VIA Italian Wine Maestro (IWM) Program

Introducing the VIA Italian Wine Maestro Program!

Want to know more about indegenous Italian grape varieties? Are you a sommelier or server in an Italian restaurant? Do you sell a lot of Italian wines? If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions then this class is for YOU!

The Vinitaly International Academy Certification program was started in 2015 during Vinitaly in Verona, Italy. Courses were offered not only in Italy, but in the USA, Hong Kong, Russia and China. To date there are 202 VIA Italian Ambassadors and 14 VIA Italian Experts all over the world! It was always the goal to offer an “introductory” course in Italian Wine to prepare the student for the rigourous Ambassador program offered every year in April before Vinitaly. Rather than certify an institution, VIA has decided to certify the Educator which makes it possible to travel with this program where no certified educator may be.

Marcia J. Hamm, one of the 14 Italian Wine Experts (IWE) is now a Certified Educator, and ready to launch the Certified Italian Wine Maestro program starting in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada!

This is an eight session program giving the student a solid overview of Italian wine along with using a comprehensive tasting grid, specifically designed, to help taste and identify Italian native grape varietals. Here is a summary of what will be covered in the course:

Introduction, Families and Groups & Focus on Italian Sparkling Wine

Piedmont’s Native Grapes

Native Grapes of Veneto & Valle d’Aosta

Native grapes of Friuli-Venezia Giulia & Trentino-Alto Adige

Native Grapes of Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany & Umbria

Native grapes of Le Marche, Molise, Abruzzo & Puglia

Native grapes of Lazio, Campania, Basilicata & Calabria

Native grapes of Sicily & Sardegna

The course will run over a four week period covering two sessions per week then giving you two weeks to study for the final exam.

Note that this course is designed for those with previous wine knowledge and WSET 2 or equivalent is recommended (but not required) as a prerequisite!Interested? For more details and to register for the course, head to the Education page on this website.