The Washington Wine Academy

The Washington Wine Academy in Alexandria claims to offer “professional wine certification” programs for “industry professionals seeking world-class certification”. The Academy is not accredited or sanctioned to offer professional training in Virginia. This means they may be in violation of 23-276.4.B of the Virginia Code: “all institutions of higher education and academic-vocational noncollege degree schools subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be fully accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.”

The Academy is probably not exempt from licensing since they do not meet the prerequisites for exemption under 23-276.2. The companies offers publicly available training programs to normal adults who are looking to work in a field that does not require professional licensure or specialized training.

Furthermore, they claim their instructors are professionally certified by the WSET. By advertising those credentials, which are not recognized by the state of Virgina, the Academy may also be in violation 23-276.10.F, which states that “no person or entity that is not an institution of higher education accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, or having the foreign equivalent of such accreditation, shall in any way represent that the person or entity is
so accredited.”

Virginia Code 23-276.12 stipulates that these violations can be prosecuted in as a criminal offense and a fine of up to $25,000 can be levied.

If you attended a WSET program at the Academy, you can file a complaint by emailing the lead investigator: Danita Jones at danitajones@schev.edu

Reference: Virginia Code 23-276.10 - Prohibited acts

Washington Wine Academy
PO Box 30800
Alexandria, VA 22310
(703) 971-1525
Jimbarker@washingtonwineacademy.org
www.washingtonwineacademy.org