Paid to proselytise.... or planes, trains, more trains, a bus and even more trains and a car....

I am a lucky man - I've said it before and I'll say it again at some stage. I've just spent two great days teaching WSET Level 4 Diploma students in Belgium and Holland about Australia. Getting here was tricky but, after some wild train rides all across Holland I made to Antwerp Sunday evening (13th Nov. 2016) and the following morning had the first of two classes.

New Diploma course for Ireland

WSET have just announced the details of a new Diploma course, to be run in Ireland, on a classroom-based block release structure. There are two Semesters in this course and. to date, only the first Semester has been planned. There are three blocks for this Semester: Monday October 29th to Friday November 2nd (the first day is a Bank Holiday); Wednesday 16th January 2013 to Friday 18th January; and Tuesday 19th February 2013 to Friday 22nd February. Exam dates have also been set for exams based in Dublin. No venue has been announced as yet. Course fees have been announced: GBP1,655 for the Semester. Booking is done online via the WSET website.

New Diploma Graduates

Dermot Nolan Wine Services is pleased to announce that there are eight graduates this year from the WSET Level 4 Diploma Course. These are: Dorothy Dillon, Paul Kiernan, Noel MacMahon (Febvre & Co.), Stephen McFarland, Beverley Mathews (Wine UnCorked), Paul O'Flynn (Treasury Wine Estates), William Tindal (Tindal Wines) and James Tobin (O'Brien's Wines).

There are two prizes awarded – the Wine Australia Scholarship which is awarded to the graduate with the best overall performance in the Diploma, and the George O’Malley Tasting Cup, gifted by Maggie McNie MW, awarded to the student who gets the highest marks in the Tasting Examination. This year, the winners are: Wine Australia Scholarship - Paul Kiernan; George O'Malley Cup - Michael Sweeney (Inis Wines). Well done all!

Let's do lunch

In the dim and distant past the now defunct Wine Board of Ireland had enough class to throw a decent graduation party for those who completed their WSET Diploma. Now, in these straitened times all I can afford is a good lunch so, starting last year and in conjunction with John McDonnell of Wine Australia, I host a lunch at L'Ecrivain. John is involved as Wine Australia sponsor the prize for the best overall Diploma mark and he sponsors the wine for lunch while I pay for the food.

Wine education - why bother?

As someone who makes a living from wine education I am naturally biased, so I'm likely to answer this question with something such as "It's fun", "It's social", "It's a useful skill". However, some years ago, the Wine and Spirit Education Trust of Great Britain (WSET) did some research in partnership with the now defunct Unwins to see whether wine education had any real value.

Back to the land of Oz

Well, well - Diploma hits Oz, home of Landmark, Skippy and lots of realy great wines - even if the DipStuds did seem underwhelmed by them at times! My colleague and fellow Spurs fan, Martin Moran MW, led the way and gave the students a good review of what is too big a subject for the paltry one day it gets. As always, stockists/suppliers in parentheses, details at the end.

Bubbly fun...

Having slipped and fallen badly on black ice in January, Maggie McNie MW was unable to come over to give the sparkling wine lecture. However, she has recovered and was able to get here for the 15th March and we had a very good lecture. Stockists in parentheses with details below.

Germany and Austria

As a long-standing fan of German riesling, I love the Germany lecture, as it gives me a chance to taste some pretty good German wines, even if it isn't all that easy to get these in Ireland. By combining this lecture with Austria, I also have to chance to taste some pretty good Austrian wines, the range of which is improving. So, Monday 1st March was a "mittel-Europa" day; stockists in parentheses with details below.

Alsatian gems

In the afternoon, it was off to Alsace and we had quite an interesting range of wines to taste. Again, Linda Jotham MW led the class on a very good tour through the regin and its various varietals and soil types. As always, stockists/suppliers in parentheses, details at the end.

Burgundy - the lovliest wine region in the world

Yes, there might be places with more extreme scenery (the Western Cape, for example) but nowhere can really produce wines like you get in Burgundy. They aren't all good but the best are fantastic and really can change the way you think about wine. Linda Jotham MW came over to give this lecture and presented a very good class with a great tasting. As always, stockists/suppliers in parentheses, details at the end.

The spirit world

No - Diploma hasn't gone all seances and stuff but rather moved to the Spirits lectures, given by the very friendly and knowledgeable Peter Morris-Wilson. Unfortunately I couldn't attend these lectures in full so I can't really comment. However, I always get good feedback from the students about Peter's lectures so he's always worth listening to. There is a huge range of spirits to taste on this course and Peter certainly provided an excellent range.

Fortify yourself and be of good spirit

Poncey title, huh? Well, Diploma started back in January with the Fortified wines lecture. Again, I think the range was good, although it's getting harder to get some styles of fortified wine so a few came out of the old Wine Development Board stock. As always, stockists/suppliers in parentheses, details at the end.

Go west, Diploma!

And south, as well! On Tuesday 27th, Barry Geoghegan MBA was back in the saddle as the Diploma circus headed west and south to learn all about the Americas in one day! He started in North America (he even included Canada - probably only because there is a Canuck in the class LOL), headed into the USA then, after lunch, covered Chile, Argentina and other south American countries. The wines were, if I do say so myself, pretty darn good.

Diploma in Italy

Oh begob, back when I was a nipper, studying Diploma we had David Gleave MW for the Italian lecture. A hunky, smooth-talking Canadian he was always popular with the women in the class. Nowadays, we have Michael Palij MW, a hunky, smooth-talking Canadian...is there a pattern emerging here?

Diploma in the Rhone

For the Rhone lecture, held on 13th October, the students got a decent range of wines to taste (as I pick the wines, I would say that wouldn't I? LOL). As always, stockists/suppliers in parentheses, details at the end.

Diploma in Bordeaux and SW Fance

Now, the 2nd years do a lot more tasting - and they've had some excellent wines along the way with more to come! Stockists in parentheses with details below.

Diploma joys for starters.

I suppose one of the benefits of running the WSET Diploma in Ireland is the chance to taste some pretty good wines. This month has been very busy - all in all 8 lectures, all full day events. By the end of today some 77 wines will have been tasted by the 1st and 2nd year students. Stockists in parentheses are listed at the end.