Report Nyon
a federal certificate in sommellerie at last!
Established in 1948, Changins Ecole du Vin includes three high-end education courses: High School of vine growing and oenology (HES), higher education of viti- and vinicultural technician (ES) and the wine school. The latter was created in 1999 to answer the increasing demand of amateurs and professionals in reconversion or willing to deepen their knowledge in sommellerie.
A real lack was soon evidenced: Switzerland, like many countries in the world, suffered from the absence of an official superior diploma of sommellerie. This was probably due to the lack of recognition of the sommellerie as a profession. Until now, only the Province of Tessin awarded a diploma. In the private sector, schools, as well as the Association Suisse de la Sommellerie Professionnelle (ASSP), organized their own training.
Gianni Moresi, president of the council of foundation of Changins, also assistant director of the cantonal department of education, took over in 2008 the project of this certificate that had not materialized until then. The project speeded up in 2010, through the parliamentary intervention of national councellor Josef Zysiadis and six co-signatories. The latter invited the federal council to introduce a federal certificate of competence (basis education) or a federal degree (higher professional education) in sommellerie. The federal council has come out in favour of a higher professional education in the direction of a specialisation.
2014 will be the year of creation of the Federal Degree in sommellerie. “It is the outcome of a long work that mobilized Changins, ASSP, Hotel and Gastro Formation and Scuela superiore alberghiera e del turismo de Bellinzola,” Romain Cellery, in charge of the wine school, states.
The Federal Degree in sommellerie is opened to all professionals already holder of a CFC (Federal Certificate of Competence) and proving an experience of 3 years at least in the catering, the production or the sale of wine.
Only three schools in Switzerland will provide the training of 260 hours, but thanks to its flexibility, the candidate can easily integrate it within his professional life. At Changins, the lessons will be provided on Monday. They are divided into 4 parts that will alternately deal with every aspect of the profession and the necessary knowledge for a sommelier: wine growing, wine making and oenology; knowledge of wines of the world; service and advice, food and wine pairings, sale; business administration. For the two last modules, the wine school will work with Geneva’s Hotel Business School, considered as one of the best in the world.
It is possible to combine these modules with evening classes at Changins for an even bigger flexibility regarding the candidates’ rhythm. The lessons are provided by eminent sommeliers and professionals, like Paolo Basso, 2013 Best Sommelier of the World, and Thibaut Panas, head sommelier of Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, and elected Sommelier of the year 2014 by Gault&Millau Switzerland.
The final examination consists of written, oral and practical tests including a tasting. Its model is based on the A.S.I.’s. The school has already registered 14 subscriptions for the next session.
Paolo Basso supported a lot the setting up of this education, his title of Best Sommelier of the World having probably contributed to the promotion of the image of the profession and the Swiss wines. By the recognition of this Federal Degree, the wine school Changins consolidated its role as a promoter of the profession of sommelier. But there still is a lot to do.
CHANGINS École du vin
Route de Duillier 50
Case Postale 1148
1260 Nyon 1 - Suisse
Tél: +41 (0)22363 40 83
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