Banville & Jones Wine Company

An introduction to the exciting world of wine. All evening seminars run 7pm - 9pm in the 2nd floor Tuscan room.

Wine Basics Level 1

This course is for anyone who enjoys wine and wants to know more.
The two evenings focus on: Tasting major varietals, Putting words to wine tastes, Does price matter?
Navigating restaurant wine lists, etc.
Two evenings, 7 to 9pm.
$79.00 per person.

Wine Basics Level 2

An intermediate course designed to build upon the knowledge gained in Level 1.
This course covers: Why place matters: tasting through the world's wine regions.
All that sparkles: Champagne, Ports and Fortified wines.
Four evenings, 7 to 9pm.
$159.00 per person.

Upcoming Seminars

September 23, 2010 (Thursday)	Wine Basics Level 1	Thursdays, Sept. 23rd & Thursday, Sept. 30th (two evening class)
October 20, 2010 (Wednesday)	Wine Basics Level 1	Wednesday, October 20th & Wednesday, October 27th (two evening class)
January 20, 2011 (Thursday)	Basics Level 2	**Tentative start date for four evening class.

Registration

To register, call 948-WINE (9463).
All classes are held in our Second floor Tuscan Room.
We sincerely apologize that our Second Floor Tuscan Room is not wheelchair accessible.
Payment required in full at time of registration.
Cancellations or changes are not permitted 14 days from class start date.

ISG Certification

Overview

From our beginning in 1999, Banville & Jones Wine Co. has been committed to wine education. Now we take another big step forward with the introduction of the wine education program of the International Sommelier Guild (ISG) - a program intended for wine enthusiasts and for those pursuing a career in the food and hospitality industry.

The ISG program consists of four courses that lead from an introduction of wine and spirits fundamentals (Levels 1 and 2) to certification as a Professional Sommelier and ultimately to a Grand Sommelier Diploma.

The program responds to the demands of the modern wine consumer, a consumer with an appetite for accurate information and an expectation of a high level of service, and of an increasingly sophisticated hospitality industry. To meet these demands, the program employs a unique hybrid approach to the presentation of topics based on both regional-geographic and technological-varietal criteria. This approach differs from many traditional programs that emphasize only the regional-geographic aspects. We believe that a comprehensive understanding of wine includes not only knowledge of maps and history but also of viticulture and viniculture, of storage and service, of fundamentals and fads, of style and value, of wine and food, of quality and pleasure.

Over the 15 years that the ISG has been certifying sommeliers, the program has significantly evolved. Initially, only the Sommelier Diploma Program was offered. The intense workload and high standards of this program resulted in a poor success rate among candidates challenging the final exam. Therefore, the program was expanded to include Wine Fundamentals Levels 1 and 2 in order to lay the groundwork for more intensive study, to increase the confidence of students, to promote long-term retention of knowledge, and to increase the success rate of participants.

Banville & Jones Wine Institute now joins an international group of schools offering the ISG program. The schools include culinary schools, universities, and regional community colleges from coast to coast in Canada, United States, Australia and South America. We are proud that our own wine educators, Gary Hewitt and Sylvia Jansen, have achieved the high standards required of ISG instructors and will present our programs.

Whether you are a food and wine lover thirsty for increased knowledge or a hospitality industry professional looking for new skills and greater job satisfaction, Banville & Jones Wine Institute and the International Sommelier Guild can help you reach your goals.

ISG Certificate Level 1

Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 1 is an introductory course designed to help wine enthusiasts feel comfortable and confident in the sometimes confusing world of wine. The course focuses on major international grape varieties as well as on some of the primary themes related to wine in the context of the hospitality industry. The course involves extensive tasting of representative varietal wines from around the world.

In Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 1 students develop an understanding of the unique characteristics of the major grapes used for making wine. Students will also learn about how grapes are grown, how red, white, sparkling and fortified wines are made, and how different approaches to growing grapes and making wine affect taste. In addition, students will be introduced to basic wine terminology, service and storage techniques, how to read labels, and the fundamentals of pairing food and wine. .

Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 1 meets once each week for a total class time of 24 hours. The class provides an essential foundation for hospitality professionals intent on pursuing Sommelier certification and offers non-professionals a pleasurable, non-threatening introduction to wine.

