The IFTM Wine Appreciation Club, an affiliate of the IFTM Student Union has successfully held its first blind tasting competition on 16 April. The competition provided an opportunity for students to enhance their wine knowledge through contesting with their peers.

The blind tasting competition is modelled after international wine education certification exams and sommelier contests – wine bottles and labels are all covered so the participants must assess the wines, such as grape varieties, countries and regions of origin, vintage and style without prior knowledge of the selections. To ensure that the competition is carried out in the most professional manner, the Club is honored to have the presence of Ms. Maggie Mak Weng Ian, Wine Manager of Wynn Food and Beverage Academy and Mr. Tommy Chan Tat Ian, Assistant Manager of IFTM Educational Restaurant to act as the panel of judges for the competition. After tasting 6 types of wines, the 8 competing teams submitted their wine assessments to the judges for evaluation. The advanced level winner is Leslie Fengyi Su and the novice level winners are Gavin Chon Wan Mak, Sofia Lam Huang and Giann Pasamba.

The Club hoped that students can prepare themselves for professional wine education and training certifications in the future through this challenging contest. The two judges of the competitions are IFTM alumni and are now hospitality industry professionals. They also shared their industry insights and offered career advices to the students after the event.