Academy

VIDA Wine Academy (VWA) offers a number of courses for beverage enthusiasts and professionals, alike. These classes are designed to enhance your knowledge and enjoyment of the world of wine while helping you understand what you taste, how to pair it with food, and how to make competent and confident wine selections.

Interested in working toward the beverage industry’s most recognized qualifications? WSET can provide you with the proper learning level for understanding wine and spirits. VIDA WIne Academy offers in-person classes for  WSET Level 1 and 2 Awards.

WSET Level 1 – Award in Wines – Foundation
WSET Level 2 – Award in Wines – Intermediate

These are classes designed for enthusiasts and industry members, alike, and give students the opportunity to learn and taste with a wine and beverage industry professional while learning about the theme or topic of discussion. Classes typically cover a specific region of the topic and involve tasting selected wines, which are classical expressions for these regions.

WINE & SPIRIT EDUCATION TRUST

WSET was founded as a charitable trust in 1969 to serve the growing educational needs of the UK wine and spirits industry which, at the time, primarily spanned import, distribution, and retail. Funding was provided by The Vintners’ Company and WSET took over the education initiatives started by the Wine and Spirit Association of Great Britain.

As recognition grew for WSET qualifications, WSET realised there was demand beyond the UK for quality education in wines and spirits. In 1977 WSET expanded access to qualifications abroad, by launching courses in the Republic of Ireland. The same year WSET launched WSET qualifications across the Atlantic, with the International Wine Education Guild (IWEG) in Ontario, Canada, becoming the first North American provider of WSET qualifications.

In 2016 WSET opened the first international office in Hong Kong to serve the growing Asian markets. In 2017 WSET appointed a dedicated on-territory USA team, with permanent offices opening in Hartford, Connecticut in 2019.

Today WSET qualifications are available in over 78 countries in 15 languages, through a network of 700+ course providers, and students outside the UK represent over 75% of WSET candidates each year.

Svilen Chaushev
Wine Expert, Educator & Sommelier

Svilen Chaushev is a Wine Expert, Educator, and Sommelier with over 20 years of experience in different countries across Europe. He has gathered his extensive wine knowledge in some of the most renowned two Michelin starred restaurants, like L’Enclume in Cumbria, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, Ikarus/Hangar 7 in Salzburg and Palais Coburg’s Silvio Nikol restaurant in Vienna. The Palais Coburg is a special place where he spent five years holding one of the largest and breathtaking wine collections in Europe, with over 60,000 bottles and, 5500 bins on its wine list. Its wine selection has been awarded the Best wine list in the World for 2014 and 2017, and Best wine list in Europe for 2015 and 2016 according to the renowned Fine Wine Magazine.

One of his career highlights is selling the most expensive bottle of the wine vault, the 1961 Château Latour Imperial 6L. After his return to his homeland, he joined the best fine & rare wine merchant in Sofia as a wine expert and educator, until he found out about the astonishing project of VIDA Wines & Spirits, boarding it as Senior Wine Expert & VIDA Brand Ambassador. Currently, he holds Advanced Level 3 in Wines & Spirits from WSET London.

113, Bulgaria blvd.

Sofia, 1404

EMAIL: [email protected]

PHONE:

+359 879 969 813

Admission Policy
Students must be at least 18 years of age at the time of course enrolment and present a government-issued identification card or passport on the initial course day and on exam days.

Attendance Policy
Course attendance is closely related to student, and exam, success. As such, students are responsible for attending each class, arriving in a timely manner, completing suggested homework assignments, and taking exams on time. Students are advised to notify instructors of expected absences and request assistance when needed.

An attendance roster will be held for all WSET courses. Should a student miss more than 25% of the sessions presented, this will be noted in the attendance record and the student informed via email of the missed courses and options for postponing the course examination. The student’s response will be recorded. The student will have until three weeks before the exam date to postpone the exam or s/he will be automatically enrolled in the exam.

Complaints
VIDA Wines aims to provide a consistently high level of service for its students. Whilst great care is taken to maintain our high standards, occasionally we may fall short.  VIDA Wines is committed to listening and responding to any complaints made by students with the aim to improve our services and prevent recurrent problems.

