Learning about wine

A world literally opens up to you when you get serious about wine. The more you know about it, the more interesting and fun it becomes. So it's time for a course. But which one?
Text: Petri Houweling | Image: Shutterstock

In fact, wine is just a drink, but it is actually so much more. Wine is part of history dating back to before the beginning of the era. Wine is also culture, gastronomy and geology. There are books full of books written about wine, but to really understand it, some knowledge is a must. So you have to go to school. When it comes to wine, these come in many shapes and sizes. But which one should you have?

SDEN (or WSET)

If you google 'wine course', the choice is huge. There are plenty of providers. All a trainer needs is space for that long table, some nice wine glasses, spittoons and an instructor with an SDEN-4 vinologist diploma or a WSET-4 certificate.

The Dutch SDEN stands for Stichting Dranken Examens en Normering. Under this heading, wine courses are offered at five levels; from the SDEN level 1 entry course to Magister Vini (SDEN 5). There is also training on spirits and beer. You can take classes for SDEN 1-3 at very many places in the Netherlands. Almost every self-respecting wine shop offers this opportunity, but there are also specialised, nationwide trainers such as the Wine Institute and the Association of Wine Teachers (AWD). To help consumers find a quality wine course with certified teachers, a seal of approval is in the making. The SDEN diploma is recognised by the Dutch wine trade and the catering trade organisations.

SDEN 1 is a basic course of two evenings, suitable for everyone, even if you know nothing about wine yet.

SDEN 2 goes a step further: in five evenings, you will taste 50 wines and learn about the overall differences between wine regions. This course is suitable for the novice wine professional.

At SDEN 3 you taste even more wine and dive deeper into theory. After completing this course, you will have knowledge of the main wine regions, wine legislation, production techniques and viticulture. You will also be able to judge the quality of a wine while tasting it. A must for anyone working in the wine industry.

WSET (or SDEN)

The abbreviation WSET stands for the Wine & Spirit EducationTrust. Their classes are run by APPs (Approved Programme Providers) These 'performers' can be found all over the world and have to adhere to strict requirements. There are four levels (WSET Level 1-4) that are laid out slightly differently from the SDEN courses. They also have different learning and testing systems. Being a British training provider, classes are often in English. The Amsterdam Wine Academy (AWA) and the Wine Studio also give Dutch-language lessons. At the AWA, you can also get wine-tasting lessons from a true wine BN'er such as Harold Hamersma. Mind you, this is in addition to level WSET 1, 2 or 3.

At the Wine studio you can go one step further and do the training for Weinakademiker. This is because they are a partner of the Weinakademie Österreich. This is the largest wine training institute in Europe, based in Austria. With the right motivation and prior knowledge, you even have a chance to win a scholarship. Are you only interested in learning about wine from France, Spain or Italy? The Wine Scholar Guild runs online and live classes on these important wine countries. Check out their site for options.

Go learn to be a sommelier, wine teacher or importer

For future professionals

If you have the SDEN 3 certificate in your pocket and have caught the wine bug, you can progress to SDEN 4. You need this level to work as a wine professional, for example as a sommelier, wine teacher or importer. For this, you can choose from three providers.

At the first one, the Wine Academy, you study at booths. In fact, classes are held in an upmarket country house in Zeist. This course is quite an investment in money and time. But if you pass all four modules here in one go, you will finish it in a year. You then go to a physical 'school' every two weeks for a whole Monday with fellow students. There, early in the morning, the wines are ready to be tasted blind. The afternoon is filled with classes on a specific wine region or topic. And these are taught by renowned professionals in the wine business.

So much for the teaching days, you do need to attend a lot of tastings in addition to this and allow enough time for proper self-study.

The cost is around €4,200 for the lessons. To that is added the cost of the four exams of €125 each. But then you have something, because everyone knows and appreciates this course in the Netherlands. Moreover, you will make wine friends for life. If you want to continue after that, you can also take the Liquorist and Magister Vini courses.

During such a course you will make (wine) friends for life

For those with serious professional wine ambitions and little time, there is option two. The WTOL-Academy promises that you can reach the pinnacle of sommelier craftsmanship in six months after completing the vinologist/sommelier course. That's level 4, but you can also go there for the first three levels. These range from beginner to aspiring sommelier/sommelier and can also be taken online. WTOL-Academy is the only SVH-certified course (Stichting Vakbekwaamheid Horeca) in the Netherlands. The word 'horeca' indicates the difference with SDEN: the SVH exams are, in terms of content, more focused on practical applicability. They are therefore especially suitable for employees in this industry.

