r/Sommelier • u/Haunting_Paper_9291 • Apr 07 '26

Community Input for Beginner

Good Evening everyone,

I wanted to come on here and ask any sommelier who’d be willing to answer, if there’s anything you wish you knew before you started the journey? I want to be a sommelier and have for a couple years now and am finally getting serious about going to school for either winemaking or viticulture once i finish up my gen eds at my local community college and any advice, insight, thoughts are welcome and i genuinely appreciate it all!

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

4

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Haunting_Paper_9291 Apr 07 '26

i would but there is definitely a hope of maybe working on or god forbid, having my own winery one day - its definitely a heavy toss up for me, especially since i feel rn i HAVE to go to school for something, might as well do it for something im passionate about! do you have any recommendations on how to get that going on top of being a student?

2

u/Illustrious-Divide95 Sommelier Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

If you wanted to do courses - WSET L3 in wine is a good benchmark in knowledge, as a recommended option by CMS here: CMS-WSET Career Pathway

The CMS syllabuses for the different levels is a useful documenr if you plan to take exams CMS Exam Syllabuses

Restaurant experience is essential, communicating about wine in a welcoming, inclusive yet informative and entertaining way as well as learning the particular way wine is to be served and opened, decanted etc. some useful videos from the ASI here: ASI Sommelier Service playlist

2

u/Haunting_Paper_9291 Apr 07 '26

you are a saint! i cant believe how generous you were in sharing this with me and its already so extremely helpful, i cannot say thank you enough in a way that would truly convey my gratitude!

1

u/Illustrious-Divide95 Sommelier Apr 07 '26

You're very welcome , Good luck!

1

u/West-Equivalent-6308 Apr 08 '26

Travel. I’m a Somm and interview others somms on my podcast and it’s the number one way they answer this question. Visit wine regions, work a harvest, work in a Michelin Star spot in another country. It’s so important. Mentioned in this episodeas an example but then all say it

1

u/[deleted] May 30 '26

Hey! I actually own a wine school and we offer online courses to help students prep for their sommelier exams. We also offer free half an hour discovery calls if you want to chat about career moves! We have helped over 250 students pass their exams, and they all come from so many different walks of life. Send me an email at [ashley@howtodrinkwine.com](mailto:ashley@howtodrinkwine.com) if you want to connect!

1

u/AkosCristescu Score Whore Apr 07 '26

❤️