#VINODENTRO:
A leader in online courses about wine tasting
#VINODENTRO:
A leader in online courses about wine tasting
The #VINODENTRO project, built in partnership with the National Organization of Wine Tasters ONAV, is one of the first courses on oenology distributed entirely in digital form, which just a few months after its launch has already reached hundreds of participants.
The #VINODENTRO project, built in partnership with the National Organization of Wine Tasters ONAV, is one of the first courses on oenology distributed entirely in digital form, which just a few months after its launch has already reached hundreds of participants.
But how was this possible? We’ll explain this starting with the history of the association, then moving on to the structure of the course and the idea behind this initiative.
The National Organization of Wine Tasters:
a reference point of the oenological discipline
ONAV is an organization with ancient roots. It was born as an emanation of the Asti Chamber of Commerce, in which was also involved the Experimental Oenological Station, the most renowned and authoritative research centre in Europe in the field of oenology, founded in 1872.
ONAV as we know it today was officially founded in 1951 as a centre of research, innovation and spreading of the culture of tasting to wine lovers.
This spirit of sharing knowledge is what has characterised the organization since its foundation to date. ONAV, in fact, organises both didactic activities for beginners and discussion moments for experts, with the aim of spreading the culture of drinking well in Italy and abroad.
A MULTI-PHASE DIGITALISATION JOURNEY
The ideal thing to do when you want to transport the contents of an existing course, held in person, to a virtual platform, is to detach yourself from the original raw material in order to create something new, with the specification of adapting to the best means of communication that we want to use.
If we take face-to-face classroom teaching as our starting point and an effective, quality online course as our ultimate goal, there are intermediate realities along our path. Sometimes they are the prelude to a complete digital transformation (the entirely online course), while in other cases they exist as separate realities and functional for certain purposes (an example is distance learning in schools).
PHASE 1: IN-PERSON LESSONS
The beginning of our path is in-person lessons, i.e., face-to-face lessons with the teacher who explains the content in front of the class using teaching materials and possibly digital media (projectors, interactive whiteboards).
PHASE 2: CONFERENCE CALLS
As an example of intermediate reality, we find face-to-face lessons transported as they are onto conference call platforms (Zoom, Skype, Teams): in this form of teaching, the teacher speaks and shares his materials (PowerPoint presentations, pdf documents, images) with the students, exactly as it happens in face-to-face lessons. This was the most immediate and effective solution to meet the need created at the beginning of the new normal, but is this always the best solution?
PHASE 3: #VINODENTRO
The completion of the digital transformation is a course designed ad hoc for an entirely online fruition, without constraints of time or place. This is where ONAV’s experience comes in, having started writing the #VINODENTRO course in 2020. The user experience becomes fundamental: the course lessons are composed of videos filmed in the winery, interactive exercises and live tasting lessons, all to further enrich the experience of the user and stimulate his curiosity and attention.
STAGE 4: THE FUTURE
What does the future hold for us? It’s hard to say exactly, but we can imagine a new normal where online courses, which are a separate kind of teaching, can coexist with in-person teaching, as they are a valid choice for users with geographical needs and limitations (not being able to move, living far from where the course is held), or time constraints (work, other commitments, etc.).
#VINODENTRO: TEACHERS BECOME PROTAGONISTS
What makes #VINODENTRO great? Like any great wine, an oenology course must have a body, an identifiable aroma, and a distinctive flavor.
THE BODY
First, we can start with the educational value, the body of the course. #VINODENTRO is a structured and thorough 21-step course, which takes the user to discover the cornerstones of enology.
The focal points are wine tasting and production techniques: starting with the vine and the berry, the raw materials, then moving on to the transformation into must and, finally, the finished product. Everything is covered in detail to satisfy any curiosity or doubt.
AN IDENTIFIABLE AROMA
We then move on to the identifiable aroma; the graphic design of the course. The didactic notions are provided mainly through videos shot in the winery, with an appealing appearance sewn to the image of the Organization. In this way, the information is more immediate to remember, even for those who are approaching the subject for the first time.
Filming in the winery included ONAV teachers, who enriched this educational experience with their personality, their stage presence and their knowledge.
ONAV teachers, in fact, are recognised authorities in the field, consultants and researchers who have collaborated with the most famous wineries, and this choice was crucial for the success of the course.
Another highlight is the possibility given to users to contact their tutor, a person chosen by the Organization who is in charge of handling the doubts and perplexities of some of the students enrolled in the course. Each user, upon entering the #VINODENTRO platform, first sees the name and photo of his or her tutor, a brief introduction and, most importantly, his or her contact information. The online course, therefore, becomes closer to the user’s reality and needs.
A DISTINCTIVE FLAVOUR
But let’s get to the point of it all, the signature flavor of the course: wine tasting and organoleptic evaluation. Here the digital meets the tangible with a Tasting Box, sent to users directly to their homes, containing wine samples to be tasted during the live lectures with the lecturers.
Tasting is a discipline that must be trained, and thanks to the Tasting Box, those who attend the course can put into play the knowledge acquired directly in the field.
