The new Loire Master-Level program is “designed for all committed students of wine whether wine professionals or serious wine enthusiasts,” according to the Guild.
Figures released by Loire Valley Wines last year showed that exports of Crémant de Loire to the UK rose by 34% in 2017.
Hopeful students will be able to study with a range of course materials including a manual, custom maps, and online e-learning modules, quizzes, practice exams and discussion forums.
In addition, students can also access live webinars with a panel of leading experts on the region.
The webinars, run by Lepeltier, Joly, Jefford and Feiring, alongside Chris Kissack, Jim Budd, Jo Landron, Damien Delecheneau, Benoit Roumet and Véronique Rivest, will run twice-a-week and provide students with an opportunity to interact with the instructors. The Guild provides specialised study & certification programs on the wines of France, Italy and Spain for industry professionals, and Master Level programs for French regions including Bordeaux, Champagne, Alsace, Provence, Rhône and Bourgogne.
Lepeltier said the region, despite being “one of the most exciting in the world,” has relatively few books or classes dedicated to it.
“This Master Class with webinars led by world-renowned journalists, vignerons, sommeliers, will fill this gap and offer an in-depth understanding of the area.”