Wine Education Week is starting with a Guinness World Record attempt

The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) will launch a ‘Wine Education Week’ in 2019 to coincide with the programme’s 50th anniversary.

The week-long campaign, which will run from 9-15 September 2019, is being held to “engage with the growing population of wine consumers worldwide, encouraging them to learn more about wine,” according to an emailed statement.

In the UK, the launch event will also include an attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the largest ever recorded sommelierie lesson, which currently stands at 271 people.

The food and wine pairing masterclass, which will be heldat The Kia Oval, London, will be Olly Smith and sommelier Virgilio Gennaro, and give attendees an insight into the art of pairing food and wine, guiding them through a tasting of four wines matched with complementary foods.

There will also be launch events hosted by WSET in Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver.

Following the launch, Wine Education Week will roll out with WSET course providers in 45 countries hosting more than 450 educational events aimed at consumers.

Wine Education Week will be supported by a global network of brand ambassadors including 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.

WSET CEO Ian Harris said: “Wine Education Week is an inspiring initiative that promotes 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.”