12 persons from Cap Juluca, Cuisinart, Viceroy, Davida’s, The Place and Sunset Homes completed the new short course Introduction to Wines at the Anguilla Community College on April 21st and 22nd, 2016.
The course was facilitated by Gina Morano. Gina holds a B.S. in Hotel Administration from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where she is currently pursuing her graduate studies. She will take up a full time position at the University in the fall. She has 8 years of experience in Food & Beverage, covering both casual and fine dining. Gina is a Level 2 Sommelier and holds a Level II Award in Wine and Spirits from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. She is presently working on her Level III exam preparation. She is a frequent guest speaker at University of Nevada Las Vegas, offering a “Wine 101” lecture to select undergraduate classes. She shared:
“This is the best hospitality that I have encountered throughout my whole experience in the Industry. It was a pleasure to be able to pass on some of my knowledge to the students. I hope they enjoyed the class as much as I did. They made it such a pleasure. Their energy and enthusiasm was by far the best I have seen. I think the course went very well for a first time course. It can be tailored to the student’s needs moving forward. I think it was definitely a successful first run.”
The participants were very pleased with the class and anticipated using their new knowledge and skills.
Stacey Penn from Viceroy Resort said, “I found the course very interesting and I am looking forward to Gina coming back. I hope more Anguillians will take advantage of this type of training moving forward. We need to take in whatever knowledge we can, that way we will be knowledgeable when interacting with guests so they can go and brag about Anguilla’s warmth, friendliness and service. A number of different properties were represented so we were able to share our different experiences about wine and serving. The facilitator Gina is very experienced and ensured that it was a good class.”
Vallaster Hodge from Cap Juluca Hotel shared similar sentiments. He said, “The class was very good. I wish that it had more people attending because I think we need that kind of experience in the hotel industry. The experience is what I am looking for. I was grateful to be here rather than someone telling me about it.”
Anguilla was selected as a Centre for Excellence for the specialization of Oenology and Mixology by the Eastern Caribbean Institute of Tourism (ECIT). This wine course and future offerings by the Anguilla Community College will bolster and strengthen the Industry’s expertise in this area.
A special thank you is extended to Les Grand Vins for the donation of one of each bottle of wine used in the course and to Vanterpool Services for the donation of ice.
During summer 2016, the Anguilla Community College will be offering International Cuisine, Bartending and a range of other short courses. For more information about the courses at the Anguilla Community College, visit us in George Hill or view our website at www.acc.edu.ai. You can also contact us at (1-264)-498-8395/497-2538 or via email at info@acc.edu.ai. We look forward to hearing from you as you ‘Expand your Possibilities.’
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
