It’s always wine o’clock for Bond Business School's David Stevens-Castro, the lead educator of one of Bond University’s most unique courses.
Stevens-Castro, a Semester Teaching Fellow in Wine Studies, is a wine consultant, wine writer, wine merchant, wine judge, wine lecturer, and now a certified educator of the Barossa Wine School.
With this certification, the Bond Business School and Mr Stevens-Castro are qualified to teach the level 1 Barossa Enthusiast course which will be embedded into the Wine Studies subject from January 2024.
Mr Stevens-Castro said he had seen a resurgence in the course’s popularity after it was put on hold during the pandemic.
“It has always been a popular but basically I was picking this thing up off the ground and starting from scratch again,” he said.
“One week of the Wine Studies will become the level 1 entry course into the Barossa Wine School and this opens the door to continue growing to level 2 and level 3 of the education program.”
The level 3 certificate includes a weeklong trip to the Barossa Valley where students can immerse themselves in one of Australia’s premier wine regions and gain access to leading Australian wineries and producers normally off-limits to the public.
Mr Stevens-Castro said he hoped to eventually offer the level 1 Barossa Enthusiast to anyone in the Bond community who is interested in wine and its production.
“I’d love to be able to offer it to Bond University academics, international groups visiting Bond over a week or any students who aren’t taking Wine Studies, as it only takes a few hours to complete,” he said.
Wine Studies is currently available as an elective within the business, commerce, and entrepreneurship study area.
During the classes, students learn about the history and evolution of the wine industry. There’s also of course plenty of hands-on experiences during the semester, evaluating wine varieties and the relationships between wine and food.
Mr Stevens-Castro believes having in-depth knowledge about wine and the industry is important for everyone.
“Having a thorough knowledge about wine helps a lot in our daily lives. It gives you confidence when gifting or pairing with food and both are two necessary skills for life.”