ISG Certificate Level 2

Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 2 allows students to build on the knowledge gained in Level 1 through an introduction to the regional study of wine. The course involves extensive tasting of representative regional wines, spirits and beer from all of the world’s major production areas

In Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 2, students begin to develop an understanding of the ways in which local landscapes and cultures affect wine flavors. By studying variables such as climate, soil, grape variety, topography, regional law and local approaches to grape growing and wine making, students will understand some of the reasons for the extraordinary diversity of the world of wine. Students will also continue to develop knowledge in major themes of the hospitality industry, including regional food and wine pairing theories, service techniques and wine management practices.

Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 2 meets once each week for a total of 48 hours. Graduates of this course receive the title of Certified Wine Steward, a prerequisite designation for pursuing the title of Certified Sommelier.

The course runs for three hours, once per week, for 15 weeks. Course cost: $1000.00.

Sommelier Diploma Program

The Sommelier Diploma Program offers students the opportunity to receive certification as a Sommelier through direct instruction by some of the world’s top Sommeliers. The course involves extensive tasting of a wide variety of alcoholic beverages from around the world. By the end of the program, students will be skilled tasters of alcoholic beverages and should be able to identify specific products in blind situations

Delivered by industry experts, the Sommelier Diploma Program is designed to provide students with the skills they will need to be successful Sommeliers in the hospitality industry. The curriculum is both broad and challenging. In addition to continued regional study of wine, beer, spirits and cuisine, students will receive instruction in the administrative and managerial elements of the profession including wine service, cellaring wines, investment strategies, menu design, inventory procedures, and staff training.

To ensure that the learning experience is exceptional, the International Sommelier Guild ensures that all Sommelier Diploma instructors attend an annual conference designed to keep them up to date on the latest information, research and development, new theories of food and wine pairing, teaching strategies, and current trends in the market place.

The Sommelier Diploma Program is an intensive 24-session course which meets once each week for eight hours. Graduates of this program are entitled to the title of Certified Sommelier. The ISG’s Sommelier Diploma has been designed to provide the benchmark for wine knowledge within the hospitality industry. After meeting the ISG’s rigorous standards, graduates of this program enter the workforce very much in demand.

Registration for the SDP includes of textbook, wines, examinations and all materials. Classes run once a week for 9 hours and last 24 weeks. Course cost: $3250.00.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How do I apply for International Sommelier Guild courses?
Application for all International Sommelier Guild courses is done through the ISG’s secure website. Prospective students should visit www.internationalsommelier.com and follow the online application instructions.

2. What courses does the International Sommelier Guild offer?
The International Sommelier Guild offers four courses: Wine Fundamentals Certificate Levels 1&2, the Sommelier Diploma Program, and the International Master Sommelier Certificate.

Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 1 is a 24-hour course designed to introduce students to the world’s major grape varieties as well as the primary hospitality-related themes of the wine industry.

Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 2 is a 48-hour course designed to introduce students to major wine producing regions. The course explores regional wine, beer, spirits, and food styles and builds on the foundation of major hospitality-related themes of the wine industry established in Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 1.

The Sommelier Diploma Program is the ISG’s 248-hour professional certification course. The course includes complete coverage of the world’s major beverage alcohol producing regions and includes in-depth study of the professional responsibilities of the Sommelier. The Sommelier Diploma Program’s global focus is designed to prepare students to assume the duties of a Sommelier at any property in the world.

The International Master Sommelier Certificate offers certified sommeliers to develop areas of professional specialization. Using a guided learning approach coupled with hosted seminars, the program supports original research on the relationship between beverage alcohol industries and the Sommelier profession.

3. How are the courses related to each other?
International Sommelier Guild courses are inter-related and progressive. Each level of study builds on knowledge foundations laid in earlier courses.

4. How are students evaluated by the International Sommelier Guild?
Students in International Sommelier Guild courses are evaluated though examination in certificate-level courses and through a mixture of examination and graded assignments in the diploma-level course.

Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 1 includes a 60-question multiple choice examination. One wine is offered in a blind tasting for bonus grades. Students are required to achieve a grade of 60% to pass the course.

Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 2 includes a 100 multiple choice questions, 6 essay questions, and a 4-wine blind tasting. Students are required to achieve a grade of 60% in each section to pass the course. Students who wish to enter the Sommelier Diploma Program are required to achieve a grade of 70% in each section.

