Austrian Wine Academy #201
The coolest WSET Diploma program on the planet
We have repeatedly heard this phrase from our international Diploma students from more than forty different countries. See below a short film about the locations and venues of our international Diploma program: beginning at the picturesque Austrian Wine Academy campus in Rust and continuing to Florence and Tuscany via Alto Adige and Swiss wine regions and on to Geisenheim University in Germany’s Rheingau and then back to Austria to the annual graduation ceremony in the splendid Haydn Hall at Esterhazy Palace. Visits to top producers and stunning wineries in all these countries are part of the program. Get an inside view of the Diploma program.
Over 1,000 Weinakademiker from 48 different nations
With the class of 2022, the alumni of the Austrian Wine Academy grew to well over 1,000 Weinakademiker, who now come from 48 different nations. Among the new graduates is the first female Weinakademiker from Venezuela. The 33 new Weinakademiker have come a long way and only a few managed to complete this training in the absolute minimum duration of two years. The average study time is three to four years, and at the end candidates must present a diploma thesis and pass a colloquium.
WSET Diploma courses and the title Weinakademiker
The Austrian Wine Academy – a not for profit organisation – was founded in 1991 and has acquired the formidable status of being the largest wine educational institution in Europe, with more than 15,000 wine enthusiasts attending seminars annually. In addition to courses offered in Austria, Wine Academy runs Diploma course centres in Germany (Campus Geisenheim), Switzerland (Campus Wädenswil), Italy (Florence) as well as in Südtirol/Alto Adige.
There will be an additional emphasis on Austrian and Hungarian wine regions through indepth lectures and visit programmes as well as tastings. 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.
Another difference to WSET Diploma courses in other countries is the fact that the graduates of this Diploma course will be awarded the prestigious title Weinakademiker.
The title Weinakademiker is both a distinction and a mission. Weinakademiker join the graduate association “Weinakademiker Club” and commit themselves to a code of honour that postulates permanent further education and the highest ethical standards. Many Weinakademiker hold leading positions in the international wine industry and this training is also the recommended preliminary stage to the elite Master of Wine qualification.
Jancis Robinson was the first awarded by the ‘Weinakademiker h. c.’ title
The ‘Weinakademiker h. c.’ title was awarded for the first time at the 1994 Weinakademiker graduation ceremony for special achievements in the field of international wine education and for Austrian wine in particular. The grande dame of wine journalism, Jancis Robinson MW (Master of Wine) from the UK, was the first to receive this title, which has since been awarded to a total of 15 leading figures in the international wine world.
