Six young wine communicators have been selected for the second annual Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) Young Guns and Gurus Program.
Pairing young wine professionals with respected industry leaders, the mentoring program covers the fields of journalism, PR and sales and marketing, offering the ‘young guns’ the chance to learn from the best in their field over the next six months.
This year, the journalism program will see Yarra Burn’s Tim Shand and Gus Lander from The Wine Society work with Gourmet Traveller WINE editor Judy Sarris and Peter Bourne.
PR’s Tiffyn Smillie from DIG Marketing Group and Paul Yanon from Young & Rashleigh will be paired with Lesley Ann Grimoldby and Jane Adams, while Gemma Eastwood-Bell from Fine Wine Partners and Megan Downer from Taylors Wines will work with Lisa McGuigan and Ralph Dunning.
WCA Young Guns and Gurus program director, Trish Barry, said it was inspiring to read the goals and ambitions of the next generation from a large number of high calibre applications.
“There is a great depth of young talent across the industry and a number of people who will clearly make a strong contribution to furthering wine communication over the years to come,” she said.
The program is funded by WCA reserves and works to support wine excellence, professionalism and innovation by sharing information and through the exchange of ideas.