We are excited to release our latest blog piece which is all about the emergence of online wine education and why we are proud to offer and champion it at West London Wine School – enjoy the read with a glass of wine in hand.
For this entry, our Chief Marketer, Tris Wynne caught up with Sam Hill - Head of Online Education (and our resident winemaker and Alsace expert) to get his opinion on the ever-growing phenomenon of online wine education. Sam also explains why (in his humble opinion) West London Wine School is the place to be (…virtually) for online courses and tastings. If after reading this, you would like to sign up for any of our online offerings, check out all our upcoming events and courses here.
Sam is our Head of Online Learning and has been a tutor with the school for the past 3 years. After completing numerous wine courses, including acing his WSET Level 3 Award In Wines qualification, in 2017 Sam took the plunge, left his medical research job and signed up for the MSc. in Viticulture and Oenology at Plumpton college, specialising in English still and sparkling wine. Sam's passion lies in vine growing and winemaking, and he believes that by understanding the science and the stories behind the wines, their beauty is revealed. He has indulged this obsession by working harvests in the cellars around Europe including Franciacorta in Italy and Alsace in France. All this in preparation for making his own wines here in the South of England. In addition to winemaking and teaching, Sam is also currently completing his WSET Diploma qualification.
Tris Wynne (TW): Sam, thanks so much for taking the time to explore the exciting new frontier of online education for our West London Wine School blog. Let's jump right in - what do you think are the key benefits of online wine education?
Sam Hill (SH): My pleasure! If you had asked me this question prior to March 2020, I probably would have responded like most In the Industry would have at the time - 'how can you successfully host a wine tasting or course online?' However, after March 2020, the wine industry had to catch up quickly and find a new way of operating to survive the uncertainties around Covid and resulting restrictions.
But it turns out, wine tastings and courses are really fantastic opportunities to utilise online education with loads of benefits to participants. Learning about wine from the comfort of your own sofa without the need to travel, arrange for babysitters or dogwalkers, is very convenient. For people who live too far away from the school to attend in person, it's a great opportunity to learn about wine. It also provides the added benefit of having the entire tasting or course lesson recorded, which is massively helpful for when last minute commitments pop-up for attendees.
TW: Yes of course, I think it's easy to see that being able to attend wine tastings from home definitely has its appeal for all those reasons - but what about the social aspect of the in-person tastings? Inevitably that can't be replicated online, right?
SH: Absolutely, in-person tastings and courses provide a great way to engage with the tutor and other attendees that can't truly be replicated online. But importantly, consumers want choice and online options are really opening it up – it’s not all about in-person anymore, that’s just one of the options available. Not everyone who is interested in wine is comfortable in an in-person setting. We are proud to now offer online tasting and course options that some people find far more relaxed and easier to engage with. This setting provides the option to engage via camera with other attendees on screen without feeling obliged to do so – we actually think that our online options give less confident individuals an opportunity to get more involved in the comfort of their own home. For this reason, you can see why it is really taking off with different groups of wine enthusiasts and students.
TW: True - I suppose for every person who really prefers the in-person tasting, there will be someone else who would rather attend an online tasting. It's great that the wine industry now has both options at their disposal to make the experience available to as many people as possible.
SH: Exactly.
TW: So inevitably, one of the main reasons people attend a wine tasting is to taste wines. How does West London Wine School approach this with their online tastings and courses?
SH: Yes - a wine tasting without wine leaves a lot to be desired! In the earlier days of our online offering, postal wine samples hadn't really been done yet, so there was a steep learning curve. But we now have a really good system in place. Our wines are carefully selected by Jimmy Smith and our team at the school and are then packaged into sample bottles protected by inert gas. We send these straight out to our students’ homes with regular dispatches to make sure they arrive in perfect condition.
TW: So, after someone signs up for an online tasting and they receive their wines, how do they access the actual online tasting?
SH: All registered attendees receive an invite to login to the online event, so they can join at the listed event time. Of course, if they can't for any reason, they can catch up at their convenience via the recording of the event.
TW: Do you use Zoom for your online tastings and courses?
SH: Actually, we use a platform called Clickmeeting as opposed to Zoom for all of our online courses and tastings.
TW: Oh interesting! What made you go with Clickmeeting as opposed to Zoom?
SH: Zoom is - as pretty much now most of society knows - a great medium for online socialising. Ultimately, we wanted a platform that offered the social capabilities of Zoom but for us also provided many of the educational tools that we knew we would want to employ on our lessons - so I guess we really had our educators hats on at the time when we made that decision back in 2020. Fortunately, it turned out to be a great asset to our online offering and attendees do not have to download any software or create any login details to join our tastings on Clickmeeting. The platform really allows for great interaction between the tutor and students. We can share documents, interact with the slides and have breakout rooms to discuss the wines in smaller groups. That being said, for any private online tasting or course we host, we are more than happy to use Zoom or any other online platform that our clients feel comfortable with. We've become pretty savvy adapting to the different platforms!
TW: So, let's quickly talk about professional wine qualification courses, such as WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) and Wine Scholar Guild (WSG). Has West London Wine School been successful at offering these courses online as well?
SH: Yes! These courses have proved to be incredibly popular online, and we've gotten some amazing feedback from our online WSET and WSG students.
