Virtually every profession evolves with time, and that makes continuing education an important aspect of many jobs.
That includes teaching people about wine.
The Society of Wine Educators’ 35th Annual Conference will take place August 3-5 in Providence, R.I., and this year will offer a creative take on the theme, “A Food and Wine Experience.”
The conference will feature multiple types of pairings: wines and spirits with complementary foods, as well as the pairing of the Society of Wine Educators and Johnson & Wales University. This institution is the largest educator of hospitality professionals in North America. Both pre-conference and conference activities will take place on that campus.
In addition to high-level cooking classes taught by the university’s chef/instructors, covering four major cuisines, an International Wine Tasting will take place at the recently completed Culinary Arts Museum. There’s also the pairing of imaginative ingredients in the “Creative Cocktails” event.
This year’s Plenary session will focus on Portugal. There will be three topics covered:
- The new wave of women winemakers.
- Modern Portuguese cuisine–a multi-course luncheon paired with Portuguese wines, prepared by Henrique Sa Pessoa, Lisbon’s leading chef.
- A comparative tasting of fortified wines, including Port, Madeira and Moscatel.
The SWE Conference is unique in its coverage, offering more than 50 sessions, presented by experts in their fields. This year, the guided tastings and lectures include:
- “The Legend of Sassicaia”
- “Benvenuto Brunello”
- “Lafite Around the World”
- “Rules of Engagement”
- “Blanc de Blancs Champagne”
- “Wines of Germany”
- “Raising Cane: A Deep Dive Into Caribbean Rum”
In the two days preceding the Conference (August 1-2), certification exams for the CSW, CSS and CWE exams will be given. And following the Conference, there will be a Winery Tour of Rhode Island.
Was learning this much fun when we were in school?
