Having a staff that is confident and well-versed in selling and serving wine and spirits is a key component of your business’ success. In addition to tapping into the resources your distributor has to offer, many virtual and online training resources related to wine, spirits and hospitality are available to help your teams continue to learn.
Here are some of our favorites:
Online Wine Courses YouTube Playlist
Check out this self-directed online wine course that provides the basics of wine. Of the 15-20 videos on offer, some of our favorites are the regional wine education videos.
Wine Service Techniques for Servers
All the essential wine skills for a restaurant or other hospitality job are covered in a straightforward way. For example, learn how to open wine with a waiter's corkscrew and understand how to never let a Champagne bottle explode.
Wine Etiquette, Technique and Food Pairing
We love all Wine Folly videos, and Madeline Puckette. There are tons of videos focused on everything from how to read a label to how to hold a wine glass and they are fun to watch!
UC Davis Wine Tasting: Sensory Techniques for Wine Analysis
Take advantage of all or part of this 15-hour training offered by Coursera. It is beginner level and has flexible deadlines. Plus, the course has subtitles in 8 languages.
University of Adelaide – World of Wine: From Grape to Glass
In 2-3 hours per week, for 6 weeks, your staff can learn the fundamental principles and practices of how grapes are grown and wine is made. For both the wine novice or a seasoned oenophile.
The Grape Explorer’s Channel on YouTube
Even though this content creator is currently on break from making new videos, the channel already has over 150 videos, so there is plenty to watch before he comes back. The videos provide an informal look at the world of wine. The Grape Explorer makes it interesting and easy to understand pretty much anything to do with wine.
ServSafe Free COVID-19 Training
For 30 years, ServSafe has been at the forefront of preparing restaurant and foodservice workers to deliver safe dining experiences for their guests, while also keeping themselves safe. Because of the challenges presented by COVID-19, they developed free resources aimed at keeping workers and the dining public safe. Courses are divided by those for management, food handlers, and then beverage alcohol handlers, so it’s easy to find what’s relevant for your staff.
Typsy.com COVID-19 Courses
Typsy provides 30 free courses with a Typsy Free subscription. To support the industry, they have informative COVID-19 related videos that cover compliance, cleaning, and service.
USBG Studio Courses
This online training platform from Diageo is designed to help experienced bartenders develop and refine their skills regardless of location or resource. The recordings are fun and interactive.
Guild Somm Videos
GuildSomm is a nonprofit international membership organization for wine professionals that promotes education and community. Their freely available videos cover varied topics in the world of wine.
Wine pairing knowledge for the new era of take out focused sales.
Vinepair Wine 101
Vinepair has created short, clearly written chapters covering many wine and spirits basics, from creation to consumption.