VIDA Wines aims to provide a supportive environment in which students can feel confident in the knowledge that their feedback both positive and negative will be listened to and acknowledged and that we will make an appropriate response to resolve any problems. Dissatisfaction may be associated with the service provided, or the way an individual perceives they have been treated by VIDA Wines member of staff or representative which may or may not be justified or associated with professional misconduct.

Making a complaint:
Students who wish to make an informal suggestion or a small complaint in connection with our services are welcome to contact us directly by email to [email protected] so that we can discuss further and quickly solve any issues.

For more serious matters and complaints related to the standard of service, actions or lack of action taken by VIDA Wines as a WSET course provider, the conduct of a member of its staff, representative, or WSET student, the following action is required:

• Address an email to [email protected]with the heading “COMPLAINT”
• Provide full name, address, and contact information.
• Fully outline the nature of the complaint and include any supporting documents.
• Give details of any previous attempts to resolve the problem (if applicable)

Any students who have concerns about the complaints procedure or processing time can at any time contact Svilen Chaushev, Senior Wine Expert and Main contact for WSET of VIDA Wines by email [email protected]

Response time:
All written complaints will be acknowledged by email – within 3 working days.  A response to the complaint will be sent within 10 working days. VIDA Wines will do everything possible to review the complaint with the aim to resolve the situation quickly taking corrective action locally.

Complaints related to WSET Award´s decisions:

If the nature of the complaint is related to the WSET Award´s decisions and cannot be resolved locally, VIDA Wines will contact WSET Awards in London to discuss the cause of dissatisfaction with the aim to resolve the situation quickly.

If the situation is still not resolved, VIDA Wines will forward in writing the full complaint.  WSET Awards has a policy of responding within 20 days of receiving a complaint.

If the complaint is still not resolved, the complaint will be forwarded in writing to be reviewed by the Awards Management Team which has a policy of responding within 30 days of receiving a complaint.

If the complaint has not been resolved by the Awards Management Team, a written complaint will be sent to the Centres Co-ordination and Quality Assurance Manager which has a policy of responding within 20 days.

In the event that the complaint has not been resolved by the Centres Co-ordination and Quality Assurance Manager, a written complaint will be sent to the Director of Awards and the complaint will be reviewed by the CEO of WSET with a response time of 40 days.

Equality of access, treatment, and confidentiality:

Oslo Wine School would like to emphasize that the act of filing a complaint will in no way prejudice the complainant or student and that confidentiality will be guaranteed unless the student waivers this right.  However, students must be aware that while Oslo Wine School and WSET Awards will not divulge their names, the circumstances of the complaint could potentially make them identifiable to other parties involved in the investigation.

Conflicts of Interest
As an APP Vida Wines is required to identify WSET and assist in managing or monitoring actual, potential, and perceived conflicts of interest (‘Conflicts of Interest’) involving both APP staff and students. This policy complements WSET’s conflicts of interest policy and works to safeguard the integrity of WSET qualifications and promote confidence in WSET and VIDA Wines processes and procedures.

This policy applies to all Vida Wines staff and students and to any individual acting on behalf of Vida Wines.

A Conflict of Interest exists where an individual has interests or loyalties that could adversely influence their judgment, objectivity or loyalty to WSET or VIDA Wines when conducting activities associated with WSET qualifications.

Examples of Conflicts of Interest include:

• The undertaking of a WSET qualification by any individual employed by an APP;
• The invigilation of a WSET assessment by any individual involved in the delivery of training leading to the assessment;
• The coaching of candidates by any individual involved in the assessment of candidate scripts;
• The employment by an APP of individuals engaged in the delivery of taught programs or in the role of Internal Assessor in another APP;
• The investigation of a non-compliance incident by someone who is unable to act impartially.

Some of these Conflicts of Interest are manageable and therefore acceptable. For example, if a family member of one of Vida Wines educators or APP staff takes a qualification and exam through VIDA Wines, or when an employee of Vida Wines, or of the WSET, takes a WSET qualification through VIDA Wines, we can notify WSET in advance and work with them to put in place measures to maintain the integrity of the exam.

Some Conflicts of Interest are not manageable and are not acceptable. For example, no mitigation efforts overcome the conflict created when an individual when a single individual serves as the educator and exam officer of an exam for a family member where an external invigilator is not available.

