Wine education in the wine country

Conclusion

It is important that teachers insist, at the beginning of the wine learning process, on wine culture and history and that they differentiate this beverage from other drinks which carry different social meanings. Wine consumption and alcoholism are antinomics and it is necessary to highlight that wine drinking is not a synonym for alcohol abuse and is a culture belonging to numerous countries in the world and also human heritage ( diwinetaste.com).

Wine can be intimidating and daunting even for students learning hospitality. The sum of knowledge is sometimes so considerable and theoretical that students often tend to give up when they face wine courses where they are asked to learn wine appellations without being able to put a taste to them. They also tend to have a lack of confidence and are often afraid to make mistakes. The French educational system is mainly a content based learning system (even if things are changing), wine apprenticeship should be done in a more active manner. Wine must be approachable and learned through a different learning process, on a more practical based apprenticeship. According to the region where the school is located (also dependent of the school budget) focus should be on visiting vineyards (at the same time with theoretical courses). Every time students discover a new vineyard, wine tasting samples should be done in order to better assimilate the new information.

Extracurricular activities also help to reinforce the learning process. Partnerships could also be implemented between hospitality schools and winemakers, helping the memory process of the oenology courses.

Obviously that raises crucial questions about the source of funding. A stronger partnership between Public education and stakeholders such as wine growers associations and restaurant owners associations could lower the expensive aspect of wine education. These partnerships already exist and should be only reinforced.

When a teacher's main concern is for students to learn the correct vocabulary before speaking about wine, it often leads to curbing their self-expression. It is therefore important for the students not to be fed with set phrases and a too rigid framework. Teachers should let them express their feelings and own opinions about wine even if they don't at the beginning make correct professional sentences. One of the most interesting aspects of wine assessment is that it mainly relies on each one experience (childhood has a big impact on the memory of smell). Therefore personal experience is clearly important in the wine tasting process and also allows

enjoyment of wine as it refers to past experience and own feelings. Students have to use their critical thinking. Only after few lessons, the teacher should give keys and vocabulary (and wine and food pairing advice) to assess wines and help to put words to their own experience. Educators should only insist on a few terms which will give them enough confidence when they advise customers.

Probably one of the reasons a lot of private wine courses are successful is that students are really actors and not only learners.

During the learning process, comparisons should be made between French wines and foreign wines. Comparisons help to better understand the difference of «terroir» and also avoid misunderstanding. If France produces great wines, some others also have outstanding products. «The French think that they still hold the wine monopoly in terms of great wines and that is an illusion» (Basset, 2011).