The Sommelier Diploma Program includes five separate sections and a major assignment. The examination includes 200 multiple choice questions, 10 essays, 2 essays on cellar management, food and wine pairing menus, a blind tasting of 22 products, and a service component. Students are also required to complete a major assignment in which they are asked to design a beverage program for a restaurant. Elements of the assignment include designing staff training programs, wine lists, inventory documents, and food and wine pairing menus. Students are required to achieve a grade of 70% in each section in order to receive Sommelier certification.

Requirements for International Master Sommelier Certificate courses are variable, but in most cases will involve the creation of original research on the Sommelier profession.

5. What if I fail some of the individual examination sections? Do I have to retake the whole course? Do I have to rewrite the whole examination?
Students who have failed to achieve passing grades in individual sections do not have to retake the whole course, nor are they required to retake the whole examination provided they rewrite their examinations within three years of the date of their failed examination. Students are only required to rewrite examination sections in which they have failed to achieve passing grades.

6. I already have some wine training. Do I have to start my International Sommelier Guild education with Wine Fundamentals Certificate Level 1?
Though the International Sommelier Guild permits students to challenge examinations without sitting through the class, the practice is strongly discouraged. International Sommelier Guild classes are inter-related and progressive and knowledge foundations achieved with other training organizations may not be consistent with International Sommelier Guild standards.

7. Will we taste wine in class?
Absolutely. All International Sommelier Guild classes include a tasting component at each meeting. Typically, we taste wine at the rate of about 6 wines/3 hours of class time.

8. Does the International Sommelier Guild supply all necessary educational material?
To this question, we give a qualified , "Yes." The ISG has prepared dedicated electronic textbooks for both of the certificate level courses. The Beginning Sommelier (WFCL1) and This Place, That Wine (WFCL2), both written by ISG Vice President Wayne Gotts are made available to students once classes begin and fees have been paid.

A textbook is currently being prepared for The Sommelier Diploma Program. In the interim, students are provided with The New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson.

In addition to assigned textbook readings, the ISG encourages all students to read as much as possible and attend as many tastings as possible. Sommelerie is an informationbased vocation and students should make use of the many excellent opportunities for study that already exist. For Sommelier Diploma Program students, we strongly recommend the following texts: The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson, Wine with Food by Joanna Simon, Larousse Gastronomique by Jennifer Lang and The World Encyclopedia of Cheese by Juliet Harbutt.

9. Is the International Sommelier Guild curriculum standardized? If I enroll in the Sommelier Diploma Program in Chicago and my friend enrolls in Hong Kong, will we study the same things?
Yes and Yes. The development of globally recognized standards for the sommelier profession is one of the goals of the ISG and this is reflected in our standardized curriculum.

10. When do International Sommelier classes begin and where are they offered?
A complete list of host schools, application deadlines, and course start dates can be found at www.internationalsommelier.com. Typically, the certificate-level courses are offered three times per year in each city, while the Sommelier Diploma Program is offered once per year (starting in either fall or winter). International Master Sommelier Certificate courses are offered once per year in the summer at the location of the ISG’s annual education conference, which changes each year.

11. What makes International Sommelier Guild courses different from other national Sommelier programs?
Most national Sommelier organizations (French, Italian, etc.) strictly teach students about their own country’s wines. In contrast, the ISG takes a global outlook and provides coverage of all of the world’s wine producing regions. We feel that our global focus better prepares our students for the challenges of the profession and also allows our graduates significantly greater professional mobility.

12. What makes this program different from the Court of Master Sommeliers programs?
The Court of Master Sommeliers is a British-based organization which operates in several countries and which provides several levels of examination culminating in the Master Sommelier (MS) examinations (entry into which is by invitation only). The Court of Master Sommeliers is not a Board of Education certified entity, nor does it provide direct, classroom-based instruction to its candidates for each level of study.

In contrast, the International Sommelier provides students with a Board of Education certified curriculum in a direct classroom instruction format.

Instructor: Gary Hewitt

Gary’s fascination with wine began more than 25 years ago. Its genesis was simple curiosity, “Where on earth did this wonderful wine come from?”[iii]. A deceptively simple question that led to many more wines, voracious reading, wine appreciation courses, wine tasting clubs and ultimately, after a career change in 1994, to full-time employment in the wine industry.

Gary’s wine interest did not evolve in a vacuum. He has an undergraduate degree in Food Science, a Master of Science with a specialization in Food Fermentations (his thesis was a study of yeast biochemistry), and 15 years of fermentation research experience at the University of British Columbia. (Add to this a couple of summer stints in quality control at Labatt’s brewery and a recent practicum with Weingut Lingenfelder in the Pfalz wine region of Germany and Gary has some good hands-on experience too.)

