Case Study | LE COAM
Custom tasting sets for distance WSET training
- Client : LE COAM (Cours d’Œnologie And More), wine education provider
- Market : France
- Challenge : Enable dispersed learners to taste benchmark wines for a distance WSET course at home
- Solution : Custom tasting sets in 2 cl Vinottes® (recyclable PET)
- Nature of collaboration : Recurring production, monthly orders
The Client
LE COAM is one of the pioneer providers of distance wine education in the French language. An approved center by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the international benchmark in wine and spirits certification, LE COAM has spent two decades designing courses that prepare students for WSET qualifications as well as its own proprietary certifications.
Its uniqueness stems from a strong educational conviction that learning about wine must remain accessible, regardless of a student’s starting level or location.
This ambition led LE COAM to build a comprehensive distance-learning offer where every student tastes the wines studied throughout the program at home.
The Context
Delivering wine education at a distance presents major challenges, as learning relies above all on sensory analysis. The WSET methodology relies on a systematic and rigorous approach to tasting: to progress and succeed in the exam, every candidate must be able to taste benchmark wines under strictly comparable conditions, acquiring a shared vocabulary and common reference points.
The challenge is threefold: provide a turnkey solution to learners, guarantee that all students taste precisely the same cuvées, and preserve optimal quality, equivalent to that of a 75 cl bottle. An altered sample would skew learning by distorting the perception of the wine being studied.
The problem
How can you provide each student with an authentic selection of wines from the curriculum without suffering the constraints of weight, storage, cost, waste, and breakage associated with shipping full bottles? This is the challenge LE COAM had to overcome to design its distance-learning WSET courses.
LE COAM was therefore looking for a sample format that was perfectly faithful to the original wine, easy to ship, lightweight, and suited to a recurring order schedule.
The Vinovae Solution
To address these strategic challenges, we designed custom tasting sets consisting of 40 Vinottes® in a 2 cl format made of recyclable PET, perfectly adapted to distance tasting education.
The Vinotte® relies on a unique, patented rebottling process under an inert atmosphere (< 5 ppm oxygen). The wine selected by the instructor is fractionalized into 2 cl to 10 cl Vinottes that deliver a tasting experience completely identical to that of the original bottle, preserving its organoleptic qualities. Students can thus discover the exact profile of the studied wine (appearance, nose, and palate) in their glass.
This format eliminates every single constraint encountered by LE COAM .
Implementation
As soon as bottles arrive at our production facility, our teams manage the entire supply chain: printing customized sets featuring the client’s branding, rebottling under an inert atmosphere, labeling, assembling the sets, and shipping directly to the students.
Today, LE COAM entrusts us with managing 8 annual projects relying on tailored sets ranging from 7 to 64 Vinottes®. The samples are now at the heart of its educational delivery.
Benefits
An expanded educational offering
By opening the door to distance learning, the Vinotte® format enabled LE COAM to further expand its proprietary course offerings and diversify its catalog with advanced thematic courses (red wines, white wines, etc.).
Uncompromising educational quality
Every student receives the exact same set of wine samples, with precise dosing and flawless quality.
A lightweight and secure format
The sample box is ideally suited for direct individual shipping to homes and is easy to store, allowing students to taste wherever they are.
Branded presentation aligned with the client’s identity
Customizing the sets enhances LE COAM ‘s visual brand identity and allows for the integration of digital media (QR codes linking to a welcome video or course catalog)—a genuine asset for fostering human connection despite the distance.
Streamlined and delegated logistics
Sample production and set assembly are entirely handled by our team. LE COAM can concentrate its energy on its core value—pedagogy—rather than on bottle sourcing and shipment management.
In Short…
Thanks to the Vinotte, LE COAM maintained flawless educational standards while significantly broadening its student reach. It thereby meets the expectations of a wider audience seeking training adapted to their lifestyle.
Beyond a simple technical solution, this collaboration has grown over time through the continuous co-creation of new custom projects, providing agile and sustainable responses to LE COAM ‘s evolving growth objectives.