Joel Gorenkoff

Joel Gorenkoff is an educator, consultant and certified sommelier who is extremely proud of his own wine journey through WSET and sommelier studies and training. He enjoys promoting, learning and teaching others about the wines and spirits of the world, the magic of food pairings and fostering the love and appreciation of wines and spirits. Although you are most likely to catch Joel with a wine glass in his hand, he may also be seen with a dram or two of his favourite whisky! Wine to Joel means family, friends, good times, global citizenship and sophistication. He is extremely excited to teach with IWEG, an institution he says emulates and promotes all of these things through their rich educational program. Joel has extensive experience in educating adults and has worked in a number of educational environments. He is a life-long and motivated learner and loves to bring this attitude and passion for learning out in others.

Teaching approach:

Learning about wine can be daunting (grapes, winemaking, regions, producers, styles, food pairings, culture etc.). I feel it is important that students find the classes fun, informative, entertaining and enlightening and I attempt to make wine approachable and unpretentious. I do this by sharing my own passion and exuberance for wine. Students can learn and gain knowledge through a variety of means: courses at IWEG, books and websites and by asking lots of questions to instructors, to sommeliers, at wineries, and at wine shows and events. The most important thing? Taste, taste, taste. Find a group of like-minded individuals and taste lots of wines, talk about them and share your insights, and most of all, just have lots of fun while doing this.