Learn Wine & Sommellerie in Napa Valley

What you can realistically reach: A WSET Level 2 or 3 intensive (a few days to a couple of weeks) genuinely earns a recognised qualification and a structured tasting method. The Diploma, MW and MS titles are years beyond that — worth not confusing with a short course.

Schools in Napa Valley

Checked by hand against each school's own course pages. No school paid to be listed.

• Napa Valley Wine Academy
  WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines (six units, D1-D6)
  A WSET Approved Program Provider that delivers the multi-year WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines across six units covering wine production, business, still wines, sparkling, and fortified wines.
  https://napavalleywineacademy.com/
• UC Davis Department of Viticulture & Enology
  Winemaking Certificate Program (Continuing and Professional Education)
  The university research department whose Continuing and Professional Education arm runs a Winemaking Certificate built on the chemistry and microbiology of production winemaking, taught by its faculty and industry experts.
  https://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/
• Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
  Accelerated Wine and Beverage Program (30-week certificate)
  The CIA's St. Helena campus runs a 30-week Accelerated Wine and Beverage certificate at its Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies, covering sensory evaluation, cellar management, service, and beverage pairing.
  https://www.ciachef.edu/

The room

• Group — Classroom-sized groups with structured blind-tasting flights.
• A normal day — Theory and regional study in the morning, guided tasting in the afternoon, exams at set points.
• Who comes — Trade professionals and serious enthusiasts, mixed ages.

Want the rest — a normal day, first hour to last? Ask the school; a serious one answers in two minutes.

The credential

WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines (and beyond, the Master of Wine / Master Sommelier title) · Certifying body: WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) / Court of Master Sommeliers

A recognised qualification an outside body stands behind is not the same as a certificate a school prints itself. We name which it is — you should ask the school the same.

Also for Wine & Sommellerie

What I check before I send you anywhere

I'm Arnaud. I cook for a living, and I've spent fifteen years on the water — so I know the difference between a real school and a good-looking website. I built the Atlas because I got tired of the second kind. Here is what a place has to clear before it goes on here, and what I'll tell you straight when it doesn't.

• The craft is actually alive there. A working scene, with people who do this every day — not a demo put on for visitors.
• There's a real teacher behind it. Named, still practising, and certified where the craft has certificates.
• The credential is what it claims to be. A state diploma and a certificate a school prints itself are not the same thing. I check which, and I say which.
• I tell you how sure I am. Most pages here are verified by hand. A few say "still checking" — I'd rather admit that than pretend.
• Nobody pays to be here. No commission, no selling the trip. The order on this map is the strength of the community, never the size of the wallet.
• If I wouldn't send a friend, it isn't on the map.