Identifying and Managing Wine Faults (Intermediate Level)

One Day Workshop

Duration: 10:00 – 16:15
Location: Plumpton College

Course Overview

What are the common wine faults, how are they identified, what are their causes and how are they corrected?

Course content

WineGB’s Training and Education survey ranked sensory evaluation within the top training needs, reflecting the increasing number of English and Welsh wines entering the market.

It is invaluable to be able to spot wine faults and understand why they occur.

This course will bring you the theory of specific wine faults, including a practical application through a tutored tasting.

You will examine faults and their underlying causes, as well as learning the winemaking techniques, and/or storage conditions, to prevent and correct the faults

Aims

Learn to identify faults and taints, and their underlying causes in wines. Apply these skills to a winetasting guided by professional winemaker and wine lecturer.

Outcomes

By the end of this course students will be able to:

Describe off flavours and aromas in wine
Define specific faults in wine including: Brettanomyces, volatile acidity, light strike, TCA, reduction and oxidation
Understand the underlying causes of common wine faults
Suggest preventative measures against common wine faults
Recommend corrective actions for faulty wines
Assess finished wines for faults

Entry Requirements

You need to be aged over 18 years old to take this course.

Course Cost

This course is FREE*, thanks to the Plumpton Wine Resilience Fund. More information about this fund can be found here.

Please refer to our terms and conditions below to take advantage of this offer between January - July 2026.

Note that the cost will show on your application form, however please disregard this if you meet the funding criteria to access the Plumpton Wine Resilience Fund.

*Subject to eligibility

Cost for a non-funded learner: £210

Terms & Conditions

1. Course Dates:
All courses must be booked and attended between 1 January and 31 July 2026

2. Commitment to attend:
All courses are fully funded. By enrolling on a programme, you are committing to attend. Failure to attend without notifying the College at least 10 days prior to the course start date will result in a £50 administration charge.

3. Number of Courses:
There is no limit to the number of courses an individual or company may book under this scheme. However, no one course can be repeated by and individual.

4. Materials:
Any required materials or equipment must be purchased separately and are not covered by the funding. These will be clearly stated in the course information.

5. Eligibility:

Free training is offered through the Governments' Adult Skills Fund and cannot be accessed by individuals or organisations from devolved authorities (areas include but may not be exclusive to: Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire, North East, East Midlands, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Cornwall, Tees Valley, Bristol, London).

6. Accommodation and travel:
Plumpton College does not provide free accommodation.
On-site accommodation may be available at a discounted rate, subject to availability and payable separately.
We do have travel bursaries for those in low income please look on our website for further details.

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