Having amateurs on board expands their tasting experience as trade courses let participants taste as many as 20 wines a day, says owner of six-month-old Taberna Wine Academy Tan Ying Hsien, 52, who hopes to introduce a simpler version of his professional course within a year.

Its basic proficiency course, the first rung of its professional classes, lasts eight sessions of five hours each, at $2,750. The price and duration of the adapted course are still being worked out.

With more graduates of such courses, the wine industry here will also have to “up its game” when serving educated drinkers, says Mr Tan. “In future, there should be more places doing what I’m trying to do, to build a highly sophisticated wine consumption market.”