Training

Jonny Tyson holding glass of red wine
Our Training Manager Jonny Tyson DipWSET

Wine Training the Ellis way

Here at Ellis Wines, we support our customers with key training to allow your staff to confidently and passionately talk about wine, so they can become true ambassadors of your wine list. We offer a range of courses, designed in a truly bespoke format according to your own specific requirements.

Our sessions are led by Jonny Tyson DipWSET, an experienced wine educator, sommelier and hospitality trainer. He has worked in a variety of venues from gastropubs to wine bars and fine-dining restaurants and has been a WSET Certified Educator and Assessor since 2014, teaching WSET wines levels 1 to 3 as well as all Wine Scholar Guild courses.

Here are some trainings that we offer:

Your wine list uncorked – the basics explained

This simple session will cover your wine list. We’ll host a tasting of a selection of your chosen Ellis wines to understand their style and flavour, so they can easily be described to your customers. We’ll also look at the correct pronunciation of each wine.

Welcome to wine country

These sessions consist of a 90-minute tasting and training on a major wine producing nation. If you have a focus on Italian, French, Spanish or German wines let us help you train your staff up with this fun and informative introduction!

1-day wine immersion

This is a complete beginners’ wine training for hospitality staff, covering the following topics:

Wine: grapes and flavour Over the course of a day, or if you prefer, two half days, we will cover the ten major grape varieties, the structure and description of wine, how it is made and how winemaking effects flavour.

Famous wines of the world We continue with looking at famous wines of the world which can be found on most lists from Burgundy to Barolo and beyond.

Wine service and food pairing – This section covers all aspects of wine service from taking an order and opening the bottles, to correct storage and preservation. We finish off with the theory of food and wine pairing so your staff can happily and proactively recommend wines.

We will taste 16 wines throughout the course, giving knowledge and confidence to anyone working with wine.

WSET accredited training courses

We are an Approved Programme Provider for WSET and can offer courses for Levels 1, 2 and 3 Awards in Wines. The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is recognised internationally and is the world’s leading wine education and certification body.


Please see below for an outline of each course and what would be involved for each student wishing to sit each level.

WSET Level 1 Award in Wines

  • Aimed at people new to the trade and wishing to gain a basic understanding of wines.
  • A hands-on introduction to wine, tasting technique and the basics of food and wine pairing.
  • 1-day course (9 - 5pm) with a 45-minute, 30 question multiple-choice exam requiring a score of 70% to pass the exam.

WSET Level 2 Award in Wines

  • Aimed at people seeking a core understanding of wine.
  • The course explores major grape varieties, important wine regions, wine styles, key classifications and labelling terms. 
  • There is no requirement to have taken Level 1 to attend this course.
  • 3-day course (9 – 5pm) with a one hour, 50 question multiple-choice exam in the afternoon of the third day, requiring a score of 55% to pass the exam.

WSET Level 3 Award in Wines

  • Aimed at anyone wishing to gain in-depth knowledge of wines and build upon the knowledge gained at Level 2
  • You will acquire a thorough understanding of the factors influencing the style, quality and price of wines from key wine producing regions of the world. 
  • You will also develop analytical tasting skills using the systematic approach to tasting and your blind tasting skills will form part of the examinations. A score of 55% in both the theory and practical tasting is required to pass.
  • This is taught for one day a week for 5-weeks with an exam on the sixth session.
  • An essential qualification for any wine professional and those wishing to progress their career or work as a sommelier.

If you’re interested in any of the above training courses, please contact your Account Manager for further information.