Congrats to our three employees (myself included) who have successfully completed their WSET Level 1 in Wines certification. What is WSET and what does this certification mean to our customers? I am glad you asked!
What is WSET?
WSET in an acronym for the Wine & Spirt Education Trust. This is a global organization, headquartered in London, which arranges courses and exams in the field of wine, spirits, sake, and beer. They have been around since the late 60’s (1969 to be exact!) and are regarded as one of the leading providers of wine education and certification. A certificate from WSET shows that a professional has been trained, tested, and certified to a specific level of expertise ranging from level 1 (the easiest to obtain) to level 4 (the most difficult to obtain).
What does this mean for our customers?
If you take a wine tour with us, it means that your driver may know a thing or two about wine! Seriously, this represents our commitment to elevating the wine tour experience for all of our customers. Even if your specific driver isn’t WSET certified (yet!), our wine tours are being planned and organized by staff that are WSET certified. These certified professionals are driving some of our customers and available by special request to guide the groups of wine connoisseurs who want a wine expert along with them on their tour. Also, we are not stopping there; the staff that obtained Level 1 certification is not finished there, they are all studying for Level 2 as I write this blog post. Our intention is to continue wine education and certification programs within our company by increasing the number of employees who are certified as well as broadening our education across multiple platforms. The levels of education, certification and programs that we are certified in will continue to grow with each drivers interest level. Not only is this essential for us to provide the best possible wine tours but, quite frankly, it is a lot of fun too!
Since we are on the subject of wine, certifications, and tours…it seems appropriate to point out that we have very good relationships with other wine professionals in the areas we service and can pull on these resources to enhance any wine tour that we provide. We have already been doing this for quite some time and it’s part of what separates us from our competition; when a customer wants an elevated experience, we deliver! Whether it is a barrel tasting or one on one conversation with a wine maker, Sommelier, or vineyard/winery owner, just let us know how deep you want to go into the world of wine on your wine tour and we can probably make it happen (based on availability).
Moving forward…
We have a lot to look forward to as the wine industry in the Carolinas grows and expands. Van in Black plans to be at the forefront of providing the best quality wine tours to anyone and everyone who is interested in the fascinating world of wine. Buckle up…this is going to be a fun ride!
Congratulations from the Phillips! Robert, Shelayne and Leslye