Become an AIVA partner

The Grand Est region is among the major wine-growing regions of France and its central geographical location in Europe makes it a privileged place to create an institute of international scope.

The International Wine Academy in Alsace (AIVA) was born from the initiative of enthusiasts and the combined will of a region and a wine-growing profession looking towards the future.

Drawing on his thirty years of experience as a business leader in the wine industry, it became necessary for Dominique Destouches and his professional partners to align training with the realities of the evolving wine world and wine trade.

In 2015, Dominique Destouches launched a training organization dedicated to wines and spirits, partnering with others to get the project off the ground. That same year, he met Marc Rinaldi, also a lifelong wine and vineyard enthusiast, and Sun Chenking, an entrepreneur. Together, they have amassed over sixty businesses as winemakers, designers, builders, craftspeople, buyers, managers, traders, wine merchants, retailers, importers, and exporters. Pooling their expertise led to the creation of the International Wine Academy in 2017. Very quickly, stakeholders from the Grand Est region and over 1,000 winemakers, wine merchants, distributors, wine shops, hypermarkets and supermarkets, stores, restaurateurs, and other professionals from France and around the world joined the project.

AIVA also benefited from the support of the University of Haute-Alsace, the University of Lorraine, and the Faculty of Marketing and Agrosciences at the University of Haute-Alsace. In 2018, foreign companies and universities joined the Academy, and numerous partnerships with Canada, China, the United States, Mali, Senegal, Switzerland, and other countries have contributed to the desired international dimension.