The Académie du Vin was established in Paris in 1973 by Steven Spurrier as France's first private wine school.
Spurrier had opened the Caves de la Madeleine, a wine store in 1970.
In 1973, he partnered with International Herald Tribune writer Jon Winroth and Patricia Gallagher to open the school in a former locksmith shop adjacent to his store.
[1] Its original mission was to teach wine appreciation to ex-patriate British and Americans living in France with English-speaking instruction.
The Académie du Vin was an early consideration for hosting the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting.