Promotional body Wines of Portugal has unveiled a free online education course on Portuguese wines
The new educational initiative is aimed at hospitality and retail professionals, as well as consumers with a specific interest in Portugal's wine-growing diversity.
Indeed, the course focuses on the diversity of the county's 14 regions, covering a variety of topics over six modules including history, geography, grape varieties, fortified and sparkling wines, and food and wine pairing.
'This online academy is a contribution of Wines of Portugal to maintain and stimulate training and education on wines of Portugal, benefiting from the added value of online platforms,' said president Frederico Falcão. 'Despite the exceptional moment we are experiencing, we understand that there is an opportunity and desire on the part of different audiences to deepen the knowledge about terroirs, grape varieties and wines that we have and that make Portugal a unique wine producer. In addition to international promotion, this academy responds to Wines of Portugal's purpose of contributing to the expansion of wine culture in our country.'
Each study module is followed by a multiple-choice questionnaire to help students assess their own understanding of the subject. The next module can be only accessed by achieving an 80% minimum mark.
Students can take the course at their own pace, download the content for a more detailed study and resume the online session at a later stage. A certificate of completion is issued at the end of the six modules.
The course can be accessed at formacao.viniportugal.pt. Wine professionals interested in more online education can find a number of additional courses here.