National Wine School

The National Wine School has rapidly become one of the top sommelier certification programs in the United States. Its rise to prominence since its establishment in 2012 is attributed to two key factors: strategic distribution through colleges and a popular online format. The agency’s partnerships with colleges have made its program widely accessible nationwide. Simultaneously, its online platform has gained favor among restaurants and hotels, offering flexibility and convenience for busy professionals.

History of NWS

National Wine School (NWS) was preceded by the American Wine Foundation, founded in Philadelphia in 2007. AWF was retired in 2012, when the National Wine School was established in its place and relocated to Los Angeles. NWS was founded with the goal of developing transparent certification protocols and standards for the wine trade.

The organization started with a single affiliated school, the Wine School of Philadelphia (WSoP), but pivoted away from adult education and into higher education in 2012. In 2020, NWS began offering some of its sommelier certification programs directly to the public. The National Wine School relocated its headquarters to Vermont in 2022.

How National Wine School Programs Work

NWS is not as visible as WSET and CMS because it largely offers its programs to colleges and wine instructors as a white-label program, allowing them to operate under their own brands rather than as branches of the National Wine School.

This model may be effective for running an academic program and removes the need to manage a large network of branded wine schools, but it’s a terrible model for brand awareness. It gives professors wide latitude to teach the material as they want, while the back-of-the-house work is handled by National Wine School. That includes reading material, exams, student records and credential verification.

The only programs that can be taken directly through the National Wine School are its online wine courses. It is more likely that a college student takes a wine course where the reading material and quizzes are served online without ever realizing they are an NWS student, or that a wine school uses NWS to run its credentialing system while developing and teaching its own material.

Online Sommelier Courses

The school originally released three of its programs directly to professionals and consumers. These included the L1, L2, and L3 programs. Two of the school’s board of directors, Keith Wallace and Alana Zerbe, developed the programs during the pandemic. The programs are innovative and engaging, which is remarkable for an online wine program. Previously, the biggest downfall of their programs was that they were only available within college curriculums, with only a few exceptions.

The online program has expanded since then. Students can now start with Level One, complete Levels One through Three as the Core Sommelier program, and continue into Advanced Sommelier study. The programs are fully online, including the exams, and self-paced. 

National Wine School vs. WSET and CMS

There is a great deal of difference between the three major wine credentials. WSET has a massive international reach, with licensed schools from China to Argentina. CMS is by far the sexiest of the three, having trademarked the term Master Sommelier and been featured in movies and television shows. NWS is the brown mouse of the three, offering credentialing and systems to schools without much fanfare.

The differences are not just in the outward positioning of the three; they go straight to the core. WSET and CMS are incorporated as trade groups, not as schools. The primary drawback is that trade-group credentials carry no legal authority of their own. NWS is structured as a trade school, which gives its credentials a different legal footing because the school itself is authorized by a state government.

While all three offer some online programming, only NWS allows students to complete all levels of certification fully online. CMS and WSET require exams to be taken in person or at a testing facility beyond Level One, which adds significant cost and time.

Because both CMS and WSET are European organizations, exams are typically sent back for grading, and exam materials are sent from Europe before testing. This creates a significant amount of bureaucracy and an additional point of failure. There have been numerous reports over the years of exams being lost or delayed, particularly within WSET.

A major difference between CMS, WSET and NWS is that NWS is digital-native. It built its systems around modern university-level technology from the start.

Pros and Cons

Is NWS a good choice for you? It depends on what you are looking for. WSET and CMS are sexier brands with plenty of cachet. They’ve earned their spot as media darlings with big-ticket PR firms. Banking on the popularity of sommeliers is just good business, and we don’t fault them for being shrewd. But, on the other hand, the National Wine School may not be for you if you are all about the bling.

The NWS is a good option if you want a rock-solid professional wine trade certification. Its certification network is smaller than WSET or CMS, and its name does not have the same immediate recognition. That matters, particularly for someone whose primary reason for earning a credential is brand recognition.

NWS does offer something different. Its programs are taught through colleges, independent wine schools and instructors, while students can also study directly online. Someone can start at Level One and continue through Core and Advanced Sommelier study within the same system.

The Instructor Matters

With all wine certifications, the company that issues the credential is far less important than the learning experience. No matter how credentials are organized, the key, we believe, is the wine school and the instructor. Both NWS and WSET have great schools in their systems — for instance, Napa Valley Wine Academy — as well as mediocre ones. Beyond anything else, check to see if a local wine school is one of the top wine schools in America.

One of the key points with NWS is that it does not require instructors to teach a specific course in a specific way. This allows a wine school or professor to develop and teach programs in a way that suits their students and school. It also prevents the cookie-cutter teaching found in some wine schools, where instruction amounts to little more than PowerPoint presentations.

The reviews of students who have taken the programs at the college level are very positive.

A tough class on wine, well suited to someone looking to challenge themselves like a master sommelier. The material is supplied by the national wine school, as are the quizzes. Here’s a tip: if you do well on the weekly quizzes, you’ll do fine on the final.

HSPM148, San Jose State University

A force of nature in the classroom. If you think you understand wine, your going to find out very quickly that you are at the ground floor, knowledge-wise. This is a National Wine School program, and really impressive.

WINE101, New England Culinary Institute

Who Is the National Wine School Best For?

We find that NWS is best for severa types of students. The first is anyone who is seeking a sommelier program that is fully online. With no requirements for in-person exams, that is a key consideration.This is exceptionally important if the student plans on earning their sommelier or Advanced sommelier credentials. 

Students who are already in college may find themselves taking NWS programs without knowing they are, or attendinbg one of the few wine schools that have been accepted into the program  (again, you may not know you are attending a NWS program) due to their willingness to white-label their programs.  For those students, the choice may be foisted up you. 

The group that NWS is best for are educators who want to start their own wine school, or are setting up a education program within a larger company and want to promote your own school rather than the network itself. 

National Wine School Reviews

NWS gets good reviews from the schools, the instructors, and the students who attend their programs.  Their programming is far and above the best in quality that is available. The video lectures, the updated reading material, the online resources are equal to none and set the standards. Their students are passionate and loyal.

However, they do find them to be a bit quixotic and their steadfast choice to not promote their programs in the way WSET and CMS do. If they pushed a licensing program like WSET or were as media-savvy as CMS, they would very likely dominate the US wine education market. However, they continue to service the colleges and online students. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can National Wine School certification be completed online?

Yes. All levels of wine certification can be completed online, from Level One through Advanced Sommelier. These programs are self-paced and fully online, including the exams, unlike WSET.

How does the National Wine School compare with WSET?

WSET is an internationally licensed brand and enjoys far more brand awareness than NWS, which largely serves colleges and independent wine instructors. NWS offers its programs directly to students only online. While the credential itself is more important, some people will find WSET’s mass-market appeal a draw.

How does the National Wine School compare with the Court of Master Sommeliers?

NWS offers a technically superior program but is far less well known. While the Court is designed primarily for restaurants and hotels, NWS is a credential for the entire food and wine trade. For people seeking jobs in restaurants, the Court is the more obvious choice.

Can WSET or CMS students transfer into National Wine School?

As a trade school, NWS allows students with WSET or CMS credentials to transfer into its programs.

Where is the National Wine School located?

The National Wine School relocated its headquarters to Vermont in 2022. Its programs are also offered through colleges, wine schools and independent instructors in other locations.