SOUTH Australia’s rich wine heritage is getting the grassroots recognition it deserves, thanks to a passionate suburban initiative by the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA).
The short course, Know Your Wine - Enjoy Your Wine, is delivered in Adelaide and is educating everyday Australians with the knowledge and confidence to better appreciate, select, and understand the wines of our premier regions, including the world-renowned Barossa Valley.
The course is delivered in Adelaide by experienced wine educator David Crossman, who has previously judged wine overseas.
Know Your Wine - Enjoy Your Wine is a one-session course designed for those who want to better understand what’s in their glass.
It breaks down wine fundamentals into approachable concepts, offering a practical and sensory introduction to wine appreciation.
It will also help beginners or seasoned wine drinkers to be more confident in choosing a wine for any occasion, and which wine pairs well with what foods.
Participants will also learn why they might like a particular wine, and all of this while enjoying the cheerful approach of Mr Crossman, who has taught wine at WEA since 1994.
He holds qualifications in wine studies, and has judged wine in France, at the Concours Agricole de Paris.
Previously involved in marketing, he started off as a fill-in, before taking over as the course educator.
He has a background in secondary and adult education, combined with hands-on experience in wine retail and wholesaling.
Mr Crossman said to enjoy wine it was important to understand what you were drinking.
“When people visit the Barossa or South Australian wine regions, we want them to understand why a shiraz might taste fuller-bodied here, or what to look for on a label that indicates a quality drop, it’s about confidence and connection,” he said.
“I love my wine and I am enthusiastic about it and coming from an education background, I can’t help myself as a teacher and I like to let people know what wine is all about.
“Someone started it up years before, I filled in and was working full time at WEA at the time in marketing and education, and when this person left I thought what better person to do it than me.
“With wine you know there is always something new coming up and you never stop learning.
“If you want to enjoy wine you have to learn more about it, different regions have different things to offer.
“The short course, Know Your Wine - Enjoy Your Wine gives participants the ability to discover and appreciate the time and effort that goes into making quality wines.
“Awareness that comes with education and the WEA course is a great way to help the community recognise the winemaking work that goes on in the regions.
“The result of the WEA course is a greater appreciation of wine, an improved vocabulary to describe it, and greater confidence when selecting wine in shops, restaurants, or wineries.”
Whether you’re a curious beginner or a wine lover, the course helps participants explore why wine styles taste the way they do, how to judge the quality of a wine, and how to interpret the Australian regional classification and labelling system to find the best quality and value.
WEA, established in 1913, is Australia’s largest non-government adult community education provider and offers hundreds of short courses, and Know Your Wine - Enjoy Your Wine, is a perfect example of how the WEA connects people with skills that enrich daily life.
WEA chief executive officer Lesley Venning said she “couldn’t be prouder” of the culture that has been cultivated by this course and other courses like it.
“WEA offers nearly 1000 short courses each year, to more than 10,000 students across locations… across a broad range of topics, if you think of it we probably run it,” she said.
“We are incredibly proud that a course like Know Your Wine - Enjoy Your Wine is able to connect individuals to our wine regions.
“It also helps by deepening course participants with an appreciation for the Barossa and neighbouring areas.
“Courses like Know Your Wine - Enjoy Your Wine have always been incredibly popular at WEA, with tutors like David educating participants for over 30 years.
“It is important for people to better understand what wine pairs well with different foods, and it helps people to make good choices.
“It gives us the opportunity to showcase regions like the Barossa, and wineries provide their wines and use them in our courses, so it’s a bit of self-promotion for promoting their wineries.”
Mr Crossman said he had learned there were different styles of wine that were suitable for each region.
“When it comes to the Barossa, obviously shiraz is the big one, but I am also interested in grenache and the grenache blends out there, and the Barossa is also famous for their GSMs,” he said
“The same way that the Clare Valley is famous for their riesling. People that do the course will learn about this sort of thing and I am always learning all the time as well, even though I have been teaching for so many years, there is always things that change and obviously the weather has a bit to do with this.”
He said the keys to making a great Barossa shiraz were all about the grapes, and with the region being a fairly warm climate, these were fairly ripe.
He also emphasised the Barossa also included Eden Valley, which generally had a slighter cooler climate, which translated into the shiraz.
Mr Crossman also had concern about producing the quantities of grapes for the next vintage due to the lack of rainfall, which was bad for the vineyards.
To find out more about WEA and the courses available visit the website (www.wea-sa.com.au/) and this will also provide more details about the Know Your Wine – Enjoy Your Wine course, and other wine and food courses that are run by WEA.
