Memoire Online - Wine education in the wine country

Entry requirement: vocational diploma (certificate, diploma, advanced diploma) Curriculum dates back to 1996

Unit	program
Oenology 2h/week	The vine, the grape, the must, fermentations, winemaking process, new winemaking techniques, the wine (composition, evolution, wine storage)
Others beverages 1h30/week	Fortified wines, liquors, spirits, non-alcoholic drinks
Vineyards 6h/week	The French vineyard :Wine history in France, natural and human aspects, «the terroir», wine regulations, wine and gastronomy Foreign vineyards (name and location of a few foreign wines)
Wine tasting 6h/week	Wine tasting mechanisms wine tasting methods : interpretation according to the professional context, comments, marketing
Legislation 0.5h/week	Related to the drink elaboration process, transport, sales practices, hygiene and security
Finance in the in the hospitality industry, applied to sommellerie 1h/week	Business understanding, supplies, how to set prices, cost
Communication and selling techniques 5h/week	Attitude, appearance, communication in a foreign language (English), customer's needs, sales techniques, written communication, computing
English 2h/week

After this program students can reach a higher diploma (Brevet professionnel sommelier, equivalent to an advance diploma) which gives a strong qualification in sommellerie.

5.5.2. Non sommelier courses, hospitality

CAP restaurant. 2 years courses (certificate in restaurant service)
Training periods: 6 and 8 weeks

Career opportunities		Waiter
Courses		Vocational courses (hours/week) ( restaurant service)	General courses (hours/week)
	1st year	18	15
	2nd year	17	15.5
Exam		Professionals units are weighted 18 Academic units are weighted 7

Vocational courses focus on restaurant service (food, bar, wine service) and theoretical courses (including wine knowledge). At the end of the courses students can either enter the workforce or go to a Baccalauréat professionnel (diploma)

- Wine storage - Wine service - Wine tasting (recognised the main wine spoilage)

Baccalauréat professionnel restaurant. 2 years studies. (Diploma in restaurant service)

Career opportunities		Chef de rang, Head waiter
Courses		Vocational courses (hours/week) (restaurant service)	General courses (hours/week)
	1st year	11	19
	2nd year	11	19
Exam		Professional units are weighted 7 General units are weighted 17

At the end of the courses students can either enter the workforce or continue for a Brevet de technicien supérieur (advanced diploma), or a specialized vocational course (e.g. pastry).

- Connection between wine characteristics and climate, soil, winemaking process - French wines

The syllabus of the Baccalaureat Professionnel is now changing, and instead of a two years study, students will stay at school three years and they can directly access to the programme after secondary school.

Regarding wine courses (apart wine service), students will learn oenology the first year (13.5 hours/year), in the second year 13.5 hours are dedicated to the French vineyard and only around 4 hours (per year) for wine tasting. On the last year focus is on the European vineyard (12 hours), completed by three or four wine tasting sessions.

Career opportunities		Students normally take furthers studies
Courses		Vocational courses (hours/week) (cooking, service, hospitality)	General courses (hours/week) (philosophy, French, history, geography, foreign languages (2), mathematics, laws, economy, finance in the hospitality industry, applied sciences, sport
	1st year	10	22
	2nd year	11	23
	3rd year	11	23
Exam		Professional units are weighted 8.5 academic units are weighted 23

This curriculum is normally dedicated to students wanting to go on a «Brevet de Technicien supérieur» (equivalent to an advanced diploma). Students at the end of the exam are not supposed to enter the workforce. The core units are articulated around a majority of academic courses. Theoretically students, at the end of their studies, can either continue in the vocational system or leave for university. In the programme, vocational courses tend to have a minor influence on an important numbers of academic courses. More over this syllabus focuses on flexibility: Hospitality, cooking and restaurant service are studied during the three year programme. That often results in poor basic knowledge in technical fields at the end of the studies.

Wine education is consequently poorly represented in the core study, with very few hours the first year. In the second year, focus is on oenology and the French vineyards, through theoretical courses (1 hour per fortnight). Students are supposed to learn a sample of the French appellations, how to make wine, grape varieties, wine and drinks policies. One or two

wine tastings are done in the second year. During the restaurant service they also acquire basic wine service techniques (6 hours per fortnight dedicated to restaurant service)

In the last year, wine is still learned mainly through restaurant service, but very few wine tastings are done, which implies very poor wine knowledge at the end of the 3 years programme.

Brevet de Technicien Supérieur restauration B (advanced diploma. Cooking and restaurant
management)

Entry requirement: Baccalauréat technologique, baccalaureat professionnel, Mise à niveau Training period: 16 weeks

Career opportunities		Restaurant manager, head waiter, chef
Courses		Vocational courses (hours/week) (cooking and service management)	General courses (hours/week) (French, foreign language (2), economics, finance in the in the hospitality industry, marketing, applied sciences
	1st year	9	23
	2nd year	14	18
Exam		Professional units are weighted 9 Academic units are weighted 11

Students are supposed to have a minimum of knowledge of wine at the entry of the course. Therefore there is not a specific programme devoted to wine even if they still learn through different courses such as restaurant service. Very few hours (1 or 2) are dedicated to the foreign vineyard.

Some of the students stay at the hospitality school for five years (3 years Baccalauréat Technologique plus 2 years Brevet de Technicien Supérieur). As a matter of fact, really poor outcomes in wine knowledge are acquired when entering the workforce.

Wine education in the wine country

5.5.1. Sommelier courses

5.5.2. Non sommelier courses, hospitality