Class 1Understand
Foundations of Hospitality & Spirits
Spirit origins, ingredients, production, fermentation, distillation, sensory evaluation, flavor vocabulary, and guest experience.
Proud Wineaux Bartending Academy
Don't learn bartending in a classroom.Learn it behind a real bar.
4 classes. 3 working bars. Real guests on Fridays and Saturdays. Build real, hands-on bartending skills.
BARTENDING & WINE SCHOOL POP-UP · CLASSES END THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24
Founding Class: the first 100 students receive a free professional bar tool kit to keep.
The real-bar difference
Why PW Is Different
| Comparison | Typical Bartending Schools | PW Bartending Academy |
|---|---|---|
| Program length | 2 days | 4 classes |
| Where you train | Classroom with a practice bar | 3 real, working bars inside Coexist GameHouse |
| Practice | Pouring for classmates | Final test: live service with real guests on a Friday or Saturday |
| Guest interaction | Role play | Real customers, real pressure, real tips experience |
| Career prep | Job lists | Résumé, interview, and career readiness training |
| Price | ~$1,000 | $1,000 (payment plans available) |
From first pour to first interview
How It Works
- 01
Train behind our real bars
Four 90-minute classes behind our real bars, scheduled around you: classic cocktails, speed, wine & sake, and service.
- 02
The final test
Work live service behind the bar with real guests on a Friday or Saturday, supervised by an instructor.
- 03
Get career-ready
Build your bartender résumé and interview skills.
- 04
Start applying
Apply for bar and restaurant roles with real experience.
Why Proud Wineaux
Most bartending schools teach you what to make.We teach you why it works.
Great bartending begins with understanding the spirits themselves: where they come from, what they are made from, how they are produced, and how those decisions shape flavor in the glass.
When you understand production, you understand balance. You know why certain ingredients complement a spirit, how to adjust a build on the fly, and how to describe what a guest is tasting in language they trust.
Proud Wineaux teaches bartending as hospitality, sensory communication, technical execution, and experience creation, not simply memorizing recipes.
Four-class curriculum
A structured path from first pour to professional service.
Class 2Build
Spirit Mastery & Cocktail Structure
Vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and whiskey. Cocktail balance, classic builds, pairing principles, professional descriptors, and storytelling.
Class 3Operate
Professional Bartending
Bar setup, tools, glassware, jigger accuracy, speed, workflow, mise en place, garnish preparation, opening and closing procedures, guest communication, and professional service.
Class 4Perform
Hospitality Professional
Mock service, practical assessment, hospitality scenarios, cocktail execution, career preparation, certification, and next-step pathways.
Career pathways
One skill. Multiple ways to earn.
Proud Wineaux provides education and career-readiness resources. Employment, placement and income are not guaranteed.
Professional Bartender
Bars, restaurants, hotels and lounges.
Private Event Bartender
Weddings, celebrations, corporate events and freelance opportunities.
Brand & Experiential
Beverage brands, activations, tastings and events.
Hospitality Entrepreneur
Mobile bartending, private experiences and independent hospitality concepts.
Proud Wineaux Instructor Pathway
Qualified graduates may continue their education and train to become Proud Wineaux instructors, creating another potential income pathway while helping the academy scale.
Proud Wineaux provides education and career-readiness resources. Employment, placement and income are not guaranteed.
Continuing education
Bartending is the foundation. Your education can continue.
- 1
Professional Bartending
Proud Wineaux: start here
- 2
Advanced Spirits
Proud Wineaux
- 3
Wine Foundations
Proud Wineaux
- 4
External Certification / WSET Pathways
Future or external pathway
- 5
Sommelier Preparation
Future or external pathway
- 6
Proud Wineaux Instructor Certification
By qualification
WSET and sommelier credentials are independent, external programs. Proud Wineaux is not currently WSET-accredited or formally affiliated with WSET; these are presented as future or external continuing-education pathways.
Tuition
Professional Bartending Program
$1,000
Total tuition
$250 reserves your seat.
Payment options available. Remaining balance due before the first class unless a payment plan is arranged.
What's included
- Four instructor-led 90-minute classes, scheduled around you
- Hands-on professional bar training
- Final test: live service with real guests on a Friday or Saturday
- Spirit education and guided tasting
- Cocktail technique and classic builds
- Digital Proud Wineaux Student Workbook
- Spirit and cocktail reference resources
- Career-readiness resources
- Practical assessment
- Proud Wineaux Certificate of Completion
- Access to continuing-education opportunities
Give the gift of bartending. Limited time only
The perfect gift for anyone who's always wanted to work behind the bar.
Gift cards are for our 2026 pop-up. Classes must be completed by Thursday, December 24.
Live virtual access
Not in New York? Join Proud Wineaux live.
Selected classes are available through interactive live virtual instruction for students outside New York, taught in real time by a Proud Wineaux instructor, not pre-recorded.
- Live instruction
- Interactive Q&A
- Digital materials
- Limited replay access
Inside the academy
Real students. Real training.
Behind a Real Bar
Every class happens behind one of our working bars, with real equipment, real speed, and real pressure.
Real Guests, Real Service
Students build confidence serving actual guests inside Coexist GameHouse, not just classmates.
Wine and Sake Included
Go beyond cocktails with wine and sake training that sets you apart from other applicants.
Career Ready
Leave with résumé and interview prep built for real bar and restaurant hiring.
About Proud Wineaux
Hospitality first. Always.
Proud Wineaux began as a beverage-education brand built on a simple belief: knowledge makes hospitality better. What started as approachable wine and spirit education grew into tastings, events and a community of curious drinkers.
The Bartending Academy is the next step: a professional program that turns that same depth of beverage knowledge into a working, income-producing skill.
Learn from working professionals
Meet Your Educators
Eric “Habanero Papi”
Beverage Instructor, Mixologist
Renowned Mixologist, Over 15 Years of Hospitality Experience, brand activations, providing the full bar and food experience bar.
Nelly Infante
Beverage Instructor, Mixologist
Over half a decade of educating thousands of students and helping them step into their dream careers as beverage professionals.
Meet the Founder
Jaye Watts
Founder, Proud Wineaux Bartending Academy
Jaye Watts is an award-winning entrepreneur, certified sommelier, and recording artist with a lifelong career in food and beverage, beginning at age 12.
She founded Proud Wineaux in 2011, transforming wine education into immersive, memorable experiences that have reached more than 40,000 people through tastings, corporate programs, and brand partnerships nationwide. Having served as a captain at several three-Michelin-starred restaurants and studied in France, Jaye brings a distinctive blend of hospitality expertise, wine knowledge, and creative vision to the industry.
Through PW Academy, she is passionate about making beverage education engaging, accessible, and experiential, cultivating a deeper appreciation for the stories, cultures, and connections behind every glass.
“if you're not tasting with us, you're just drinking”
Classes end Thursday, December 24.
This pop-up won't be back in 2026. Four classes behind a real bar, serving real guests, and you walk out with a skill you can take behind any bar, to private events and beyond. Reserve your seat today and we'll lock in your class dates.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Questions? Email info@proudwineaux.com (the fastest way to reach us) or call (917) 426-1758.
Enrolling now
Your next income-producing skill could start here.
Whether you want a new career, additional income, private-event opportunities, or professional beverage knowledge, Proud Wineaux provides the foundation to begin.
NYC · Scheduled around you · Classes end Thursday, December 24
$250 reserves your seat