Scholarship and Mentorships Will Support Women and Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx Candidates
Andrea Robinson, MS is making ten full scholarships available for women and BIPOC candidates to attend the Master Sommelier’s new virtual wine course “Great Wine Made Simple,” set to begin January 27. The eight-session series comprising a complete essentials course, will be a live-streamed, broadcast-quality immersion in the world’s wine regions and styles, complete with live Q&A and remote guests.
“I wanted to do something concrete, and specifically to bring skill-building and connection to candidates wherever they are,” said Robinson. “We all know women, and especially women of color, face dismal pay and opportunity gaps across industries. On top of this, the pandemic’s economic impact has hit these women hardest, adding 50-plus years to the predicted 200-plus it would take to achieve pay parity at the current pace of progress. Early mentoring and immersive education were huge to my career, and our industry needs this under-served talent.”
Underwritten by Robinson’s industry partners, the Napa Valley Vintners and Coravin (which are also committed to supporting diversity in the wine world through their own initiatives), the scholarships include full tuition, two mentoring webinars with Robinson, and special industry guests to provide support and coaching for the recipients, as well as Coravin’s latest wine preservation system Pivot, a set of Robinson’s The ONE stemware, and wine gift cards for the tastings through Gary’s Wine & Marketplace (in accordance with state wine shipping laws).
Scholarship applications are due by January 8, and recipients will be announced on January 15. Applications may be submitted here. While current wine or hospitality industry experience is not required, applicants are asked to include a personal statement explaining why they wish to pursue a career in the wine or hospitality industries, and what they will bring to it.
“Many industries and demographic groups are in need of ‘re-skilling,’ especially with the pandemic’s impact,” Robinson notes. “Wine and service experience are difficult to get, due to the cost and experiential aspects. If you can’t access real-life experience tasting and talking about wines, how could you ever evaluate, sell, write about, pair, or price them? This course will provide that context, and it’ll be a blast, too.”
“Great Wine Made Simple” will run every Wednesday at 4 p.m. PST starting January 27. Available to the public, all eight courses can be purchased in a bundle for $350, or à la carte at $50 per class. Wines to taste along with are additional. In honor of the Napa Valley Vintners support, Robinson says she is proud to be exclusively featuring wines from Napa Valley (her home since 2004) in the kick-off to the “Great Wine Made Simple” series.
