“Advanced Course – Wines and Spirits International” and “WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits” - Excellent wine education in the heart of Austrian wine

The VIEVINUM Wine Fair 2010 in Vienna hosted the launch of an exciting new wine qualification offered by the Austrian Wine Academy, conducted in English, to commence in autumn of 2010. It offers a unique opportunity to participants to combine learning about international wines with practical first hand experience in viticulture and wine-making and all of this in the unique and picturesque environment of the Academy’s training centre in Rust in the Burgenland wine region.

The Austrian Wine Academy – a not for profit organisation – was founded 20 years ago and in that short time has acquired the formidable status of being the largest wine educational institution in Continental Europe, with approximately 20 000 wine enthusiasts attending seminars annually. In addition to courses offered in Austria, there are also centres in Germany (Campus Geisenheim), Switzerland (Campus Wädenswil) and Südtirol/Alto Adige, but to date the language medium has been only German.

The Advanced Course – Wines and Spirits International is an internationally standardised qualification in the area of “global wines and spirits”. It covers the most important wine regions of the world, as well as all wine styles, including sparkling and fortified wines and incorporates a section on spirits. Students are taught to critically understand and evaluate international wines and spirits. The level of this qualification is internationally defined and is recommended for all professional areas of the wine business: wine trade, gastronomy, wine management and wine production. It has been designed as a residential course and late afternoons and evenings are designated to workshops, visits to vineyards and wineries and educational tastings.

Successful graduates of this course may then move on to the WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits, also an international trade qualification and known in Austria and associated centres as Weinakademiker. Since 1993, the Austrian Wine Academy has been a partner of the British Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and has been offering Diploma courses in German language in Rust. The very first Diploma course in the English language will commence in Rust on May 10^th 2011.

Dr Josef Schuller MW, Managing Director of the Austrian Wine Academy and current Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, comments: “This is an exciting new development which enables us to offer students from around the world the opportunity to study and progress from a solid professional level of wine, via the WSET Diploma, all the way to the Master of Wine Programme, here in this unique setting in Rust”.

Advanced Course Fee, including lunches and all visits: EUR 1290.-

Autumn Date: 11-15^th October and 11 – 14^th November 2010, a total of 9 days

Spring Date: 14-18^th March and 4-7^th April 2011, a total of 9 days

For further information, please contact: Mag (FH) Irene Bachkönig, Seehof, A 7071 Rust; phone: 0043 (0) 2685 6853-15; e-mail: i.bachkoenig@weinakademie.at