Asia Wine Service & Education Centre Holdings Ltd
- HKGCC Membership No. :
- HKA0729
Lessons in Wine
From small beginnings, the Asia Wine Service & Education Centre (AWSEC) has grown to become an award-winning and widely respected centre for training professionals and enthusiasts through its wine, sake and spirits education courses.
“Having been headquartered in Hong Kong for more than 25 years of operations, AWSEC has been recognized by the Hong Kong Government as the market leader in wine education and training, as well as credited for playing a vital role in developing Hong Kong as the wine hub of Asia,” said CEO and Principle Wine Educator Stephen Mack.
In the early 1990s, Mack and his wife Jennie started organizing wine-tasting sessions, held in restaurants and clubs. Word of mouth and media coverage helped news of these sessions spread throughout the city, prompting the couple to set up AWSEC in 1994. Stephen Mack is the world’s only fluent Cantonese-speaking Caucasian wine, sake and spirits expert.
This move into full-time professional wine education was an immediate hit, and the Macks have been invited to lecture on the subject around the world, including on cruise ships.
Wine is an endlessly fascinating area of study. It has a long history and there is great complexity in the grape varieties, blends and growing techniques seen in different terrain around the world. Besides being an interesting topic in itself, knowing about wine also greatly enhances the experience of drinking it. And the opportunity to savour a wide range of wines no doubt adds to the appeal of learning more about the subject.
AWSEC is, at the moment, the sole provider for the U.K.-based Wine & Spirits Educations Trust (WSET) Diploma in Hong Kong, and is also the programme provider for a number of other prestigious wine education organizations from around the world.
It has earned accolades including the WSET “Educator of the Year” and awards for both French and Italian “Wine Scholar Program Provider of the Year” from the Wine Scholar Guild, making AWSEC the most awarded wine education provider in Asia.
Besides offering training courses in Hong Kong, AWSEC also offers overseas study trips to wineries and distilleries, and organizes corporate and private events on wine, sake and spirits. AWSEC also lends its expertise to act as judges for international competitions.
The company has grown alongside the rapidly rising interest in wine, sake and spirts in the region.
“Hong Kong has certainly become a wine hub in Asia with many events, auctions and tastings taking place here,” Mack said. “Hong Kong has been the home of AWSEC for over 25 years and we like to stay closely connected with the local community. We felt that being a member of HKGCC is an important part of this.”
In the near future, Mack plans on expanding AWSEC’s range of courses by adding in the Spanish Wine Scholar course from the Wine Scholar Guild, and Whisky Ambassador and Gin Ambassador courses. The company will also enhance its IT infrastructure to facilitate the better use of “blended learning” for students with enhanced use of online elements.
AWSEC has education centres or offices in Guangzhou and Shanghai, and plans to expand into Shenzhen this year. “We are actively looking at opportunities for growth in other markets in Asia,” said Mack.
Company : Asia Wine Service & Education Centre Holdings Ltd HKGCC :HKA0729 Established :1994 Website :http://www.awsec.comm