In the previous WINELIFE, we already reported on the third option, newcomer Wineflight. They offer courses and workshops that are designed slightly differently from more traditional wine courses. Their vinologist course will start in November 2024.

Networking and further training

Once you are working towards becoming a true vinologist, there are plenty of opportunities to keep your knowledge up to date. For example, at the VVN (Verenigde Vinologen Nederland). This association is for wine lovers and professionals with a high level of knowledge. To keep this knowledge up-to-date in a playful way, the members themselves organise different types of tastings. For example, they have wine glass tastings, you can take a social media course on wine or sign up for wine trips around the world. So a prerequisite is that you are at least a trainee vinologist. The big advantage of this club is that the members together have a huge network. As a result, they get to places that are inaccessible to many.

Really learning to taste (blind)

An important part of all wine courses is the technical blind tasting of wine. Which is poured from a bottle whose label you cannot see. So your other senses have to take over. You determine where the wine comes from based on its smell, colour and texture. A little practised sommelier can do that, as can Lukas Wiegman. This spring, he was named the best sommelier in the Netherlands. He won the Trophée Henriot during the Dutch Championship for Sommeliers. This prestigious competition is organised by the Dutch Guild of Sommeliers. Their aim is to raise the level of Dutch catering and gastronomy. It is not an exclusive club, anyone working as a sommelier in the Netherlands can join.

NK Blind Trials or the Lafite Laureate

Are you not a sommelier, and love a wine competition? Then join the Dutch Blind Tasting Championships. There, together with other passionate private and professional wine lovers, you will test your wine knowledge. Besides eternal fame and glory, the winners get the chance to participate in a real World Championship. In blind tasting, that is. This is organised by the French wine magazine La Revue du vin de France. Each participating team consists of four people who do not necessarily have to have the title of vinologist. This year, it was two Brabant teams of non-professionals who became the rightful winners of the gold and silver. Next year on 31 May, there will be another edition to participate in. Fortunately, there will be time to practice a lot then, because that is essential.

For the loners among us, there is also the Lafite Laureate. This classic among blind tasting competitions, originally open only to members of the VVN, throws open the doors after 25 years to tasting talents who are not members of the club. As a participant, you first go through the regional preliminary rounds, after which the best tasters advance to the semi-finals. Finally, 10 contestants compete against each other in the grand final. The name of this battle comes from Château Lafite Rothschild, which has sponsored it since 2018. The winner gets to visit this prestigious château in Bordeaux.

Going off the deep end with wine and food

This article should not miss the golden tip for a wine and food course. Because there are also many trainers in this field. With the number one spot is the Academy of Gastronomy by Peter Klosse. This former lecturer at the Hotel Management School Maastricht is an expert on gastronomy and has the honorary title of 'taste professor' for good reason. The academy offers a number of courses and one of them is the Wine & Food specialisation course. This provides insight into taste and pairing wines and dishes. Because to know why which combinations are successful, you need more than wine knowledge and traditional principles in the culinary field. Here, you will expand your understanding of flavour enrichment. After that, pairing wine with matching dishes will be a breeze. The real diehards can progress to the highest level: level 3 for Professional Gastronome-Sommelier, even recommended by gastronomy guide GaultMillau. However, it is recommended that you plunge into this adventure with advanced wine knowledge.

Spitting out is a must!

Self-study: spitting out must!

If you don't feel like going back to school at all, go for self-study. There is plenty of teaching material available. Highly recommended is the 8th English edition of The World Atlas of Wine by Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson. Other excellent options are Tasting like a Pro from our own Master of Wine Cees van Casteren, or the Wine Folly Masterclass By Madeline Puckette. The choice is huge if you shop around a bit. Whatever you do, do a conscious tasting, and preferably blind. Organise regular tasting evenings with a club of friends yourself. And go to all the tastings you come across in the online WINELIFE calendar. A regular visit to the wine bar is also a fun way to practise. Mind you, it is important not to swallow the study material, otherwise all that practice will be useless.

For more info on wine courses in the Netherlands, also visit wineinfo.co.uk/wine-training-in-a-row/

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