Florida Wine Academy

The Florida Wine Academy provides a comprehensive wine, sake, and spirits education backed by respected certifications like WSET and Wine Scholar Guild. While their brick-and-mortar setup and diverse offerings impress, their WSET dependency may limit curriculum depth. Their dedicated team and consulting services make this academy a solid option for enthusiasts and professionals in South Florida.

About the Florida Wine Academy

Florida Wine Academy offers wine, spirits, and sake education. They are an Approved Program Provider of WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) courses. WSET is recognized as one of the three major wine trade credentialing bodies. Additionally, they offer courses through the Wine Scholar Guild and the Sake Sommelier Association.

Wine School Owners

Alessandra Esteves is the Director of Wine Education. A Certified Educator, she holds the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Spirits. She also holds the French Wine Scholar, Spanish Wine Scholar, and Champagne Master Level designations from the Wine Scholar Guild, the Master of Rioja DOCa certification, and the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). She is currently a Stage 2 candidate for the Masters of Wine designation. Previously, Ms. Esteves worked as a corporate attorney in Brazil, Germany, and Switzerland.

Florida Wine Academy is co-founded and run by Guilherme de Macedo. He holds the Master Sake Sommelier (MSS) designation from the Sake Sommelier Association — a credential he was among the first in the United States to earn. At the Florida Wine Academy, he is responsible for the Sake Education Program, developing new partnerships with corporations, associations, and chambers of commerce, overseeing all back-office activities, and ensuring quality control.

Location

The wine school is located within 305 Wines in Palmetto Bay, a suburb of Miami. The classroom is an extra-long dining room table in the center of the wine shop, seating up to 10 people. Before that, the school was located in the SunTrust International Center, Suite #1440, in downtown Miami.

The shop opened in 2019. Located in an older strip mall, it offers a diverse and well-curated selection, with notable offerings including wines from Switzerland, Armenia, and Lebanon, as well as an impressive sake selection. The integration of a retail wine shop with a school creates a natural synergy that supports the educational mission.

Accreditation

The Commission for Independent Education, within the Florida Department of Education, has approval and licensing authority for independent postsecondary institutions. The state maintains an online database of all approved schools. However, Florida Wine Academy is not listed. A follow-up call confirmed that FWA is not a recognized wine school in Florida. This is common among WSET Approved Program Providers, which are not required to hold state school licensure.

Institutional Partnerships

In February 2026, Florida Wine Academy announced a partnership with Florida International University to offer WSET certification courses at FIU’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, one of the top-ranked hospitality programs in the country. This is a meaningful step toward institutional credibility and expanded reach.

Activities Beyond Wine Certification

Wine Consulting

Restaurants, bars, and wine retailers can benefit from Florida Wine Academy’s consulting and on-site training services. The training includes wine list design, wine pairing, handling, and service training for staff. They also offer cellar management services, advice on buying fine and rare wines, and auction representation for private collectors.

Private Wine Events

They host corporate events, seminars, and educational tastings. Original programming includes Grape to Glass, the Lab Series, and a Bordeaux Masterclass. They also regularly bring in outside educators for additional courses, including Master of Rioja DOCa and WSET Level 1 in Sake.

School Reviews

For a relatively new wine school, Florida Wine Academy has a solid number of reviews. As of this writing, there are a half-dozen reviews on Yelp and about two dozen on Google, nearly all positive. Reader feedback mirrors this pattern, with approximately 20 positive reviews and one negative.

The school’s brick-and-mortar presence is a genuine asset, and the ownership team is well-credentialed. That said, the school’s curriculum relies heavily on third-party frameworks like WSET, with limited proprietary programming. The 10-person classroom capacity also constrains growth. Schools such as the Napa Valley Wine Academy and the Wine School of Philadelphia offer more extensive independent curricula by comparison. Florida Wine Academy is a strong regional option, but one still building toward the depth of more established institutions.