International Wine Guild
The International Wine Guild was established to encourage study to develop technical and professional understanding and increased knowledge of wine throughout all areas of the wine and food service industry. Whether you work in a restaurant, hotel, wine shop, liquor store, are a wholesaler or importer, or are an individual with a passion for wine there are certification and advanced diploma programs designed specifically for you leading to a Guild Wine Master diploma. In addition, if you are a wine educator, or would like to develop the skills to teach others about wine, there is also a certification and advanced program path leading to a Guild Wine Master Educator.
The Guild is dedicated to fostering wine education at the highest levels and helping both wine professionals and wine enthusiasts increase and expand their knowledge and understanding of wine. To become a Guild member you must successfully complete either the Guild Certification Seminar (one weekend) or the Advanced Wine Course. The Guild also teaches numerous classes for the general public.
To learn about our professional diploma and certification programs go to the Professional Programs Overview page. The Guild offers professional certifications from entry level through Master.
Looking for a Calendar of upcoming Guild Classes? Here is a link showing upcoming classes.
Professional programs of the International Wine Guild are approved and regulated by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Private Occupational School Board.
International Wine Guild
at Metropolitan State College of Denver
Campus Box 60, PO Box 173362
Denver, CO 80217-3362
Plaza Building, Room 124
303.296.3966 Phone
303.904.3245 Fax
We are a wine college, not just (or only) a professional certifying organization. We provide the support and education to prepare you for certification, if certification is your goal. For example, our Level II Certification is a 12-week course in which we teach formal Sommelier Service, wine making, event planning, wine service preparation, and wine list design as well as medium-depth discussions on 16 countries and tasting (with formal evaluation) of about 100 wines. At Level III we even assign a mentor to each Master Candidate to help ensure their successful completion of this expert level certification.
We train professionals, people wanting to make a career change, people wanting to start their own wine related business and serious enthusiast. We understand that there are professionals and enthusiasts with a passion for wine, as well as wine and food. Therefore, we provide professional quality courses and certifications for professionals and serious enthusiasts.
All of our lead instructors in our professional programs have industry experience – often in a range of different parts of the industry. Like most of our students (who often work full-time) they are part-time instructors and full-time in the industry. Many have career changed into the industry and have a full understanding of how to be successful in the industry after a career in another field. Many have even started their own successful wine related businesses.
All of our instructors have been through a two-year training program to become Senior Wine Instructors. They teach to a curriculum.
Because the wine industry changes at such a rapid pace, we have developed all of the full-color materials we use in our professional classes. In addition, we have developed a series of proprietary tools that students receive as part of the materials for each class. (Materials are included in your registration fees.) These materials are updated annually to stay on top of a fast changing industry.
We pour premium quality wines in each class. Many people who teach wine classes only use one distributor, or have a goal of selling wine as part of the class. We work with all distributors and do not cut corners by serving mediocre or poor quality wine. We are a wine college and do not sell wine as part of our instruction – in fact, we do not have an off-premise license at all.
As our tagline says, our goal is to offer you “a lifetime of wine education.”