Any staff member or student of Vida Wines who becomes aware of a Conflict of Interest must inform Vida Wines at [email protected] as soon as possible. VIDA Wines will inform the WSET of the possible conflict of interest and will work with WSET to put any protective or mitigating measures in place to manage the conflict on a case-by-case basis. If WSET and VIDA Wines determine the conflict is not manageable, Vida Wines will inform any impacted APP staff or students.

Please note that the failure to declare a conflict of interest may have consequences for the student or VIDA Wines because we are required to report conflicts to WSET.

Malpractice and Maladministration
The goal of the VIDA Wines Malpractice and Maladministration policy is to protect both the interests of students and the integrity of WSET qualifications by ensuring compliance with WSET Policies and Procedures. This policy provides a framework for the identification, reporting, and management of potential malpractice or maladministration and an overview of the potential sanctions.

There are two general categories of non-compliance with WSET Policies and Procedures:

1. Maladministration- non-compliance is not intentional but rather, accidental; and
2. Malpractice wherein non-compliance is either intentional or occurs as the result of negligence.

Often the boundaries between these issues are not clearly defined and as such, some incidents may fall into either group depending upon the broader context. For example, a maladministration issue may in fact become a malpractice one via failure of implementation of corrective measures, incident repetition, or additional non-disclosure or misrepresentation attempts. Furthermore, an incident of malpractice may be deemed to be maladministration if there are additional extenuating circumstances.

Determination of whether a situation is deemed maladministration or malpractice is completed by WSET following an investigation.

Тhe VIDA Wines has to conform to WSET’s policies for Malpractice and Maladministration accordingly.

Examples of Maladministration or Malpractice by students may include:

• Failure to submit forms in a timely manner, withholding information, or providing information for Special Accommodations or Reasonable adjustment forms
• Cheating which may include the use of unauthorized materials or devices
• Use of social media platforms to post copyrighted content or exam information
• Disruptive behavior during an exam
• Plagiarism by students
• Impersonation (including signature forgery)
• False or inaccurate submission of information in order to gain a qualification
• Failure to comply with the Vida Wines Policies
• Dissemination of misinformation and/or slandering of WSET or Vida Wines via social media platforms and/or written communication
• Failure to comply with WSET Policies and Procedures

All of the above may cause penalties for guilty students. For example, failure to attend booked examinations, or transfers requested later than four weeks before the start of the course, will result in the student being liable for subsequent examination fees.

The APP has to conform to WSET’s policies for Malpractice and Maladministration accordingly.

Any students who are aware of potential malpractice to contact the APP using the Complaints process.

Examples of Maladministration or Malpractice by APP may include:

• Failure to adhere to WSET Policies and Procedures
• Failure to follow WSET requirements for course delivery or exam regulations
• Late student registrations
• Failure to follow WSET’s candidate registration and certification procedures
• Fraudulent claim for certificates/fraudulent use of certificates/reproduction or forgery of certificates
• Withholding critical information from WSET quality assurance
• Revealing or sharing confidential exam materials with candidates ahead of an exam
• Intentional attempts to manipulate exam results so that they do not reflect the candidate’s actual exam performance
• Failure to disclose a Conflict of Interest
• Issue of incorrect exam results/failure to issue results to students in a timely manner
• Failure to timely respond to WSET
• Unauthorized reading/amendment/copying/distribution of exam papers
• Failure to return exam papers within the specified timeframe or to follow delivery and tracking regulations
• Infringements of WSET copyright, trademarks, intellectual property rights, and brand identity
• Use of unqualified and/or unregistered educators or internal assessors
• Breach of confidentiality
• Misleading advertising/publicity
• Any action likely to lead to an adverse effect

In general, we also expect that both VIDA Wines staff and our students should treat others and be treated professionally and respectfully at all times. We will treat inappropriate behavior including verbal or physical abuse, persistent or unrealistic demands, or threats that cause stress to staff as misconduct and may report student misconduct to WSET as necessary.

Reporting and Investigation of Malpractice or Maladministration
As an APP, we aim to ensure compliance with WSET Policies and VIDA Wines policies and will keep records of potential or actual malpractice or maladministration by you, our students, or our staff.

