Wine information

Information about wine.

Landmark Australia Tutorial

Last Updated on Thursday, 05 January 2012

In 2008, Wine Australia decided to hold a special tutorial in Australia in order to show that Australia has a rich wine heritage and a diverse range of regional styles. This was the inaugural Landmark Australia Tutorial and Hundreds of people from all over the world applied to be one of the twelve attendees - and I was one who got in!

In June 2009, along with the other eleven disciples, I spent a week in the Barossa Valley at the luxurious Louise Hotel, and took part in what was, for me, the best wine week of my life.

The Institute of Masters of Wine

Last Updated on Friday, 20 January 2012

The Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) was founded in 1955, in London; interestingly, the first examinations for the IMW had already been held in 1953! It is a widely held opinion that this examination is the toughest in the world of wine and, while it does not qualify a successful candidate to be a viticulturalist or oenologue, it allows students to demonstrate knowledge of the whole world of wine to a great depth, as well as testing a candidate's tasting skills in the extreme.

Current MW students can log in at the MW student log-in page to go to the MW student page for file downloads relating to the course. If you don't have a log in for this site, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

As of November 2011, only 351 people have passed this examination (apparently fewer than the number of people who have been in outer space - 518!) and there are currently only 300 active Masters of Wine (MWs) around the world.

For more information, please go to the IMW website; also, please visit the Forging Links website to find out about the IMW symposium which was held in Bordeaux in June 2010.

About WSET

Last Updated on Thursday, 05 January 2012

The Wine and Spirit Education Trust of Great Britain (WSET) is the oldest provider of wine education to the trade in Great Britain. Founded in 1970 it has developed a series of courses designed to train people in all areas of the wine trade and is now involved in wine education internationally.

For information about the WSET Diploma course please go to the Diploma page.