Vinitaly International Academy proclaims 8 new Italian Wine Ambassadors at Chengdu, China
Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) successfully launched its Certification Course in Chengdu, the 3rd city to hold its course in China after Beijing and Shanghai last year. After a week of training followed by a final exam held on March 20th, VIA welcomed its 8 new Italian Wine Ambassadors (IWAs).
Under the direction of internationally renowned wine critic Dr. Ian D’Agata, the VIA course with five days of intense classroom lectures and wine tastings took place for the first time in Chengdu, China. Representing the one and only opportunity for wine professionals to gain extensive knowledge on the vast subject of Italian grapes and wines, the Certification Course enables all professionals to speak of Italian wine in a unified and organized manner, with true in-depth knowledge.
Candidates from all over China and neighboring countries took part in the course in order to leverage this opportunity of increasing their understanding of Italian wine. “I’m so honored to have taken this class and exam. Ian gave us so many new inspiration. The course is intensive and hard but definitely worth it!”, speaks Joseph Cheng one of the newly proclaimed Italian Wine Ambassadors.
At the end of the course, VIA welcomed 8 new IWAs (See the entire list below), bringing the count for IWAs to 139, 9 of which are Italian Wine Experts (IWEs), the highest VIA certification). Newly-certified IWAs and IWEs, will be able to support VIA in teaching the courses around the world and broadcasting the excellence of Italian wines.
It is not by chance that after three editions in Italy, the first two countries to hold the courses are USA, today’s largest market for Italian wines, and China, the market of tomorrow. Currently, VIA is home to 3 IWEs and 41 IWAs from USA, and 2 IWEs and 38 IWAs from the Greater China area. “With each additional IWA, VIA looks to further expand its Italian Wine community all around the world, and I must say so far it’s looking pretty promising”, confirms Kim.
Full list of our 8 newly certified Italian Wine Ambassador Chengdu Edition 2018
- Jing Zhang, Shanghai, China, Sales Manager, EMW Fine Wines
- Joseph Cheng, Hong Kong, Director, Story Wine Company
- Jane Zeng
- Ada Xiaowen Zhang, Shanghai, China, Sales Manger, Le Service Divin
- Maria Grazia Furbato (Italiana, vive in Indonesia), Jakarta, Indonesia, Wine Educator and Consultant, reWined
- Haixia Xu, Chengdu, China, Co-Founder of Sichuan Ocean International Trade
- Chunnju Emilia Hsiao, Taiwan, Co-Founder of Enjoyino Co.
- Sylvie Xuan Zuo, Kunming, China, Manager and Wine Consultant, Zhong Peng Shi Da International Trade Company
For more details about the VIA Certification Course and the Ambassador’s BIO see Vinitaly International Academy webpage.
About:
Veronafiere is the leading organizer of trade shows in Italy including Vinitaly, the largest wine and spirits fair in the world. During its 51th edition, Vinitaly counted more than 4,270 exhibitors on a 100,000+ square meter area and 128,000 visitors from 142 different countries with more than 30,000 top international buyers (up by 8%). The next edition of the fair will take place on 15 – 18 April 2018. The premier event to Vinitaly, OperaWine “Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers,” will unite international wine professionals on April 14th in the heart of Verona, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 100 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator.
Since 1998 Vinitaly International travels to several countries such as Russia, China, USA and Hong Kong thanks to its strategic arm abroad, Vinitaly International. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of divulging and broadcasting the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. VIA this year launched the fourth edition of its Certification Course and today counts 130 Italian Wine Ambassadors and 9 Italian Wine Experts.