Albertsons Companies Will Now Offer Napa Valley Wine Academy Certification Nationwide to Associates

NAPA, Calif., Sept. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Napa Valley Wine Academy (NVWA), America's Premier Wine School, has developed a proprietary certification program for professional wine stewards in an unprecedented partnership with Albertsons Companies, a leading food and drug retailer with more than 2,200 stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia, across the United States.

"Albertsons Companies understands the importance of wine education," said NVWA Founder Christian Oggenfuss, "The new wine certification program that we have developed specifically for their beverage stewards, reflects the mission of our academy, which is to prioritize the experience for the student. The beverage stewards will be able to study for certification at two levels, learning about domestic wines as well as wines of the world, furthering their knowledge and career."

"Our stores have become a destination for customers seeking wine, beer and spirits," said Albertsons Companies' Curtis Mann, Master of Wine and Group Vice President Wine, Beer and Spirits, "By educating our beverage stewards with an advanced certification program developed by one of the top wine academies in the country, we are providing the tools that our alcoholic beverage professionals need, to help customers as they navigate hundreds of wine brands while shopping our aisles. Many of our stores have more than 1,000 different wines on the shelf, and it is our job to help our customers find the right bottle for every occasion."

The Albertsons Companies beverage stewards can take the courses online while on the job, to earn two different levels of certification: Wine 101 and Wine 201. The company is sponsoring the rigorous courses, which are on par in terms of depth and complexity with other recognized wine certification programs.

"Napa Valley Wine Academy has developed a great way for Albertsons Companies to increase the confidence of our beverage stewards, as well as our customers who can trust the wine and food pairing recommendations they receive while shopping our stores," Mann added.

The courses are asynchronous, and can be accessed at any time. "We developed an online course that incorporates video, text, graphics and an interactive experience that is easy for the wine stewards to complete on their own time," Oggenfuss said, explaining that the first level will take from 12 to 14 hours, and the second from 18 to 20 hours to complete. "It is forward thinking of Albertsons to invest in their employees, bolster their confidence, and provide a cost-effective way for them to both continue their wine education and further their careers."

Napa Valley Wine Academy is America's Premier Wine School™ and the two-time winner of the WSET Global Wine Educator of the Year, having won in 2016 and 2019, making it the most awarded WSET wine school in the world. The Academy is based in Napa Valley, California with locations across the United States and online. NVWA is proud to be an approved program provider of the internationally recognized WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) series of wine, spirit, and sake courses (including WSET Levels 1 through 4 in Wine) as well as a full suite of online classes and a host of other specialty classes ideal for enthusiasts and critical for wine and beverage industry professionals. For more information about the Napa Valley Wine Academy visit NapaValleyWineAcademy.com.

Albertsons Companies is a leading food and drug retailer that operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia with more than 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's Food Lovers Market. The Company is committed to helping people across the country live better lives by making a meaningful difference, neighborhood by neighborhood.

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SOURCE Napa Valley Wine Academy