Breaking news…. Mexico has a brand new option for taking the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines program, right here with me at Vino Vallarta Wine School!
Just this morning, I learned that I passed both the Theory and the Tasting portions of the WSET Educator Training Programme, allowing me to start offering this course.
The training was intense, not only because it was conducted online on UK time (six hours ahead of here, meaning I had to wake up at 2 AM in order to be ready for our 3 AM start each day), but because it already assumes that every candidate already has 100% perfect knowledge of the entire Level 3 textbook and can produce a Distinction-level tasting note at the drop of a hat. What we, as students, are being graded on, is our ability to teach that knowledge in a way that ensures our own students get the very best learning experience possible.
It was an incredibly insightful and inspiring program, and as an educator, I learned very valuable insights into how to link theory and tasting together to lead the students to really understand what is happening in the wines we taste and why they taste and smell the way they do. I shared my online classroom with educators from the UK and classmates from France, Turkey, Western Australia, and upstate New York. A global bunch indeed!
This certification means big things ahead for our school. Beginning in September, we will be offering the Level 3 Wines program live in person in Puerto Vallarta after I’m fully vaccinated and have waited the recommended two week period after the second jab. Registration will open for this course later this month, and there will be a variety of payment options available, including monthly payments instead of needing to come up with the full amount all in one go.
Vino Vallarta has many online students throughout Mexico that have passed their Level 2 Wines and would also like to sign up for this course. We will be offering several different options for these candidates:
a strictly online program that doesn’t include wine samples and only requires the candidate to attend the exam in person
a hybrid approach that allows the student to join anywhere from Mexico via videoconference or view later recordings of the in-person class. A selection of wine samples will be sent by Fedex to the candidate each week so they can taste along with the class
an option where the students will attend a full day of classes in person at the beginning of the program and then another full day of classes the day before the exam to be used for review, completing the rest of the program online
We are just sorting out pricing for these different options and will have this information ready when registration opens later this month. Thank you to everyone who has already pre-registered, you will be offered first option to sign up and complete registration before we open up to the public. If you are interested in adding your name to the pre-registration list, email us with your details.
The course will be held in English and you must have passed the WSET Level 2 Wines course (in any language) to register. We will be having Spanish-speaking educators attending the English course and once they pass, we will be able to offer WSET Level 1 and 2 Wines in Spanish (likely January 2022). We will also be expanding to CDMX for in-person Level 1 and 2 classes in both English and Spanish, so stay tuned for more information!