OVERVIEW
Fine Vintage is owned and operated by James Cluer. As a Master of Wine, James is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on wine. There are only 30 MW's in North America and 300 worldwide.
Fine Vintage Ltd operates WSET wine schools providing Sommelier training and wine tasting courses for the trade and for general interest wine enthusiasts. We offer our WSET wine courses in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, Victoria, Kelowna, Penticton, Las Vegas, San Francisco, the Napa Valley, San Diego and Tuscany.
In January 2012 we were awarded the most sought-after trophy amongst wine schools. The Riedel trophy for WSET Educator of the Year was awarded to Fine Vintage by the WSET at a packed ceremony in London by Jancis Robinson MW. Over 500 wine schools in 55 countries compete for this trophy. In essence, this means we were voted as the best wine school in the world. Our wine schools are endorsed by The University of British Columbia. Together with the University Fine Vintage has won awards for Continuing Education. We have also worked with two Canadian governments, Fairmont Hotels and Qatar Airways to deliver the WSET courses.
Fine Vintage has a team of the most knowledgeable wine experts in Canada and the United States. All of them have the WSET Diploma and many of them are enrolled in the Master of Wine program. In addition to the expert instruction, we pour outstanding wines at our courses so you’ll be able to taste benchmark examples. This is critically important and is another major point of differentiation between us and other schools. We have one of the highest pass rates in the industry and yet we make the learning fun in a relaxed atmosphere so you can enjoy the course.
In addition to the wine schools, we run wine tours to Bordeaux, Tuscany, Spain and other destinations. These tours are led by a Master of Wine and we visit the icon estates in these regions with private visits as well as lunches and dinners with the owners and winemakers. We always stay at first class hotels and dine at some of the best restaurants in the region. These are luxurious wine tours that are suited to the student of wine, the collector, and the novice who simply wants a fun trip to the great estates.
Fine Vintage also gives wine lovers the opportunity to buy wines selected by James Cluer through our home delivery club www.finevintagewineclub.com. It’s free to sign up on the website to receive our offers. We work with licensed retailers who will deliver your order anywhere in B.C. or Alberta. So take the hassle out of buying wine and leave it to us. It’s what we do for a living for airlines, luxury hotel groups and many others.
We also assist the trade and job seekers through our recruitment websites: www.winejobscanada.com (the leading wine job website in Canada), www.winejobsusa.com, www.winejobscalifornia.com and www.winejobsengland.co.uk, where you will find hundreds of job listings.
If you live in Vancouver then you are welcome to join our Tasting Club that meets once per month at The Law Courts downtown for a fun, social but educational tasting of over 40 wines. You can sign up on this site.
Fine Vintage also operates a Consultancy division. We work with new and existing wineries, primarily on strategic planning and new product development. We also consult to airlines, luxury hotel groups, retailers and cruise lines for wine selection. Qatar Airways has won several awards for their wine list from Cellars in the Sky, and been ranked #1 in the world by Global Traveler magazine. Finally, we are contracted to write articles for various magazines and newspapers like TASTE, and The Vancouver Sun.
Whatever you decide to do with Fine Vintage, we aim to provide you with a 1st class experience.
James Cluer MW