Clos d'Or trains wine professionals and passionate enthusiasts to the highest international standards. From WSET Foundation to Master Sommelier examination, our Masters of Wine guide your journey.
Our Philosophy
Three pillars that define the Clos d'Or approach to wine education.
Wine is experienced before it is explained. Every programme at Clos d'Or places the glass before the textbook. Sensory training — learning to identify aromas, structure, and quality — is the foundation of everything we teach.
Wine is inseparable from its origin. We teach through geography, geology, and viticulture — ensuring students understand why Burgundy smells different from Barossa and what makes Champagne impossible to replicate elsewhere.
Clos d'Or boasts the highest pass rate of any approved wine education provider globally. Our structured approach to examination preparation has produced more Master Sommeliers and Masters of Wine than any comparable institution.
Courses
The internationally recognised entry point for wine education. Two days of tasting and classroom learning leading to the WSET Level 1 and Level 2 Awards in Wine.
The world's most rigorous wine qualification below Master of Wine. Eighteen months of intensive study across all major wine regions, viticulture, vinification, and spirits.
Full preparation for the Court of Master Sommeliers examinations from Introductory through Advanced Sommelier level. Includes service technique and blind tasting intensive training.
A seven-day château and domaine immersion in Bordeaux and Burgundy — visiting our partner estates, meeting winemakers, and tasting wines across all classifications with a Master of Wine guide.
Our Cave
Our Bordeaux headquarters — a nineteenth-century cave à vin in the Saint-Julien appellation — houses over 14,000 bottles and a purpose-built tasting room designed for systematic blind tasting practice.
The cave serves as both classroom and cellar. Students taste at temperature, alongside the library vintages that allow vertical comparisons across three decades. No other wine school offers this depth of tasting access.
Visit Our CaveGetting Started
Complete our online level assessment — a 20-question sensory and theoretical quiz that places you accurately within our programme pathway. No preparation required; honest answers give the best result.
A 30-minute call with one of our Masters of Wine to discuss your goals — whether professional certification, personal enrichment, or examination preparation — and confirm the right starting point.
Join a complimentary one-hour introductory tasting session at your nearest campus. Taste six wines guided by a sommelier and experience the Clos d'Or method before committing to a full programme.
Complete enrolment online. Your welcome kit — including your tasting notebook, Riedel tasting glass, and study materials — is dispatched before your first session.
Every programme begins with a two-hour structured tasting session. Six wines, the Clos d'Or tasting method, and the foundation vocabulary of serious wine appreciation. The glass is always in your hand before the lecture begins.
Our History
Master of Wine Sylvie Leconte establishes Clos d'Or in Saint-Julien to train winemakers' children and château staff in the formal language of wine appreciation and service.
Clos d'Or receives its WSET Approved Programme Provider status, becoming one of the first French institutions to offer internationally recognised wine qualifications.
A third campus opens in Hong Kong's Central district, serving the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific market and establishing the Academy's Cantonese and Mandarin study programmes.
Clos d'Or students achieve a 94% pass rate across all WSET levels — the highest recorded pass rate in the institution's history and among the highest of any WSET provider globally.
Alumni Stories
Join Clos d'Or
We invite all prospective students to attend a complimentary introductory tasting before enrolling. Meet our faculty, taste six wines, and experience our method first-hand.