I just returned from taking the Introductory Sommelier Course with the Court of Master Sommeliers up in Minneapolis. This was a 2 day course which included lectures on deductive tasting, viticulture, all the major wine region in the world, food and wine pairing, and ended with wine service. It was given by three Master Sommeliers, one of which was from Tucson! At the end of two days of lighting speed lectures and twenty-two blind wine tastings, a seventy question multiple choice exam is given. Taking this course and passing this exam is the first major step in becoming a sommelier.
By the grace of God I passed and am now able to begin study for level two, certified sommelier which I hope to achieve through the Court. I studied hard for about three months to take the level 1 exam but expect to be studying for at the very least 2 years (and probably more) to take the level 2 exam which is much more difficult.
For those of you who are wondering how best to prepare I will share with you how I prepared. And let me make this clear at the beginning: you cannot register for this course, thinking that because you get two days of lectures before you take the test that you do not need to prepare yourself. And working in the wine industry in some capacity will not be sufficient for you to take this course and pass the exam. The fact of the matter is though you receive two days of instruction from Master Sommeliers they do not actually teach you very much at all. You must treat this class as a review before your test and be thankful to have it! You must really prepare yourself beforehand by much reading and if you can find a study group that will help too.
I used a number of resources to prepare. First of all I work at a wine store. This is very helpful in knowing many wines and where they come from (who makes what from where). I also get to taste many wines at work and at trade shows. I listened to the podcast called "Wine for Normal People" continually. This is where wine really started making sense to me. I used many books, the two most important ones being Karen MacNeil's "Wine Bible" and Kevin Zraly's "Comeplete Wine Course." I met regularly with a wine study group where we studied a wine region each week and tasted and discussed wines together from each region. I printed out the entire course guide (over 200 pages) from the Court of Masters which is given to you upon your registration for the course. The most important and helpful thing I did to prepare was to make a HUGE stack of flash cards from the course guide and reviewed them over and over until I could take no more! All of this contributed to my being able to pass the broad exam, Praise God!
Upon my return from the course my loving husband, who has most graciously put up with non-stop wine talk over the past few months, gave me a very special gift in celebration of my passing the course. He gave me a Chateau Laguiole wine opener. It is made in France using the wood of old wine barrels! It's gorgeous and tough (I immediaetly used it to open my celebratory bottle of Souverain!). It came in a leather case so I can wear it on my belt for easy access. He also had it engraved for me in Latin," Christ always faithful."
I am so thankful to be done with this first exam and to have passed it. I look forward to continuing my study of wine and blessing others with what I learn!
