PreSOMM

Mid-American School of Wine (now known as PreSOMM) was created in 2013 to provide the greater St. Louis area with an avenue for beginner and intermediate wine education. They offer the advantage of starting the long and rewarding journey of learning wine theory and good beverage service while fulfilling a higher appreciation for the wine culture, regions, viticulture, and fine dining industry.

Four St. Louis-area natives founded the school to offer wine courses for every level of knowledge. Co-founder Denise Mueller now runs the school. The school created its wine certification course rather than working with WSET or SWE. The PreSomm Wine Course provides its students with a higher level of wine theory and wine service, prepares them for job promotions in the hospitality field, and inspires future education certifications such as Introductory-level Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers or Certified Specialist of Wine through Society of Wine Educators.

They now offer a series of wine education books via their website. They previously had offered the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) Preparatory Course and the Level One Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) program.

Wine school owner Denise Mueller attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications with an emphasis on Advertising and Strategic Media. Along with running PreSOMM, she works for an Investment group and currently serves on the steering committee for PROMO Missouri, an LGBT advocacy non-profit. In addition, Denise is a Certified Sommelier accredited through the Court of Master Sommeliers.