Wine varieties are on display. (Photo : Reuters)
"Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped, but with others, drink the whole bottle," award-winning Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho wrote in his novel, "Brida."
For thousands of years, wine has captured the imagination and hearts of many men and women, and 38-year-old Sun Ying, a wine tutor from Hunan Province, is one of them.
"People think we may get drunk when we taste wine for hours, but under the tasting course standards, we spit it into a barrel after tasting it," she shared.
Her interest in wine was sparked when she lived in France for a year in 2009. After attending numerous wine exhibitions in the wine-loving country, Sun embarked on a quest to become a wine expert. She received training from the British-run Wine and Spirit Education Trust, and upon completion, returned to China to share what she has learned.
Sun is the only college teacher who teaches about wine in the city of Chongqing, and she has come a long way. Three of her students recently competed in an international wine competition and won the top prize for Asia.
These students, who came from Sichuan International Studies University, will compete again on June 12 at the 2015 Left Bank Bordeaux Cup at Chateau Lafite, France. Together with students from Hong Kong Baptist University, they will represent Asia.
Sun trained her students by taking them to supermarkets to improve their tasting and smelling skills. Of course, they also underwent rigorous wine tasting trainings.
"To prepare for the competition, you must know huge amounts of information about renowned wineries and their history. Improving your tasting and smelling skills is the most difficult part."
Unlike foreign universities, universities in China still have a long way to go in terms of developing their wine training courses.
"Compared with many foreign universities, we still lack experience," Sun said. Things are looking up however. "Winning the competition in Asia was a great improvement," Sun enthused.
