Guide to Online Wine Courses (Free & Paid)
Whether you work in wine or just want to refine your knowledge, online wine courses are a great way to build your foundation. Also, you get a wine education in the comfort of your own home! Wine Folly now offers a suite of online wine courses from the affordable Wine 101 to college-level Wine 201. Why not learn something while you sip?
Choosing Your Path: Free vs. Paid Courses
You essentially have two main types of courses to choose from: free and paid online wine courses. Each option comes with some pros and cons to consider.
Free Wine Learning
The quality of information in the free videos is high because the content comes from great sources. To make it easy to follow along, we curated several playlists including both theory, service, and “taste-alongs” for palate training.
- General Wine Knowledge: This self-directed wine learning features 7 hours of curated videos. In this series, you’ll learn the basics of wine and the professional tasting method, and it will also introduce you to several of the world’s most popular wines and wine regions.
- Wine Service (for Servers and Hospitality): If you’re hoping to brush up on your wine skills for a restaurant or other hospitality job, all the basics are available on this playlist. Learn how to open wine with a waiter’s friend corkscrew and understand how to never let a Champagne bottle explode.
- Wine Etiquette, Technique and Food Pairing: Get confident ordering wine in a restaurant and handling wine in a sophisticated setting. This series features practical knowledge on navigating wine lists, wine labels, and pairing wine with food.
Cons: Patchwork information, very little guidance, no person-to-person interaction, and no recognized certifications.
Paid Online Wine Courses
Paid courses offer excellent guidance, peer-to-peer support, live seminars, and some offer recognized certificates. Hundreds of wine educators offer online coaching, so we narrowed the list down to businesses offering consistent wine courses with the greatest amount of customer support.
Wine Folly Courses
The award-winning team at Wine Folly now offers a suite of wine education courses. Ranging from beginner knowledge and wine tasting to college-level certification classes, you can find something for every learner. Classes are taken online, at your own pace and the deeper-knowledge courses offer digital certificates which you can add to your LinkedIn resume.
An Understanding of Wine with Jancis Robinson
One of the most notable educators and experts in wine, Jancis Robinson has released a course on the fundamentals of wine. Produced with BBC Maestro, it covers all the basics from identifying to choosing wines. Robinson has spent 45 years exploring the world of wine and providing razor-sharp materials for wine learning.
Italian Cultural Society: Regional Food & Wine
Instructor Carlo Ellena will be your virtual tour guide through 12 regions of Italy to discover the distinct histories of traditional food and wine of each place. The lessons cover regions such as Piemonte, Toscana, and Sicilia. You can enjoy a wine tasting experience, purchasing the wine and food suggested in advance by the instructor.
Course Comparison Table
The following table summarizes the key details for the featured paid online wine programs:
| Course Provider | Level | Certificate | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine Folly | Beginners to College-level | Yes (Digital) | $50–$399 |
| Jancis Robinson (BBC Maestro) | Beginners & Enthusiasts | None | $90 USD |
| Italian Cultural Society | Gastronomic Insiders | Available | Varies |
Professional Certifications and Specialized Training
For those seeking industry-standard qualifications, several institutions offer advanced paths:
- Commonwealth Wine School: Offers WSET Level 1, 2, and 3 Award in Wines, as well as Sommelier of Sake (Kikisake-shi) Online Certification.
- San Francisco Wine School: Features the Intro to Wine Series, Somm Essentials, and Blind Tasting Grapes of the World Series.
- WSET Diploma: Advanced sessions including Wines of the World and Research Paper topics.
Be sure to check out specific course pages for enrollment details and monthly payment plans where available.
