Posted: 17.06.2020
Get to know wine better! The School for Sommelier was held for the first time in Transcarpathia
An intensive month, 15 lectures and 77 exclusive samples for tastings are part of the School for Sommelier which took part in Transcarpathia on the basis of the Chateau Chizay winery. The future wine experts studied at the Vitaliy Kovach’s School for Sommelier, the School of the most famous sommelier of Ukraine Vitaliy Kovach. Wine culture is a topic worth noting.
Vitaliy Kovach’s School for Sommelier provides an opportunity to profoundly understand wine and strong alcohol and to learn professional serving and even beverage production technologies.
The most important knowledge about viticulture, winemaking, typology and serving of wines, study of aromas and tastes of wine, acquaintance with the strongest drinks from around the world, beer and cigars – this is the incomplete list of the suggested subjects.
Transcarpathia is a wine-growing region, but so far there has been no sommeliers here and this profession has never been taught. And by joining efforts, Chateau Chizay and Vitaliy Kovach implemented a project for the development of the culture of wine knowledge and consumption.
Gathering a group to study in Transcarpathia was especially responsible – says the most famous sommelier of Ukraine, a member of Italian Sommelier Association, founder and lecturer of the School Vitaliy Kovach.
“This is my homeland! Therefore, this course was so exceptional for me emotionally. Here a lot of events happened for the first time in 10 years of the School existence. For the first time we had classes in a winery, almost among the vineyards. The group was geographically diverse – students from 8 cities of Ukraine, and by age – from 19 to 63 years. Also an interesting company: both those who work with wine and people who want to reveal the topic to themselves.
At no other school have I experimented with blind tastings so much. Chateau Chizay is inspiring, and we had some interesting tastings where we replaced bottles. And together with the students we came to the conclusion that domestic wine is not only not worse, but can exceed imported wines by quality. I wanted to emphasize the quality of Ukrainian drinks and evoke justified patriotic respect for the manufacturer. The quality of Chateau Chizay wines allows you to do it 100%!
It was the farthest school from Kyiv, so we had a special schedule: intensive course at weekends. I confess: it was difficult for me, curator of the School Iryna and lecturer on strong drinks Timur Rajabov to cover more than 800 kilometers every week. But our business, the group, their feedback, emotions were worth it.
I hope the training was not only informative and useful, but also enjoyable. I know that after taking a sommelier course, people become happier, and I wish this to every graduate, as well as success in business. I already miss the students and I am waiting for a meeting at the second level of the School for Sommelier in Transcarpathia!”, says Vitaliy Kovach.
“To hold the School for Sommelier in our site is a decision in the style of Chateau Chizay. Because it is illogical and unfair that the region, which is associated with wine and winemaking, possesing long traditions and new successes in this business, has no relevant specialists so far.
We observe a lack of wine culture, knowledge about wine, insufficient culture of consumption. All events that take place under the auspices of Chateau Chizay Academy – seminars, workshops, international cooperation projects – are intended to correct the situation.
There is a hope that graduates of the School will help bring wine culture to a qualitatively new level. To be continued!”, says Igor Radomyselskiy, Vice President of Chateau Chizay, Curator of Chateau Chizay Academy.
According to Gennadiy Gutman, the founder of Chateau Chizay winery, education is one of the Company’s missions. “Of course, we did not just support the idea of holding a School for Sommelier in Transcarpathia. We gladly accepted it, and I hope everyone was comfortable. The Company also reimbursed students 30% of the course cost. This is our contribution to the development of wine culture of the region and the state.
We believe that we will revive the glory of Ukrainian wine, in particular, wines from Transcarpathia. And it must be done jointly and professionally.
Gratitude to our friend Vitaliy Kovach for his important work! Congratulations to all students on having an interesting course and good luck in passing exam!”, says Gennadiy Gutman.
Despite the fact that the quarantine made some adjustments to the educational process, the group was even lucky: there is more time for self-preparation, because the exam was slightly postponed. The first graduation of certified sommeliers in Transcarpathia will take place in April.
