The Italian Wine Maestro Program is an intermediate-level course dedicated to the world of Italian wine and its native grapes. The course is aimed at wine professionals with some background in wine and viticulture, but without any previous specific training in Italian wine. It is also open to wine enthusiasts with an interest in Italian wine culture and its rich grape biodiversity. The course follows a grape by grape approach to understanding Italian wine. The course comprises 24 hours of classroom teaching and wine-tasting divided into 8 three-hour sessions held on a weekly basis. At the end of the course students will sit a final exam consisting of a test with 50 multiple choice questions and a blind tasting of two wines. Italian Wine Unplugged Grape by Grape (by Stevie Kim et al., Positive Press, 2017) is the core text of the Italian Wine Maestro course.
In February 2017 Michaela Morris Italian wine expert, educator, and one of the contributor to the book, ran the pilot edition of the Italian Wine Maestro in Vancouver, Canada. Here are some photographs!
Stay tuned for the launch of the Italian Wine Maestro Program worldwide soon!
Expressions of interest about the Italian Wine Maestro program can be addressed at [email protected]
Instructor for the Pilot course in Vancouver: Michaela Morris
Michaela Morris is a wine writer, educator, judge and speaker based in Vancouver, Canada with frequent engagements in Italy. She closely collaborated in the development of the program and is also one of the contributors of Italian Wine Unplugged Grape by Grape. Besides writing for several Canadian publications including Taste and Quench, Michaela contributes to Meininger’s Wine Business International and Decanter online and print magazines. In Canada, Michaela judges wine competitions and speaks at festivals such as the Vancouver International Wine Festival, Cornucopia, Northernlands and the Judgement of BC. She has also presented seminars for the British Columbia Wine Institute and staff training for BC Liquor Stores employees. Abroad, Michaela has judged the Wines of Portugal Challenge and was inducted into the Confraria do Vinho do Porto as an Honorary Cavaleiro (Knight). She is a Panel Chairman for Vinitaly’s 5StarWines awards, speaks at conferences such as Wine2Wine in Verona and Barolo’s Collisioni Festival and sits on Collisioni's Wine Educational Board (W.E.B.). She was one of the first Certified Italian Wine Experts through Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) in 2015. She also co-created the curriculum for VIA’s Italian Wine Maestro course piloting the program in Vancouver prior to its international launch. Michaela successfully completed the Wine & Spirit Education Trust’s (WSET) Diploma in 2006 and is an instructor for program in Vancouver. She is now pursuing her Master of Wine studies.