We are required to notify WSET immediately of any non-compliance issues that could be malpractice or maladministration so that WSET can investigate the non-compliance under their own Malpractice and Maladministration Policy.

We ask that you also raise any concerns or non-compliance issues that may be malpractice or maladministration with VIDA Wines as soon as possible by following the process outlined in our Complaints policy.

During WSET’s investigation, they may reach out to VIDA Wines or to you directly to request further information or conduct an interview. Please respond to any requests promptly and honestly.

Non-compliance by a Vida Wines staff member or Educator:
Should a staff member or Educator be suspected of non-compliance with WSET and/or VIDA Wines Policies or Procedures, the WSET Main Contact will record and submit a detailed report to WSET Quality Assurance.

Observed or suspected Malpractice or Maladministration by Candidates:
Should a WSET Candidate observe or suspect Malpractice or Maladministration at VIDA Wines, they are directed to contact WSET Quality Assurance directly at [email protected]

Diversity and Equality
VIDA Wines believes that all people deserve the right to fair, and equitable, wine education. As such, we do not discriminate in the provision of education or examinations on the grounds of race, religion or beliefs, sex or sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy or age (provided the legal minimum age for consumption of 18 is met). We work to ensure that we promote equality by:

1. Ensuring equal registration opportunities for all students
2. Working with students with documented special needs to ensure education and examinations are through our reasonable accommodation policy
3. Inviting feedback from students in regard to the nature of their educational experience
4. Reviewing policies as needed to continually meet local and national requirements

Students who believe they have been unfairly discriminated against should contact the course administrator promptly to resolve the issue at [email protected] .

 Reasonable Adjustments in Examinations
Both WSET and VIDA Wines want to make WSET assessments accessible for all students, so none are at an advantage or disadvantage based on a disability or differing ability. This policy and the reasonable adjustment process allow us VIDA Wines to work with you, our student, before an assessment to gather the information we need to submit a request to WSET and work with them to make arrangements that give students access to WSET qualifications.

A reasonable adjustment is any accommodation or arrangement that helps to reduce the effect of a known disability or difficulty that substantially disadvantages a student’s assessment. Using a reasonable adjustment does not impact how WSET grades your exam, or your result, but WSET cannot agree to reasonable adjustments where your particular difficulty directly affects performance necessary to complete the assessment outcomes (e.g. inability to smell or taste for a Level 3 Exam). The goal of a reasonable adjustment is to give you equal access to a WSET qualification, not to give unfair advantages over other students who take an assessment without the same adjustment, or to affect the overall reliability of the assessment outcomes that are explained in the course Specification.

Examples of reasonable adjustments may be:

• Changing standard assessment arrangements, for example, allowing candidates extra time to complete the assessment activity;
• Adapting assessment materials, such as providing materials in large text format;
• Providing access facilitators during the assessment, such as a sign language interpreter or reader;
• Re-organizing the assessment room, such as the removal of visual stimuli for an autistic candidate.

VIDA Wines will gather the information we need from you to submit a Reasonable Adjustment Application form to WSET. WSET must approve and arrange reasonable adjustments before the assessment activity takes place. Before completing enrolment with VIDA Wines, we will give all students access to this policy and the chance to identify any special needs that could require a reasonable adjustment. If a student identifies a special need, VIDA Wines will give the student the Reasonable Adjustment Application form as soon as possible and work with the student to gather the necessary information.

For any student seeking a reasonable adjustment, please contact [email protected] with:

• Your full name;
• contact information;
• description of the special need, disability or differing ability that requires an adjustment; and
• supporting documentation.

You must submit this information at least 45 working days before the exam date for Levels 1-3 qualifications. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

VIDA Wines will keep records of all reasonable adjustment applications.

Re-sits
Students who have not passed the examination have the right to re-sit. The request must be sent by email to [email protected] up to 14 working days before the new already planned exam date. The student will be required to pay the related exam fee for re-sits, which are:

• Level 1 Award in Wines: 100 BGN (VAT included)
• Level 2 Award in Wines: 250 BGN (VAT included)

3. It is possible to plan an exam on a specific date but at a higher fee. Please, don´t hesitate to get in contact with us for more information.
4. If the candidate doesn´t show up on the day of the exam with no previous communication to Vida Wines, the re-sit fee that has been already paid will be lost and the candidate will be asked to pay for a new fee, in case he decides to re-sit the exam in the future.

