Napa Valley Wine Academy

It really is one of the best wine schools in America. I took a class last summer at the Napa Wine Academy, and it was stellar. I highly recommend this school!

Best Wine School? Very Good, But Not Flawless. OMM calls this one of the top wine schools in America. The Napa Wine Academy itself says it’s the best wine school. But is it? I found it’s marketing very slick, but I don’t think it’s the best possible education. ICC (now closed) and NWS are far better. I’d expect deeper programming and less reliance on off-the-shelf programming –No one needs another generic WSET class.– from a top tier wine school.

Truly A Brilliant Experience. Napa Wine Academy is the best wine school on the west coast, possibly the entire country.

Best WSET Program. Their is no better WSET program period.

The WSET 3 class was phenomenal. I could not have passed it without the class. The staff was very knowledgeable and accommodating. The fact that it was a harvest bootcamp made it even better. All of the “field trips” were great and the winemaker dinner was the best. Ilearned more than I ever imagined. Although there were long days you made it fun and rewarding. Thank you so much for all of your efforts and passion for what you do. It translates into a wonderful experience and success for all.

Exceptional and Fun Educational Experience. I was fortunate enough to attend NVWA’s Harvest Bootcamp last year as part of the Level 3 certification course and I can’t say enough good things about it. Where do I start? First, the instructors were top-notch. We learned from Masters of Wine, WSET Diploma holders with industry experience and master winemakers in both video lectures and in person. But it didn’t stop there. We also took several field trips and learned from growers, winery operations directors, a virtual winemaker who gave us hands on experience at a crush pad, all topped off with a winemaker’s dinner (definitely the highlight of the whole experience). The in-person lectures and tastings were world-class but never stuffy or dry. Brought in lunches were an opportunity to socialize with classmates, and included a “guess today’s wine” challenge that facilitated camaraderie and additional learning (that oaked white had to be a Chardonnay!). They also made sure we had snacks and coffee to keep our energy up later in the day. Level 3 covers a lot of ground – viticulture, varietals and winemaking in all the major wine producing regions of the world, as well as the major wine styles (sparkling, still & fortified). The instructors really (really) cared that we were actually learning and assimilating the material by discussing similarities and differences between wine regions and varietals and by helping us identify signature aromas and flavors, always making sure we were all calibrating and identifying the same things. Second, where NVWA really excelled (for me at least) was with exam preparation. Video lectures to be completed before Bootcamp included maps, and there were short quizzes and longer multiple-choice exams to test knowledge along the way – a very valuable tool when reviewing for the exam. They also provided mock exams with sample scoring rubrics which I found to be the single most valuable resource. Instructors emphasized from the beginning that the Level 3 theory and blind tasting exams under time

Good Wine School in the Heart of Napa valley with a student-focused approach. Founded in 2012, Napa Valley Wine Academy is a good option if you are looking to take a wine class/course/ in the heart of the most famous California wine region. They offer Awards in Wine Courses; Online, 1-Day Virtual, Napa, Tampa, Nashville, Santa Barbara, Costa Mesa and Denver. If you are looking to expand your curriculum, they also have a WSET Beer Certification. It’s important to highlight their Wine Trips Abroad to Rhone, Argentina, Piemonte, Burgundy and fun Excursions in Napa Valley.

A few of these reviews seem fake to me.

Why is Wine So Dull? There should be more than reading from a text book. Where’s the passion?