ONLINE COURSE: Capstone California - Level 1

Enrol in the first-of-its kind California wine certification and education program, Capstone California, with West London Wine School!

The Capstone California program offers four levels of study, from novice to expert. Each builds on the level prior, and covers history, lore, geography, climate, soils, grapes, viticulture, vinification, ageing and maturation, wine laws, official classifications, producers, vintages and the business of wine.

Capstone California Course - Level 1

The Introductory Level 1 covers five hours of wine curriculum, beginning with major eras in the history of California wine, including the Mission era, post-Gold Rush, Prohibition and modern times.

PLEASE NOTE: You must complete Capstone California Level 1 before progressing to Level 2. All of our available Capstone California courses can be found HERE.

The course will be held over 2 evenings from 7:00pm - 9:30pm:

- Wednesday 15th October 2025

- Wednesday 22nd October 2025

Level 1 candidates will:

• Taste at least 8 Californian wines
• Learn how California's geography, the Pacific Ocean and mountain ranges affect viticulture and wine styles.
• Acquire fundamental knowledge of grape-growing practices and the specifics of viticulture compared to other agriculture, including the ability to identify and describe the important grape varieties grown in California.
• Receive an introduction to the American Viticultural Area (AVA) system, including the world-famous AVAs of Napa Valley, Sonoma County and Santa Barbara County.
• Explore California's iconic wineries, such as Ridge Vineyards, Frog’s Leap Winery and Robert Mondavi Winery.
• Learn about the key statistics for California wine in global production, consumption and exports.
• Gain access to the full online course modules
• Upon successful completion of an exam (which you are able to take online in your own time after attending the course), you will receive access to a Capstone California wine certificate.

Course Wines:

For this course, students will receive a tasting kit with 50ml samples of the 8 wines tasted throughout the duration of this course. These tasting kits will be delivered during the week leading up to the start of the course (provided the course booking is made at least 3 working days’ prior to the course start date).

• Tasting kit delivery can be made to anywhere within the UK. At present we are unable to fullfill international orders. 
• If you do NOT want to receive a tasting kit, and just want to book onto the course without receiving wine samples – NO PROBLEM! Please just enter the code CAPCALREG1 as a ‘Promotional Code’ upon checking out and the tasting kit associated fees on this course will be removed before you make course payment.

Unable to commit on the evening? Anyone registered for this tasting will gain access to the video recording of the live event, so you can always revisit any of these at anytime in the future - whether its because you missed participating in the live evening or if you want to revisit the presentation at a later date.

Prefer to attend this course in-person? We offer this format too! 

VAT Receipt available on request - simply email us after your purchase.

West London Wine School is an exclusive partner of Capstone California in the UK and has adapted their previous online modular format qualifications to offer these as exciting and comprehensive in-person or virtual courses including wine tastings.