Gary returned to his hometown of Winnipeg in 1994 and subsequently worked part-time for several years gaining knowledge of the retail wine market in Winnipeg and developing wine appreciation programs for the public and restaurant trade. Then in 1999, he turned full-time pro with Banville and Jones Wine Co. Today, Gary is a principal wine buyer, is heavily involved with restaurant menu development, acts as host for tastings, dinners and special events, and of course, runs the wine appreciation courses and programs.

Comprehensive knowledge of wine requires first-hand knowledge not just of the wines and how they are made but also of wine regions and producers. Gary’s first-hand experience is continually being enhanced with trips to wine and spirit trade shows (Vinexpo, ViniSud, Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Show, Vinitaly and ProWein), to wine conferences (Society of Wine Educators, International Sommelier Guild) and to wine producing regions. In the past five years, he has traveled in Canada (Okanagan Valley, Niagara Peninsula), USA (California , Oregon), France (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Chablis, North Rhone), Italy (Tuscany, Veneto) Germany (Ahr, Mosel, Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Pfalz) and Australia (Victoria, Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Clare Valley).

Over the past 10 years, Gary has gained a reputation as an instructor fully in command of his subject yet capable of presenting it in understandable language. His love of wine and honest assessments have received repeated commendation from students. His classes are informative, provocative and fun.

Sylvia Jansen, Sommelier (ISG, CMS), Wine Educator

Like many of her colleagues, Sylvia Jansen found herself training for a career in wine by accident. At first the passion for wine was an easy outgrowth of a love of fine food and the pleasures of living. Then it was the realization that a fantastic wine has the capacity to transform ordinary mortals into the seers of warm earth, ripe fruit, talented hands and the evocative connections among the people who make it and those who taste it.

A wine educator, speaker and writer, Sylvia brings a wealth of experience to wine education. With a wide-ranging academic background and experience in the Canadian university system, Sylvia developed an excellent ability as a speaker and educator. Sylvia joined the Banville & Jones team in 2002 to follow her passion for wine.

With the love for the subject matched by an understanding of the value of education, Sylvia has opened books, boarded planes, wrote exams and talked to winemakers. She has achieved certification in wine as a Sommelier and an Instructor by the International Sommelier Guild; as a Certified Specialist of Wine by the Society of Wine Educators; and holds the Society’s Train the Trainer Certificate. She has developed wine appreciation courses for the public as well as wine training courses for restaurant personnel and management. Sylvia also writes and edits the literature for our Cellar Starter program, and is one of the lead trainers in Banville & Jones’ important wine retail work.

Sylvia has pursued her knowledge of wine and wine regions by attending conferences, wine shows and by travel. She has traveled to France (Champagne, Burgundy, Cahors region), Canada (Niagara, Okanagan, Nova Scotia), USA (Oregon), Portugal (Douro), Italy (Piedmont, Tuscany, Alto Adige, Franciacorta). Managing the back roads of wine country and working to communicate with French, Italian and Portuguese winemakers and grape growers, Sylvia is always keen to learn more.

Sylvia approaches her teaching with the same passion she feels for wine. She has a keen understanding and respect for fellow students of wine; her classes are an energetic mix of humor and activity, backed by solid research and work.

For more information, you can email Gary Hewitt - Instructor, Sommelier, CWE or Tina Jones - Owner

WSET® Certification

Starting in 2010, Banville & Jones will also offer courses of the internationally renowned Wine & Spirits Education Trust (www.wset.co.uk), programs developed for wine trade (the business of wine).

Designed especially for wine trade professionals (in the business of wine), and for wine enthusiasts.

WSET® Level 1: Foundation Certificate

Duration: One 8-hour workshop from 9am to 5pm
Date: Saturday, October 2, 2010
Cost: $299.00 (plus taxes)
OR
Duration: Two 4-hour workshops from 9am to 1pm
Dates: TBA
Cost: $349.00 (plus taxes)

WSET® Level 2: Intermediate Certificate – “behind the label” (no prerequisite)

Duration: Five 4-hour workshops from 9am to 1pm
Dates: Saturday, January 8, 15, 22, 29, February 5, 12 (exam date), 2011
Register for WSET® courses by calling Banville & Jones 948-9463(WINE).

Events and Seminars At A Glance

Banville & Jones Seminars