Comité Champagne MOOC, Massive Open Online Course
The official online course about Champagne wines is now available. The Comité Champagne provides it, called the MOOC.
The Comité Champagne is “the trade association representing the interests of independent Champagne producers and Champagne Houses. Its mandate is to promote the vines and wines of Champagne. Its broad remit includes economic, technical, and environmental development; continuous quality improvement; sector management; marketing and communications; and the promotion and protection of the Champagne AOC worldwide”.
Timely for the COVID lockdown?
Being in lockdown has, of course, restricted our activities to what is achievable in isolation. Writing, wine tasting, and drinking carry on at home unabated. But other wine-related activities have had to be postponed. However, one potential advantage of confinement is that it’s a valuable time for brushing up knowledge or learning new skills. And not just by reading; of late, webinars have also come to the fore.
Would you be willing to do an online wine course? Welcome to the Champagne MOOC, new for 2020.
The Comité Champagne has always been an excellent source of information, but this new digital course takes it to another level. MOOC’s title is an acronym for Massive Open Online Course. A MOOC is a free online course available for anyone to undertake. The idea is to provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, develop a career, and deliver quality educational experiences at scale.
It’s CPD for those working in the wine and hospitality sectors. But this course is aimed just as squarely at those that don’t. Apart from an interest in Champagne, no prior knowledge is required, yet there’s enough detail to create real expertise. An online course isn’t designed to replicate the energy from personal interaction. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent way to acquire new knowledge and skills.
The Classic version
The Classic version is free; there are no strings attached.
The material has four main themes. These are the history and economy of Champagne, the terroir that produces it, the production process, the different styles of Champagne, and how to taste and serve them. The content consists mainly of many short and digestible videos, all made by people who work in Champagne.
The Platform and videos are primarily in French and English. Care has been taken with the quality of translations and ensuring clear communication. Also, the videos have subtitles in German, English, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Russian.
On the way, there’s interactive access, which allows for questions and interactions with others on the course. Each module has a refresher test at the end.
What’s great is that the high-quality material lasts for about 5 hours in total but takes as much time as you want to work through it. You can do it at your own pace – the platform is available 24/7. Consequently, mine took about a week. That was by doing an hour or so per day in and amongst other activities and enjoying the journey.
The Premium version
In addition to the Classic course, there is a 5th optional element called the Premium version. It has access to more in-depth videos, but the main feature is the Statement of Completion. It’s a course certificate which you can receive provided that a) you pay 49 Euro and then b) pass the challenging test, with a pass level set at 80%. And you only get one chance.
My advice is this – do the Classic version for free and see how you go. Then, if you decide to upgrade, do this at any time without any hard sell.
With the Premium version, the MOOC also provides you with any new material released in the future. Topics I’d like to see include the Échelle des Crus, the Maillard reaction in Champagne ageing, the Coteaux Champenois still red wine, and more about those four rare grapes: Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. And as I particularly liked the material in the Classic version on sustainability, I’m always keen to see more on that aspect too.
So, if the Champagne MOOC sounds interesting:
Here’s the link to find out more: The Comité Champagne MOOC
And finally
Comité Champagne MOOC Completion statement
The result – here’s my Statement of completion!
This MOOC course is engaging and stimulating all the way through. A lot of thought and effort has gone into it. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, and I hope you will, too.
And remember, Champagne can only come from Champagne.
P.S. I’m very optimistic about the Comité Champagne MOOC; based on my experiences, it’s a worthwhile journey!
Update March 2025
It’s just been announced by CIVC that, after five years, this MOOC course is being replaced with a brand new Champagne course called E-Learning Champagne. This free online course has three different certificated levels, with the first two levels (Explorer and Connoisseur, respectively) available now in French and English. The third, highest level, is said to be available in a few months. Check out www.champagne.education.