Wine

Berkmann Wine Cellars launches training scheme

By Liam Coleman

- Last updated on GMT

Berkmann Wine Cellars launches training scheme

Related tags Wine Customer service

Berkmann Wine Cellars has launched into the competitive market of wine training for the on-trade.

The educational arm of the business, Veraison, aims to provide training that "is not academic; the outlook is wholly practical", Berkmann purchasing director Alex Hunt MW said at the scheme's London launch.

Veraison's training scheme, which is not limited to Berkmann's customers, has been broken up into three categories. Wine 101 aims to teach the basics of wine knowledge and consists of courses on how to speak wine and how wine varies around the world. The wine theory courses aim to give specific knowledge; this includes courses on red and white grape varieties as well as how to understand wine labels. Wine in practice, meanwhile, aims to apply knowledge to specific situations; the three sessions for this are food and wine pairings, customer service with wine, and a manager's module.

Each training session will last an hour to an hour-and-a-half, with a trainer coming on-site. The training session itself will be based around the wines already sold by the venue. 

Clara Rubin, training manager for Veraison and one of the scheme's trainers, told The PMA​ that the reason for Berkmann's move into the training market was to create training that offered more empathy. "Five years ago, the sales rep did the training because they're educated, but sales reps don't necessarily know how to teach something. They don't always recognise that their knowledge level is very high and very complex and don't necessarily put themselves in the position of the person they're talking to," she said.

Rubin added that she hoped the scheme would "get staff motivated and feeling more confident in their own ability".

Related topics Wine Training

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