Italian Wine Maestro Certification Course

Grappolo Wine School is thrilled to bring this 201-level course of the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) study program to Colorado.

Next session: Fall 2024
If you’d like to be notified when the dates are set, please submit the Interest Form below

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Are you ready to catapult into the world of Italian Wine?

  • What is the Italian Wine Maestro Certification?

    It’s the precursor level to the Vinitaly International study program. This multi-week certification course introduces the wealth of native Italian grape varieties essential to comprehending Italy’s fascinating wines.

  • Who is this course for?

    Hospitality professionals, Retail specialists, Importers, Distributors, Wine buyers, Educators, Wine journalists/bloggers, and Passionate Enthusiasts

  • Details

    Class Dates

    Sundays: February 18, 25; March 3, 10

    Final Exam: Saturday, March 30

    Sessions run 9:00 - 4:00

    Where: Restaurant Olivia - 290 S. Downing St, Denver, CO 80209

    Investment: $925 (excluding textbook)

    download full description here

  • What do we focus on?

    • Regional appellations

    • Autochthonous grapes

    • And a deep exploration of Italian wine and food culture

  • Who is the instructor?

    Italian Wine Ambassador/Vinitaly International Academy Maestro Educator, Scott Thomas, leads dynamic learning sessions through all 20 regions, grape by grape while tasting the most important examples along the way using the VIA tasting grid, developed specifically for uncovering the nuances of Italian wines.

  • Learn Outcomes

    by the end of this course, you should be:

    • Able to understand and explain the history, geography, wine laws, and labeling of Italian wines and styles.

    • Capable of describing and understanding the key factors that influence the characteristics and differences between Italian native grape varieties.

    • Able to correctly taste, identify, and assess the characteristics & quality of Italian wines and styles.

    • Capable of describing and understanding the key production factors that influence the characteristics and differences between regional Italian wine styles including sparkling, dry, fortified & sweet wines.

    • Adept in providing accurate, authentic, and credible information and advice on Italian wine

  • You Receive

    • 24 hours of in-person masterclass sessions

    • Guided tastings of more than 70 regionally-classic wines

    • Weekly review quizzes

    • Pages of bonus information for deeper learning

    • Review session prior to the exam

    • Earn the title "Italian Wine Maestro" after passing a written exam and blind tasting

    • Career-advancing knowledge and confidence representing Italian Wine

    • Becoming a member of the vibrant VIA community

    • Ongoing educational mentoring from the instructor

  • Next Course Starts Soon!

    Sundays: February 18 - March 10, 2024

    REGISTER HERE

  • What is Vinitaly International Academy?

    Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) aims to be the gold standard of Italian wine education. VIA offers a complete educational path with standardized courses that will teach professionals and educators to master the diversity of Italian wine in a rigorous, organized manner

    VIA offers three levels of certification: Italian Wine Maestro, Italian Wine Ambassador, and Italian Wine Expert

    Students who successfully pass the Italian Wine Maestro course and wish to further their studies may apply to enroll in the rigorous VIA study program held annually in Verona and abroad, wherein students pursue either Ambassador or Expert credentials

    More on VIA here

  • Required Text

    Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0

    purchase textbook here

  • Testing Method and Grading

    • A written 50-question exam in one hour

    • A blind tasting of two wines: one white, one red

    • Students must demonstrate a passing grade of 75% on each section

  • Syllabus

    • Session 1: Introduction, families, and groups & focus on Italian sparkling

    • Session 2: Piedmont’s native grapes

    • Session 3: Native grapes of Veneto & Valle d’Aosta

    • Session 4: Native grapes of Friuli-Venezia Giulia & Trentino-Alto Adige

    • Session 5: Native grapes of Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany & Umbria

    • Session 6: Native grapes of Le Marche, Abruzzo & Puglia

    • Session 7: Native grapes of Lazio, Campania & Calabria

    • Session 8: Native grapes of Sicily & Sardegna

    • Session 9: Final Exam + Blind Tasting

  • Read more on the blog

    Including a full list of wines from our last session

    Course recap

  • Questions?

    Drop a note here with any questions or inquiries.

    Contact us

Next Course Starting Soon!
Sundays: February 18 - March 10, 2024

Testimonials

  • "Scott is an excellent educator. The materials were well put together and relevant to both the test and to my career as a wine industry professional. From a practical standpoint, he helped synthesize and clear up a lot of the issues I was having with discussing Italian wines prior to taking the course. The tasting section was particularly informative as I don’t always have the opportunity to taste that many Italian wines side-by-side for typicity."

  • "My career will absolutely benefit from what I’ve learned. I’ve already started selling more unique Italian wines at work, and I enjoyed the connections made during class."

  • "I would highly recommend taking Scott’s class. Not only do you get the benefit of his years of expertise and knowledge, but you get inspired by a kind, passionate human being to learn more about Italy. It’s extremely well organized, and I’ve always felt encouraged to ask questions. Molto bene! "

  • "I love the deep dive into the regions, geography and mapping out all the wines. It was a great tool for memorizing all of the grapes."

  • "This class was a highlight of my career. Scott was the GREATEST teacher I have ever had!! The class was very challenging and there was a ton of information but the way Scott would break it all down was AWESOME! We were given quizzes, maps, class slides and got to taste sooooooooo many wines. The class was a great size and I just cannot say enough positive things."

  • "The class moved quickly. There was a lot of information packed into each class. Honestly wish it would have gone on much longer. So much fun but I appreciate how much we got from each session."

  • {highlights were}..."the exposure to lesser-known indigenous grape varieties and regions was exciting, and tasting benchmark examples of more famous regions was critical as well."

  • {benefits to your career}..."Not only on my resume but my confidence in structurally blind tasting wines will surely help in any wine related position in my future."

  • "The sessions were great. I think working through the grid as a group and talking about the tastings felt significantly more educational than just doing it on our own and moving through it quickly."