Bordeaux chateau in Beijing school deal

The wine school of Chateau La Tour Blanche in Sauternes has gone into partnership with a school in Beijing to teach oenology students from China.

Students at La Tour Blanche

The students will first spend six months in Beijing, training in the basics of wine, as well as learning French and English.

After first stage exams, they will then spend a year at the Sauternes estate, learning wine-tasting techniques, wine service and wine culture.

‘We will be looking at wines from all over the world, but particularly those from France,’ Didier Frechinet of La Tour Blanche told Decanter.com.

‘The goal is to encourage a high level of wine knowledge for Chinese potential wine professionals and sommeliers, to fill a knowledge gap that currently exists in the rapidly-developing wine culture of China.’

The school intends to use guest lecturers from international restaurants and sommelier schools, as well as their existing teaching staff, Bordeaux chateaux owners and wine merchants.

The name of the Chinese school will be released on 23 September, at the time of the signing of the contract , which will take place at La Tour Blanche.

Written by Jane Anson in Bordeaux