TW: I suppose one of my big concerns if I was considering taking an online version of these courses is that I would not have as much interaction with my tutor or classmates. I can't be alone on this?
SH: No - I definitely think that many people would share that concern, but fortunately, in my opinion anyway, tutor and classmate interaction isn't really hindered. Students are able to ask questions during the lessons as our tutors always host these 'live' - nothing is pre-recorded. Students can do this via camera or microphone, but if they are a bit shy they can also utilise the chat panel too. So, in fact we think it can actually encourage more participation especially from students who might otherwise be intimidated to speak up in the in-person classroom setting.
TW: That makes sense! But what would you say to students who think they get 'more value' out of attending a WSET or WSG course in-person vs online?
SH: My answer is that students are absolutely entitled to their preference - and we are fortunate enough at West London Wine School to be able to offer both in-person and online experiences for these courses. But I would firmly state that in-person isn't better value than online. With the online courses, you are tasting all wines live with the same tutors who teach our in-person classes. You are also able to catch-up via recording if you miss a lesson, but even more valuable, you can re-watch the class again and again even if you did attend it live online. I know from my past experiences, if a difficult topic was covered in a class I was taking, it would have been amazingly beneficial to be able to revisit that class again to thoroughly get to grips with it. We also have a dedicated tutor available to answer any questions outside of the classroom via email - so additional assistance is always available if needed. All students benefit from this.
TW: What about results for the WSET and WSG courses? Inevitably, going back to my previous question, students ultimately want to set themselves up to succeed on these courses. Have you noticed a difference in pass rates for online students vs in-person students?
SH: Great question and I thought you would be asking this so I dug into some data for you. I had a feeling that our online students' WSET and WSG results would be just as good as our in-person students' results. At West London Wine School, we pride ourselves on having exceptionally high pass-rates to begin with on our WSET courses in particular, so ensuring that we deliver our online courses in a way that sets our students up for success in the same way as our in-person courses was paramount to our online offering. So after analysing the pass rates over the past year, we've found that our students have achieved fantastic results on our online WSET courses with over 98% of them passing their Level 1 and 2 exams and 82% passing WSET Level 3! Additionally, the majority of our students pass WSET Levels 2 and 3 with Merit or Distinction.
TW: How do those pass rates compare with the global average for WSET students taking these courses generally around the world?
SH: Unfortunately, we are not able to publish global average pass rates for WSET - but nice try, Tris. However, it’s safe to say that our rates are well above the global average across L1, L2 and L3.
TW: Wow, okay that's pretty great. So, to achieve those types of results, what is West London Wine School doing to help students earn these qualifications?
SH: Ultimately, it’s up to the students to put in the revision time necessary to earn their WSET qualifications, however we know that each student will have their own methods and preferred revision techniques. We want to ensure we give students every resource possible to help them study in a way that will maximise their chance for success. For this reason, we also provide all-inclusive access to Wine with Jimmy's E-Learning Wine revision portal to all our WSET students. Students also have unlimited access to me - yes, me… - as their dedicated out of class instructor.
TW: What is Wine With Jimmy's E-Learning Wine portal?
SH: Here students find a wide array of supplemental content to help them pass their WSET exams. For those who prefer a visual learning style benefit from the carefully prepared videos hosted by Jimmy Smith focusing on exam technique, wine terminology, grape varieties and regions. There are also multiple-choice questions, flashcards, interactive exercises, print-out revision templates, maps and exercises as well as short written mock exam questions and sample answers for WSET Level 3 students.
TW: What about people just interested in attending wine tastings for fun or the general enthusiast or wine scholar who isn't interested in attending a professional qualification course? What opportunities do online wine tastings offer them?
SH: Professional qualifications are not the whole story by a long way. We host some fantastic one-off tastings with winemakers, broadcasting live from all over Europe and the USA. This offers our online attendees the unique opportunities to interact with and quiz some of the world's most skilled and knowledgeable winemakers on a fairly regular basis - which is just such an amazing opportunity and experience. The great online speakers we've hosted online at West London Wine School also include Masters of Wine, Emma Symington and Nancy Gilchrist.
TW: Sam, as a massive wine buff yourself, what online tastings are grabbing your attention right now?
SH: I am very excited by the online grape variety comparison tastings we have started hosting. By looking at wines from a single grape variety from around the world, tasting attendees will be shown how climate, grape-growing and winemaking affect the style of the wines produced. As well as being attractive to enthusiasts, this series will be great for WSET Diploma students like me, who are keen to practise their tasting technique. I can't wait to attend the Academy of Cheese tastings run by our cheese expert Jonny [Tyson]. I love the idea of getting artisan cheese delivered to my door!"
TW: Do you have a favourite online tasting or course to host?
SH: I enjoy teaching WSET Level 1 and our introductory World of Wine courses. It's rewarding to take people on their first steps through wine education. I love to see those lightbulb moments and getting the students enthusiastic about the different styles and regions. Those who have met me know I have a soft spot for the wines of Alsace, but I also love teaching about Italy, with its huge range of wines and proud culinary culture.
TW: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak about West London Wine School's online courses and tastings. I was wondering to end this interview, what 5 adjectives would you use to describe the school's online tasting offering?
SH: Entertaining, engaging, educational, enjoyable and fun!
To browse all of West London Wine School's online courses and sign up to as many as you’d like, click here.
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