100 Hours of Expertise: California Wines Launches Its Highest Level of Education – Capstone Level 4
On September 15, 2026, in Sacramento, California, California Wines announced the final rollout of Capstone California Level 4, the highest tier of its globally recognized educational program dedicated to California wine. The program expands access to advanced California wine study worldwide as Capstone gains international recognition for its educational and cultural mission.
The four-level certification pathway, spanning introductory study through expert-level authority, establishes the program as the leading advanced qualification focused exclusively on California wine. Level 4 delivers original content through a multilingual, multimedia platform and requires approximately 100 hours of structured study and tastings. Developed under the leadership of Bree Stock, MW, with advisement from Capstone’s architect and Lead Educator Evan Goldstein, MS, with an international team of leading wine educators, Capstone California Level 4 moves beyond foundational learning to examine California’s position within the global wine landscape today. It offers a rigorous credential for professionals seeking the highest recognized qualification for advanced expertise in California wine, and the first cohort to complete Level 4 will be recognized at a summit in Europe in spring 2027.
“With Level 4, Capstone California achieves a global benchmark for California wine knowledge,” said Honore Comfort, Vice President of International Marketing, Wine Institute. “Graduates join a community of experts, elevating the global dialogue on wine through deep regional insight. As a program, Capstone California continues to expand access to high-quality wine education supporting the future of the international wine sector.”
The Level 4 program blends structured learning with advanced tastings and hands-on programming, challenging candidates to integrate regional context, production decisions and market understanding of California Wine at an expert level. The curriculum includes interactive quizzes, AVA maps, simulations and video content, alongside webinars and interviews with California producers and winemakers. Capstone California was named the Cultural Mission winner in the Education in Enotourism category of the Wine Travel Awards 2025–2026. Spanning 48 countries, the WTA initiative recognizes development, innovation and contributions to contemporary wine culture.
Capstone was honored for connecting structured education with California’s history, geography and winegrowing culture, and for contributing to a global community where the wine tourism industry exchanges ideas, builds connections and shares information.
“Wine education has always been essential to the industry’s future because it gives people the context to understand not only what is in the glass, but the history, place and people behind it,” said Goldstein. “Capstone builds on Wine Institute’s longstanding educational mission by giving learners around the world a substantive, accessible pathway into the extraordinary diversity and continuing evolution of California wine.”
Capstone California Level 4 was introduced in Warsaw, Poland, during a gathering co-hosted with the Adam Pawłowski MS Wine Academy that brought together Capstone educators and alumni from across the program’s international network. To explore all four levels of study and enroll, visit CapstoneCalifornia.com.
About Capstone California
Developed by California Wines under the auspices of Wine Institute, Capstone California is a global, four-level certification program focused exclusively on California wine. The curriculum features original content, interactive AVA maps, webinars, and study resources created by Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, and leading California wine experts. Successful students receive certificates and professional recognition at each level. CapstoneCalifornia.com
About Wine Institute’s California Wine Export Program
Established in 1934, Wine Institute is the administrator of the USDA Market Access Program (MAP) for California vintners representing 80% of U.S. wine production and 95% of U.S. wine exports. More than 200 California wineries exporting to 142 countries participate in Wine Institute’s California Wine Export Program. The program has 15 California Wine Institute representatives in key export markets worldwide who provide on-site support to wineries and help develop markets for California wines in more than 30 countries.
The California Wine Export Program, a public-private partnership supported by winery contributions and the USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP), features California as an environmental leader with distinctive wine regions, an ideal climate for growing world-class wines, an iconic lifestyle, and a culinary tradition rooted in locally grown products. In addition to marketing and promoting California wine overseas, Wine Institute conducts a comprehensive International Public Policy program focused on regulatory cooperation, removing trade barriers, and growing California wine exports. Visit calwinexport.com or the consumer website, DiscoverCaliforniaWines.com.
About Wine Institute
Established in 1934, Wine Institute is the public policy advocacy group of nearly 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses. It initiates and advocates state, federal and international public policy to enhance the environment for the responsible production, consumption and enjoyment of wine. The organization works to enhance the economic and environmental health of the state through its leadership in sustainable winegrowing and by showcasing California’s wine regions as ideal destinations for food and wine travelers to the state. To learn more about California wines, visit DiscoverCaliforniaWines.com.
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Kateryna Yushchenko, DipWSET, founder of the Ukrainian Wine & Spirit School (UWSS), Certified Educator, Capstone California**
“For me, the most compelling aspect of Level 4 is that, at a certain point, California ceases to be merely a subject of study. It begins to cohere into a complete landscape – through its wines, its people, its vineyards, its climate, and the dozens of very different stories that shape it. It is close to 100 hours of study during which California is examined as a wine world in its own right: its history and evolution, its AVAs, its emblematic vineyards and producers, its old vines, climate change, sustainability, current research, viticulture and winemaking, as well as the nuances of individual vintages and the stylistic shifts of recent decades. One of the programme’s greatest strengths is its tasting foundation. For a professional in Ukraine, assembling such a broad and representative selection of Californian wines is extraordinarily difficult. Many regions, varieties and styles are simply too limited in their presence on our market. And this is precisely where theory suddenly becomes vividly alive. You are not merely reading about the differences between AVAs – you are tasting them. You do not simply know that California is diverse; you begin to understand just how diverse it truly is. Having completed the highest tier of the programme, Expert Level 4, I want to share a personal impression. I greatly appreciate the way the course is structured. It is not an encyclopaedia to be pecializ, but a continuous interplay of theory, analysis, tasting and real-world examples from the wine industry. For me, a good educational programme is one after which you look at a familiar region and suddenly see far more within it. That is exactly how Level 4 works. For sommeliers, buyers, importers, wine educators and those who already possess a solid foundation in wine studies, Expert Level 4 is not simply another certificate. It is an opportunity to gain genuinely deep pecialization in one of the world’s most important wine regions.”
Dossier
**Ukrainian Wine & Spirit School
The Ukrainian Wine & Spirit School (UWSS) is a WSET Approved Programme Provider in Ukraine and part of the global Wine & Spirit Education Trust educational network. It is widely recognised that the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) is the world leader in professional wine and beverage education. Founded in the United Kingdom in 1969, WSET today encompasses a global network of more than 800 officially accredited programme providers in over 70 countries.
WSET programmes offer structured knowledge of beverages, a systematic approach to tasting, and professional terminology. WSET qualifications are acknowledged and valued across the international industry – by winemakers, importers, retailers, sommeliers and other beverage professionals. For many of them, WSET has become a shared international language of wine education: a standardised system of knowledge and professional training understood across the world.
Over the years, the Ukrainian Wine & Spirit School has trained more than 600 students from 15 countries. Among its graduates are sommeliers, winemakers, importers, retailers, HoReCa professionals, wine journalists and enthusiasts seeking structured international education in wine and spirits. In addition to WSET programmes, UWSS develops international specialised educational courses in Ukraine, including Capstone California – the official educational and certification programme dedicated to the wines of California.
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