Sommelier Education and America's Wine Schools
Ah, the classic Sideways. I am a professional sommelier, and I won’t lie. I’ve watched every wine movie that has ever come out, even the romantic comedies. Why? Because when you’re into wine, you want to know all about it,
You’ll find fantastic wine coming from every grape-growing country globally, but French wine is on another level. It’s not that French wine is better than the rest (sometimes it is), but you can’t beat the tradition, lore, and history behind
Although a lot of ink has been spilled over diversity in the wine trade, our industry seems to be exempt from much of the #blacklivesmatter and #metoo social movements. Sadly, almost nothing has changed since highly damning news reports started
The Pandemic Changed Sommelier Education March 2020 was a terrible moment for wine educators. In-class wine education was impossible for much of the United States. The best wine schools pivoted toward a variety of online wine programs. Many of the
The Top Wine Educators in America There are a handful of wine educators that dominate wine education. They have founded the top wine schools in America and blazed trails into sommelier training. These men and women are essential to the
Wine has been a hot topic for millennia; it is entwined with our culture like no other libation. Wine is fun, interesting, desirable, and posh; it’s the one drink for that you have to study to understand fully. The wine
In this article, we go into detail on how the pandemic has negatively impacted the wine trade, and in particular wine education. In the last section, we offer a ray of hope: there are multiple grants available for wine schools.
Sommeliers Speak Out After writing an omnibus article on the problems facing the Court of Master Sommeliers, we heard from many high-profile sommeliers who did not like how we portrayed the Court. Below are excerpts of the comments. Note: We
This article was updated in October 2020 to reflect new reporting by the New York Times that reveals troubling accounts of sexual violence within the Court of Master Sommeliers of America (CMSa). Several CMSa members have spoken up to defend
Whether you’re the ultimate wine enthusiast or looking to make wine your profession, Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) offers a range of qualifications for every type of student. In addition, they accommodate 12 different languages and are accessible in