Italians and their passion for French bubbles: “Champagne E-Learning” now in Italy

The USA is the number one market for the French bubbles, while Italians are among the top Champagne lovers in the world. Italy is the fifth world market for the French iconic wine, boasting 8.4 million bottles sold and more than 235 million euros in turnover in 2024 (out of a total of more than 271 million bottles and 5.8 billion euros turnover). Therefore, “Champagne E-Learning” has been launched in Italy. The new, free online training course on Champagne promoted by the Comité Champagne - the interprofessional organization based in Epernay that brings together all the winemakers and all the Champagne Maisons - is now also available in Italian. The course is divided into three levels and is also full of interactive content. At the end of the course, you also receive a competency certificate.
The course has been designed primarily for professionals. It enhances the “Champagne Education” platform proposal - the first complete training program, created by the Comité Champagne, which every year offers direct in person training to more than 6.000 professionals, in 16 different countries. In addition to “E-Learning”, the portal also features a large section of teaching resources that can be downloaded for free, plus a quiz and game area designed to test your knowledge. “Champagne Education” is the starting point for classroom training, available in two courses. The first one is the “Champagne Specialist” course, at the end of which you will obtain the official certification of the Comité Champagne, delivered through a global network of selected partner centers. The second one is personalized training to meet the specific needs of distributors, wine shops, Hotel groups, restaurateurs and Hotel school teachers. One can contact the Bureau directly in Italy to access the training programs organized throughout the Country.
The three different learning levels of “Champagne E-Learning” are designed to meet the skills of all participants, and are “Explorer” ,“Expert” and“ Connoisseur”. It is a journey of knowledge that will lead students to discover and explore all the secrets of Champagne, its history, the terroir, the processing method and the tasting technique. At the end of each level, you will take a test to evaluate your progress and consequently receive certification (the first two levels are now available, while the third level will be accessible starting in September). The course is fully interactive, and consists in content ranging from videos to games, infographics, quizzes, and furthermore, can be completed in five hours. It is accessible at any time from computers, smartphones and tablets, and is also available in French, English, German, Japanese and Spanish. The platform is dedicated to anyone who works in the wine sector - sommeliers, oenologists, wine merchants, buyers, journalists, agents, tourism professionals, trainers, students - as well as to enthusiasts from all over the world.
“Champagne E-Learning offers a total view of the Champagne world through a dynamic and enjoyable educational approach”, Stéphanie Martel, Head of the Training Department of the Comité Champagne, explained, “the goal of the Comité is to strengthen professionals’s skills who play a key role in the valorization and sale of Champagne as well as to promote the excellence of this emblematic denomination in France and throughout the world. We are certain that “Champagne E-Learning” will also be welcomed enthusiastically in Italy, as was the previous MOOC platform. In the past five years, as a matter of fact, close to 4.000 Italian users enrolled in our previous online course. This result has positioned Italy in third place in terms of number of registered users, after France and the United States. Moreover, it has contributed to the global success of the project, which has registered more than 36.000 participants from 2019 to today”.
The “Champagne Experience” 2025 created by Excellence SIDI is the most important event in Italy dedicated to French bubbles, (to which WineNews has also dedicated a video of our journey among the Maisons of the region, coming soon online, ed.). The 8th edition of the event will be held in Bologna this year (moving from Modena) at BolognaFiere on October 5th and 6th. Excellence SIDI, led by Luca Cuzziol, brings together 21 of the major Italian importers and distributors of excellent wines (Sagna, Gruppo Meregalli, Cuzziol Grandivini, Pellegrini, Balan, Sarzi Amadè, Vino & Design, Teatro del Vino, Proposta Vini, Bolis, Les Caves de Pyrene, Premium Wine Selection PWS, Ghilardi Selezioni, Visconti 43, Première, AGB Selezione, Philarmonica, Spirits & Colori, ViteVini, Apoteca and Ceretto Terroirs).