This is my good friend Rhys Pender.
He’s an Australian of Canberran descent who has been living in BC for the better part of two decades. We became tight in the mid-nineties when we were both pretty much just kids entering the local wine world. We also both went through similar Hell in the mid-nineties, as Rhys was engaged to a (lovely) Canadian girl and jumping through immigration hoops to get legal working status in Canada. We were kinda living parallel lives at the time, as I was sponsoring my (lovely) Australian girlfriend to immigrate here. I was at his wedding without my better half, as she was stuck on the other side of the Atlantic, and the only reason he wasn’t at our wedding was because we eloped. So now were just still fairly young guys who have been married forever, and have both gotten much deeper into the wine trade. From exclusive sit-down tastings of vintage Burgundies to pints at The Railway Club, I’ve always had a blast with the guy. He is primed to become Canada’s next Master Of Wine, runs the Wine Plus+ Wine School/Consulting company in the Okanagan, and just planted a vineyard IN HIS OWN BACKYARD!
This August 10th-14th, Rhys will be instructing the WSET 5-Day Intensive Foundation Certificate Course At UBC Okanagan. Along with being a rad guy, Rhys is a fun, charismatic and engaging teacher. This is similar to the WSET course available in Vancouver, but with the added benefit of hands-on tasting and winery/vineyard touring in BC Wine Country. A huge benefit due to the locale of the course. I already have my WSET Certification, but if I had the time, I’d totally bust out to the Okanagan for this opportunity anyways. Even if you’re not in the industry, this course would be very approachable and give you a phenomenal foundation in wine.
The 5 days look like this:
Monday – Day 1
| 8:30 – 9:30 am | Welcome and Registration at UBC Okanagan |
| 10:00 – 10:30 am | Winery Tour and Tasting – Tour #1 |
| 10:30 am – 1:30 pm | Program Orientation and Lunch at Local Winery |
| 2:00 – 4:30 pm | WSET Class – Session I |
Tuesday – Day 2
| 9:00 – 11 am | Chemistry & Analysis of Wine Class at UBC Okanagan |
| 11:00 am – 1:00 pm | Matching Okanagan Wine with Okanagan Foods Class at UBC Okanagan |
| 1:00 – 2:00 pm | Alfresco Lunch at UBC Okanagan |
| 2:00 – 4:30 pm | WSET Class – Session II |
Wednesday – Day 3
| Morning | Time to visit the Kelowna Farmers’ Market and local wineries on your own |
| 1:00 – 3:30 pm | WSET Class – Session III |
| 4:00 – 4:30 pm | Winery Tour – Tour #2 |
| 4:30 – 5:00 pm | Winery & Vineyard Tour – Tour #3 |
Thursday – Day 4
| 9:00 – 11:30 am | WSET Class – Session IV |
| 12 noon – 12:30 pm | Winery Tour and Tasting – Tour #4 |
| 12:30 – 2:00 pm | Lunch at Local Winery |
| 2:30 – 3:30 pm | BC Wine Museum Tour and Tasting – Tour #5 |
Friday – Day 5
| 10:00 – 11:00 am | Vineyard Tour – Tour #6 |
| 11:00 am – 12 noon | Winery Tour – Tour #7 |
| 12:30 – 4:00 pm | Closing Celebration and Lunch at Local Winery |
More information on the course is right over here…
It’ll be a week you’ll never forget, give you knowledge and experience you’ll always have on hand, and will increase your enjoyment of wine immensely. As an added bonus, just think of the inevitable stories you’ll have after drinking with an Aussie for five days straight!
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2 Responses:
March 22nd, 2010 at 12:09 pm
[...] great friend and sometime partner-in-crime Rhys Pender (read The Ballad Of Rhys & Kurtis here…) has launched his own website full of wine wit, wisdom and hilarity. All we can say is [...]