Capital Wine School

Founded by Master of Wine Jay Youmans, Capital Wine School in Washington, D.C., offers professional-level wine education through WSET and Wine Scholar Guild programs. With 8-10 public classes monthly, the school covers wine regions, grape varieties, and more, providing inclusive learning opportunities for beginners and advanced sommeliers alike.

Wine School Basics

Founded by Master of Wine Jay Youmans in 2008, the Capital Wine School (CWS) has become Washington DC’s top wine school. Located just south of Bethesda, CWS has gained a solid reputation with regard to friendly-but-serious in-depth presentation on the world of wine for everything from serious beginners to professional sommeliers.

Wine Classes

While the school focuses on sommelier courses, the Capital Wine School offers about 8-10 public classes each month. These classes cover wine regions, grape varieties, and specialized tastings. A few sample classes: Comparative Tasting of Riesling from Around the World; The Super 2nd Growth of Bordeaux; and Neighborhoods of Napa. A good way to judge the health of a wine school is how many public classes they offer. On the east coast, only the Wine School of Philadelphia offers more classes open to the public.

Sommelier Courses

The Capital Wine School relies on established franchises, such as WSET and the Wine Scholar Guild, for its sommelier education programs. While this approach brings standardization, we feel that original programs developed by Mr. Youmans would be far superior.

Wine Scholar Guild Programs

The Wine Scholar Guild offers solid professional/serious enthusiast-oriented programs with a focus on France, Italy, and France. The classes are taught by the Capital Wine School staff, with educational material supplied by the Guild.

Wine & Spirit Education Trust

Many wine schools that offer WSET are rote leaning factories, grinding out spreadsheets and exams at an alarming rate. That is not the Capital Wine School. This is one of the very few WSET-based programs that are well done and rise beyond the mediocre material. The WSET classes here are far better than those offered in New York or Philadelphia, and unlike most wine schools, they offer up to Level Four.

School Accreditation

The Capital Wine School is not accredited with the District of Columbia Board of Education, which is a common problem with WSET-affiliated schools, which only offer trade qualifications.

Jay Youmans, Master of Wine

Youmans commands respect within the D.C. wine community, with nearly three decades in the wine industry. His projects, a pattern stretching from Rock Creek Wine Merchants through the representation of Bogle Vineyards, speak volumes of his great commitment to the wine industry. As Washington’s first Master of Wine, Youmans imparts an unparalleled depth of knowledge to his teaching-even of complex topics.

The Governor’s Cup

Youmans took over the Governor’s Cup in 2012 and has repositioned it from a local event to one of the most respected national competitions since then. What was initially created in 1982 has, over time, grown both in stature and influence to put the cream of Virginia’s wineries into the spotlight while at the same time underlining the CWS influence within American wine appreciation.

Capital Wine School Reviews

Students who have attended classes report that the CWS experience is unique, with classes conducted in a room where music from the next-door dance studio fills the air. A small minority of students say the quality of classes has decreased over the years, and some also say the teachers promote brands they are affiliated with. However, the majority of students say they love the classes here.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

In 2020, CWS began offering a grant to cover the fees for students of color studying at the WSET wine program. This is one way the school tries to develop diversity on campus in order to make wine education really all-inclusive.

Former Leesburg Outpost

In February 2020, CWS announced a partnership with Lost Creek Winery in Leesburg, Virginia, whereby the classes and WSET courses would be held at Echelon Wine Bar, Lost Creek’s tasting room. That plan was derailed by the pandemic, and a year later the partnership was dissolved.