The Champagne Academy
The Course
Who is eligible for the course?
The prime objective is to educate members of the trade who would not otherwise be able to study Champagne in such depth. Each year, every effort is made to ensure that the list of candidates is typical of the whole trade sector. Membership is only open to applicants who do not have employment or custlancy association with any of the member houses.
How are participants chosen?
Potential candidates are recommended for approval by the Selection Committee, headed by the Presidential House of L'Academie du Champagne. The sixteen candidates who are finally selected and invited to attend the course are guests of all the member Houses and not of the nominating House. The identity of the proposing house is never revealed to the candidates as their invitation comes from the President of L'Academie de Champagne, thereby ensuring their loyalty is shared equally between all the Houses and dedicated to Grande Marque Champagne.
The Champagne Academy Course
The course always takes place in the summer and usually lasts seven days, starting on a Sunday and ending on the Saturday of the following week.
The syllabus includes lectures led by the Principals and Wine Makers of the sixteen Member Houses covering all aspects of Grande Marque Champagnes, with visits to vineyards, press houses, cellars, bottling plants as well as tutored tastings. Lectures cover wide-ranging topics including the history of Champagne and the Grande Marques, viticulture and viniculture, marketing and analysis of world markets.
Each House shares in the introduction and entertainment of the candidates during their stay, giving them the opportunity to meet top management and families of the sixteen Member Houses.
The course provides the most thorough grounding in the knowledge of a particular viticulture region of any wine-producing area in the world and the opportunity to build relationships with the key industry leaders in Champagne.
All candidates sit examinations daily and also at the end of the course. On passing the exams, candidates are awarded the prestigious Champagne Academy Diploma. Those showing outstanding knowledge and understanding of the Grandes Marques philosophy are granted a unique distinction, and the top candidate is crowned the winner of the silver ice bucket and receives a magnum from each of the Houses. All selected candidates are then invited to join the Champagne Academy.
Apply for 2025
If you would like to be considered for a place on the Course in June 2025 please apply using the link below.
You must be in the UK wine or Hospitality trade, not connected to any of the Champagne Houses, with a suggested experience of 3+ years, over 18 years of age, with plans to continue in a career in the industry.
Deadline is 30th September 2024, any applications received following that will be held for the following year.