Alessandra Panunti
Alessandra Panunti is a wine professional. Her interest in wine began at the end of the 1980s when she was hired by Enoteca Italiana, one the most prestigious public institutions engaged in the promotion of quality Italian wine in Italy. Some years later she completed a three-year wine tasting course, obtaining a special degree as “grappa” certified taster, one of the first women in Italy to do so. Since then, she has travelled around Europe teaching and lecturing about Italian wine. She has also created and developed international wine projects and taken part as a speaker and moderator in many international meetings with trade operators and international press; however, her favorite job has always been as a wine educator. Attending her lessons, you will become familiar with Italian and Tuscan wines in just a few hours so as to really enjoy our wine culture!
COURSES TAUGHT
Wine Essentials
During the first two lessons of this course, the instructor will introduce students to a “special” pre-tasting focusing on flavors and aromas related to wine. Students will taste blackberries, pineapples, and apples and smell leather, chocolate, and yeast in order to shape or recover their olfactory memory. The same method will be used to explain “sparkling wines,” with a pre-tasting of sparkling water for the students to become familiar with different kind of bubbles. A sparkling or “spumante” wine will be the opening wine of the tasting sessions. Students will also become acquainted with Italian culture and geography through the tasting of wines from different Italian regions, following a regional geographical criterion from northern to central to southern Italy. A special focus is devoted to Tuscany (a tasting of three wines) and to international wines (a tasting of three wines from other European countries). Field research will be carried out with a visit to the main wine shops of Siena. Several of the primary marketing concepts will be introduced and explained during each lesson; however, lessons are predominantly focused on wine marketing, with special regard to case histories (small family businesses/famous wineries).