Special Consideration Policy
Special consideration is any adjustment given to a student who has temporarily experienced an illness or injury, or another event outside of their control at the time of the exam that significantly affects their ability to take the exam or their ability to show their knowledge and understanding in the assessment. Special consideration is only for things that happen immediately before or during an exam that has a material impact on your, the student’s, ability to take the exam or on your performance. To be eligible for special consideration, you must have completed the whole course and would have been fully prepared if not for the temporary illness, injury, or other uncontrollable event. Special consideration may be for an individual (e.g. a student becomes ill on the day of the exam) or a group of students (e.g. an exam is interrupted by a natural disaster).

You may be eligible for special consideration if:

• Your performance on the exam is adversely affected by an event outside of your control. This may include temporary illness, temporary injury, bereavement, or exam room conditions;
• Reasonable adjustments which were agreed upon in advance of the exam proved inappropriate or inadequate;
• The application of special consideration would not make a passing result and certificate misleading about the student’s ability to satisfy the qualification’s assessment criteria.

Applying for special consideration
If you have taken an exam, or your exam is immediately approaching, and you feel that you have a temporary injury or illness, or another uncontrollable event that has interfered with your ability to complete your exam, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible. VIDA Wines will provide you with a Special Consideration Application Form, which must be completed and returned with supporting documentation within 3 working days after the affected exam. The information you submit will be shared with WSET and will be handled under WSET’s Privacy and Data Protection Policy.

If there has been serious disruption during an exam affecting a group of students, VIDA Wines will submit a detailed report of the circumstances and candidates affected to WSET to request special consideration.

VIDA Wines will keep records of all applications for special consideration.

Cancellations and Refund Policies
All course and examination fees must be paid in full upon signing the enrolment agreement by cash, Bank Transfer, or credit card.

Course transfers of a confirmed booking either to another course or applicant can be made up to 14 days before the course start date on payment of a 50.00 BGN administrative fee plus the cost of any additional study materials which may be applicable. Course transfers cannot be carried forward to a subsequent academic year. Any requests for transfers must be sent in writing via email to: [email protected].

Examination dates are connected to the course onto which you book and any transfer to an alternative date will incur an administration fee of 50.00 BGN. All examination transfer requests must be made at least 14 days prior to the original examination. Any requests for examination transfers must be sent in writing via email to: [email protected].

Students who cancel within 14 days of registration and at least 14 days prior to the start of the course will receive a full refund of payment minus a 50 BGN non-refundable registration fee. Cancellations after this time will forfeit all payments. Any requests for cancellation must be sent in writing via email to: [email protected].

VIDA Wines reserves the right to cancel or change any planned course days in the event of insufficient participants.  Under such circumstances, students who have already paid their course fees in advance of the payment deadline will receive a full refund or the option to participate on new course dates.

Data Collection and Protection
VIDA Wines is committed to protecting the privacy of our students and educators. As such, we aim to respect and keep safe any personal data shared with VIDA Wines. Any data passed to WSET will be handled in accordance with WSET’s Privacy Policy.

VIDA Wines Candidate Data Processing
Due to the nature of the WSET programs, VIDA Wines will be required to obtain and store certain candidate personal data (eg. Name, individual demographic information, physical or mental health conditions, age, birth date, address, billing information, etc.) about students at least for 3 years. Furthermore, the results of assessments and examinations taken by candidates may also be obtained and stored at VIDA Wines.

Candidate’s personal data will be shared with WSET Awards for assessment and examination processing and result certification.

Data Protection
To ensure candidate privacy and data collection safety, Vida Wines follows the following procedures:

• All VIDA Wines staff and students have access to Data Collection Policies
• the candidate data will be shared with WSET
• Any paper documents with confidential information including exams, candidate numbers, course records, etc. will be held in a locked cabinet which is accessible only by authorized staff.
• All data collected by VIDA Wines is not sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

Should candidates or staff have any questions about this policy or information, they may contact us at [email protected].

This policy may be updated!