Wine and Management Diploma

One thing that was invaluable about studying at Le Cordon Bleu Paris was the ability you have to meet industry leaders, new business owners, winemakers, and not only that, but then being able to have and grow those connections, should you decide to stay within France, or move abroad. It will put you at a cutting edge to any other formation I've yet come across.

Le Diplôme de Wine and Management était très complémentaire avec mon projet. En plus des compétences de sommelier que j'ai pu développer, j’ai eu l’opportunité de me préparer à la création d’entreprise. Nous devions rendre un projet entrepreneurial sous forme de mémoire avec une soutenance à la fin de l'année, ce qui m’a permis de construire et d’alimenter mon propre projet à travers cette expérience.

The Wine & Management Diploma is an intensive training programme but comprehensive enough to enable you to launch your project whatever it may be (sommellerie, wine store or wine bar, agent or brand ambassador, oenotourism and many other jobs).

I love the way wine brings people together, provides an opportunity to set aside their work, and simply pause and enjoy life. Since graduating from Le Cordon Bleu, I've founded my own business based in San Francisco, En Pointe Wines. I hope I can encourage others to view wine not as something to be collected or critiqued, but as something that can help bring us together, celebrate the diversity in the world, and bring us all joy.

I was a member of the first cohort into the new Wine and Management Diploma, and was drawn to Le Cordon Bleu Paris because of its reputation, its location, and the thorough grounding in wine the course provides. I'm now owning my own company, Thomson & Scott, where my wines are selling all over the world and made newspaper headlines all over the UK.

I suppose my favorite moments at Le Cordon Bleu institute were the trips we took as a group, driving through the French countryside and stopping at vineyards and estates to meet the people who work in them. It was then that I realized wine is so much more than a tasty beverage. When you drink it you are tasting a place.

The Rhone Valley is one of my favorite regions and this trip allowed me to see the terroir up close. The meetings with winemakers and tastings has furthered my knowledge about the great wines from the Rhone. The perfect weather and beautiful scenery were also a plus!

The trip to the Rhone Valley was amazing and the organisation outstanding! During three fairly intensive days, we had the opportunity to visit estates and winegrowers in emblematic appellations such as Côte Rôtie, Condrieu, Hermitage and Châteauneuf-du-Pape. There was a great atmosphere, amazing discoveries and many special moments shared!

I am now doing what I love for a living, which had been my goal for many years. It is very important to me to have a range of quality, original, and sometimes rare, wines and spirits so that I can always try to meet the needs of my customers. The training I received at Le Cordon Bleu institute gave me the opportunity to consolidate my network thanks to the different speakers we met (sommeliers, agents, appellation representatives, etc.). Not forgetting, of course, the visits to French vineyards, the professional fairs that I took part in during the training programme, the numerous tastings undertaken in lessons and the wines selected by Mr. Ramage.

I thought this trip was a success: all of the vineyards we visited were very interesting and the region is fantastic! It was my favourite trip of the whole year by far!

Our class visited a variety of cognac houses from smaller and more "artisan style" houses such as Tesseron to very famous and large ones such as Hennessy. We were able to taste numerous selections of cognacs and we also had food pairings with each. Every host was extremely hospitable and made me feel so welcome and at-ease especially.Getting to see the hands-on approach each distiller takes was also very special. . It was truly an incredible experience to be across the world tasting cognac that is very special to me! This trip was quite luxurious too as the château we stayed in was very classic French and ornate.

I was very happy when I found out that one of our trips would be to Cognac. I really wanted to see the production methods and all the cellars. It was interesting to learn about the different facets of Cognac, from small wine-growers to large groups. At first glance, the programme seemed to have a lot of visits for just one product, but by visiting lots of different Cognac Houses we were able to understand the differences in quality, style, production and the way in which the different Cognac Houses are run. We always received a very warm welcome in a magnificent setting. I would like to thank Le Cordon Bleu once again for enabling us to have such amazing experiences: we are extremely lucky!