Sommelier Certificates

• 4 main accredited wine education courses:
• International Sommelier Guild (ISG)
• Court of Masters Sommeliers (CMS)
• Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW)
• Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET)
• CMS is specifically a sommelier organisation focusing in service, whereas the WSET is aimed at a broader industry professional.
• WSET is approachable to the novice
• WSET Level 3 (Advanced) = CMS Level 1.75
• CMS Level 1 and WSET Level 3 have a book, but CMS Level 2 (Certified Sommelier) does not.
• Good course in Switzerland: Académie du vin
• Great books:
• Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson
• Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly
• The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson
• Great Wine Made Simple by Andrea Immer Robinson
• The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding