The Austrian Institute was founded in 1991 as a subsidiary of ÖWM (Austrian Wine Marketing Service). It is open to all those interested in wine with its own seminar and training programme . The institute is located in the town of Rust (Burgenland) in the atmospheric ambience of the Seehof. The managing director is Dr. Josef Schuller MW. Seminars are organised in all nine Austrian provinces in cooperation with wine-competent partners. In Wien a seminar centre has been set up in the premises of ÖWM. There are also cooperations with the WIFI (Institute for Economic Promotion) and adult education centres throughout Austria. The company's philosophy is based on a "wine culture rule circle": The higher the wine knowledge and wine culture of a society, the more likely it is to produce, offer, demand and also consume high quality.
Training programme
Interested parties can complete four levels according to their level of knowledge. In addition to short seminars or Wine & Food Seminars, the ABC of wine is taught in the "Basic Seminar". Alternatively, it is also offered in the form of an experience-oriented weekend as a wine tutorial. From this basic seminar, a positively passed examination leads to the "Advanced Seminar 1 - Wine Country Austria" with a focus on viticulture, cellar management, the Austrian wine industry and wine-growing regions, as well as tasting training. A positively passed final examination qualifies for the continuing "Advanced Seminar 2 - Wines & Spirits International", which focuses on the international world of wine and prepares for an internationally oriented education at academic level - the "DIPLOMA in Wines & Spirits".
For winegrowers and wine merchants there is a special programme package for marketing. Marketing awareness is to be improved in workshops organised to meet today's market requirements. The annual "Wine Academy Winegrowers' Conference" is dedicated to current topics in viticulture with a focus on production and marketing. In addition, more than 150 tourism and gastronomy schools throughout Austria are expertly supported. At these schools, over 200 seminars are held annually for more than 5,000 pupils and internal school wine events are supported.
Cooperations
In cooperation with the renowned British training company WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust), top-class lecturers - including several Masters of Wine - present the wines, wine-growing countries and markets of the world. The final stage of this DIPLOMA is the graduation as a wine academic. The establishment of the "European Master of Wine (MW) study course" also at the Wine Academy in Rust in 2005 was a milestone. All European candidates preparing for the Master of Wine examination take part in this programme.
Since 2002, the Wine Academy has been cooperating with the Geisenheim University of Applied Sciences in Rheingau, Germany, and offers the DIPLOMA training exclusively in Germany as well. Since autumn 2006, the advanced seminar "Wines & Spirits International" has been offered in Brixen in cooperation with the South Tyrolean Sommelier Association, and since the beginning of 2007 also in Zurich. Other cooperation partners are the "Borkollegium" in Budapest, the "Weinausbildung Schweiz" and the "Academie du Vin", as well as in Germany the "Viniversität" and the "Internationale Weinakademie" in Munich.
Europe's leading wine training institution
The Wine Academy Austria has established itself as a leading wine training institution in Europe. With over 1,000 seminars and more than 20,000 participants annually, the Weinakademie Österreich has been the largest European wine school for years. The very first class of wine academics graduated in 1994. Today there are more than 850 wine academics from 41 countries worldwide, mainly from Europe, but also from Argentina, China, Iran, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. These often hold key positions in the wine industry. They are organised in the alumni association "Club of Wine Academics" and also commit themselves to a code of honour that provides for permanent further training. See also listings under the keywords viticultural institutions and viticultural personalities.
Image: ÖWM
