Online Wine Courses Erasmus Project

Project Title

Online Wine Courses

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning; Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal)

Project Summary

As of March 2020 – the starting point of COVID-19 in Europe and national restrictions to set bounds to its spread – all workshops and courses including wine tasting classes had to be cancelled or suspended. The missing of wine tasting classes in wine education can be compared with sports studies and the missing possibility of training; or art studies like sculpturing and painting and the sudden abolition of possibilities to train exactly this.

It is therefore the GOAL OF THIS PROJECT TO DESIGN AND CARRY OUT “REMOTE” ONLINE WINE TASTING COURSES. This involves:
– a comprehensive framework for online wine tasting classes. Hence, an overall scheme – from beginner to advanced level – will be developed; course contents defined and learning materials created. In accordance a tasting agenda and online training material fitting to online-class needs will be created;
– online tests, quizzes and final exams including tasting tasks and grading schemes will be designed;
– furthermore, the physical act of filling small bottles and logistics will be tackled. To this end, filling technology will have to be adapted to the projects’ needs and consequently utilized.

Three higher education institutions participate in this project; the University of Applied Sciences Krems (Austria), Geisenheim University (Germany) and the University of Camerino (Italy). They are in charge of designing course material and delivering online wine (tasting) classes. The start-up company MT Digital Wine Services will be in charge of procurement, filling and logistics.

Results and envisaged impacts consist for and most importantly of the possibility to continue education in wine (business) programs without further cancellations and delays due to Corona and its’ consequences. In addition results mean a big leap in innovation towards a much easier and more sustainable way to organize wine tastings despite of distances, time differences and other obstacles.

Potential longer term benefits include an ONLINE EDUCATION PERSPECTIVE in a field which (so far) required physical presence by all means. On the long run this project develops technical possibilities which will bring major improvements in both, the short term solution for constrained teaching possibilities as well as a serious and professional alternative to all live-tasting sessions. Literally hundred thousands of live tastings take place each year for business, education or mere horizon-broadening reasons. The European wine sector that provides employment to millions (Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins https://www.ceev.eu/about-the-eu-wine-sector/) requires this important step towards a digital possibility TO PROVIDE AND ENSURE EDUCATION as well as presenting its’ products in a future of limited ways to do so.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 105374,68 Eur

Project Coordinator

IMC FACHHOCHSCHULE KREMS GMBH & Country: AT

Project Partners

• HOCHSCHULE GEISENHEIM
• Lorenz Trautsamwieser
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI CAMERINO