A blast from the past
I recall the moment I decided that I was going to learn as much as I could about wine. In the beginning of this journey I created this blog "The Flambé". I am pretty glad that I did because I stumbled across an old post from 2014, that gives me a reference as to how "becoming a wine sommelier" has changed nearly a decade after. Let's follow up with a comparison post to see just how different things are in 2022.
THE PLAN… SO FAR (2014)
So, I began my journey to become a certified sommelier (I’m going to say formally) on March 3rd. How do you start something without knowing where to begin? You Google it. So, I Googled “how to become a sommelier”. Interestingly enough, I came across wikihow, which actually had a steady step-by-step guide. Really, the most helpful advice I took from the entire guide was the listing of institutions that offered certifications. Alright, so far so good. To be an expert, you have to go to school and get a certification. Kinda already knew that. My next step was to Google “top wine schools”.
In this search I came across winefolly.com. It had an article called The One-Stop Guide To Wine Education Courses. So with that guide as a primary source, (along with other resources) I decided to map out a timeline and pick which route I wanted to take. Since I’m in New York City, I had a lot of options.
I decided to take this route:
Join the Sommelier Society of America. Their flagship Twenty-One Week Certification Course starts Tuesday March 4th and lasts two hours every Tuesday until July 22nd. With the Sommelier Certification Course costing me a total of $1095, I’d say it’s worth the price of time and money. It’s cheaper than a college course and it’s getting me closer to my title of Master Sommelier.
Take the International Wine Center Course. The courses at this center focus on the WSET Diploma (Wine & Spirit Education Trust). Because I have already enrolled at the Sommelier Society, I think the best course of action would be to take the Level II Intermediate Course. Depending how much I learn, I may start with Level III Advanced Course. These courses run around $650 each. If I take Level II, it will be online May 3rd – June 6th and the exam date will be June 19th.
Register with the Court of Master Sommeliers. I will be taking the Introductory and Level II Certification Exam. On the website it states that they want you to prepare in between the two Levels; however, Alumni from the International Culinary Center Sommelier course told me the course that I’m taking prepares you to take them consecutively. Maybe in other states this is different. This will cost a total of $850. – Waitlisted for June 25th, 26th ,27th
For now I can only develop my short term goals for the next 4 months. Once I receive my Level II Certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers, I will figure out the best plan of action. I think this will be intense. It will require a lot of work, dedication and time. A lot of careful thought and diligent research went into planning these three steps for this specific period of time. Continue reading my blog and I will share the reasons why I specifically chose this route.
