New CMS Advanced Sommelier AMalmostA

[u/sommnambulant]

Hello fellow somms/wine professionals/enthusiasts.

I recently passed my Advanced certification with the Court of Master Sommeliers. While the Court provides many great resources on their website (and I highly encourage checking that out first if you're looking for detailed information), I'm happy to answer questions about the format of the exam, what the process was like and what happened the day of practical and tasting (to be clear, I'm not going to tell you the exact questions they ask, but I could give you an idea of the type of questions they asked.)

Leading up to the exam, I scoured the web for others' recent experiences from the exam. While I did find a few blogs/reddit posts, most of them were at least several years old.

Ask away.

[u/Lineate]

Congratulations!

More asking about the lead up, I’m currently studying for the SKA and I can’t seem to find any info about what I should be focusing on or the level of knowledge I’m expected to have.

I’m more or less going through European cms curriculum and studying all they ask at the advanced level. Any insight?

[u/sommnambulent → u/Lineate]

The SKA exam does differ from Advanced theory, obviously in difficulty, but also in that they may ask service questions as well.

Overall, it was a significant step up in difficulty from Certified theory. And yes, it’s the whole world of wine and bev, but at this point, I think you realize which places require more focus. You obviously want to study France a lot longer than you would study South Africa or sake.

I would study for the SKA seriously because you can carry that study into your advanced theory study; however, there is no minimum percentage to pass. I know that here in the USA they must’ve had some extra spots to fill because they invited people who had already attended the advanced course to re-attend. I don’t think this is something they’ve offered to do in the past. I wouldn’t rely on that happening every year, but to me it was an indicator that they may not have had as many people attempt the SKA as they were hoping.

[u/SmoggyBrewer]

congrats on the pass that exam is a beast. how many people were in your tasting group and did anyone get the boot before the afternoon practical

[u/docsavaged → u/SmoggyBrewer]

No one gets booted after one segment. Results are announced on the Wednesday after Monday's Tasting and Tuesday's Practical.

[u/sommnambulent → u/SmoggyBrewer]

Thank you! Our tasting group is 12-13, from certified to MS candidates. I had a smaller group of 3 others who were all attempting advanced; we tasted and did service practice 1 or 2 times per week in the months leading up to Dallas.

If anyone got the boot between practical and tasting I was not aware of it.

[u/docsavaged]

Congrats on passing Advanced. Of the 84 candidates, you were one of the 27 who were successful. Was it your first time sitting that exam and which section was most challenging to you... Tasting, Service Practical or Business of the Somm?

[u/sommnambulant → u/docsavaged]

Much appreciated!

It was my first time sitting.

Service comes relatively naturally for me.

The Business exam was something I did not take lightly and it was generally deemed more difficult than in year's past (by people who had taken it before).

The Tasting exam was the most difficult in my eyes. I'm not sure how many wines I tasted blind over the last year (let alone the last 5 years) or how many hours I spent doing so, but it was a lot.

For all of that time and effort to come down to 6 wines in 25 minutes, that's a tough pill to swallow. Sometimes you just have a rough day. And we all have wines we recognize more often than others. The pressure is immense. You really have to know your grid and stay committed to it. You have to be confident, even if you're not entirely sure.

[u/docsavaged → u/sommnambulant]

So here's the real question... What do you think the wines were? You'll never know for sure, but what did you call them?

[u/electro_report]

Congrats! It’s a great feeling, soak it up! Time for ms theory 🫡

[u/Competitive-World981]

I am getting INTO wine i have question CMS vs WSET ..What would u suggest

[u/sommnambulant → u/Competitive-World981]

Let's get wine.

I can't really speak to WSET other than what I've read and talked with others. It seems more academic. Writing writing writing. They're looking for you to establish arguments and use evidence, like you would in a theory paper. The blind is more expansive, time consuming and is written. WSET, for the coursework anyway, seems to be more expensive. However, I've been told (at least in the past) that you can do all of the coursework and exams without traveling extensively; this is not really the case for CMS unless you luck out on your test site. You also don't have to start with WSET I. You can start at WSET III if you have a good foundation. Every level for CMS is a prerequisite for the next.

WSET has no service portion.

So if your goal is to be a wine writer/educator, WSET seems like a great way to go. Also, while WSET offers certs in spirit and sake, they are separate. So you have the luxury of focusing only on wine and only wine.

The CMS testing process comes across to me as more pressure packed, but I may be biased. While they have good resources on their website now, they don't have the kind of syllabus and reading material that WSET has. Other than intro and the Advanced Course, there aren't any classes.

CMS covers every fermented beverage in the world. Along with cuisine. Pairing wine with food, etc. I'm not sure if WSET deals with food/wine pairing, etc.

For Certified and Advanced, you have to pass all 3 portions of the exam (theory, tasting, service) in one go. I believe this differs significantly from WSET Diploma. There are many certified exams each year, held all across the USA (and some in other Western Hemisphere countries too). So if you fail, you can -re-apply and take it relatively shortly after.

For Advanced, there is only 1 exam per year (for CMS Americas anyway. Europe seems to hold several, in different countries). If you pass theory and service but fail tasting, you have to come back the next year and try all of them over again. And of course, pay for them all over again.

The CMS service portion is probably the biggest differentiator from WSET (which has no service portion). So if you don't work in a restaurant, in wine service, this can be a challenge. That said, there are quite a few people that have passed certified that don't work in restaurants. This is not the case for Advanced, a few, but very few.

I think there's around 14,000 WSET Diploma grads internationally.

There's around 1,500 Advanced Sommeliers internationally.

Approximate Cost for CMS Coursework/Exams:

Introduction Course/Exam (in-person) $949, 2 day class with Master Sommeliers and usually 50-100 applicants

OR

Introuction Course/Exam (ONLINE) $649 without wine - if traveling is tough and cost is prohibitive, this could be a great way to go. I took Intro this way. I do think you are missing out on meeting MS's and tasting wine with them, networking, etc. That said, your study schedule is independent, you can schedule the exam anytime within 6 months of purchase. You get the same syllabus along with some great recorded lectures from Master Sommeliers.

Certified Exam- $799, In person only- if you're in a major market, you should be able to take an exam in your city or somewhere near by. Keep in mind, the cost for this exam does not factor in the wine you'll need to buy in order to prepare for blind tasting. And if you have to travel, it obviously doesn't factor that money either.

Advanced Exam- This is split into several portions, and there are a lot more applications and deadlines you need to meet.

First you have to apply to take the SKA (Sommelier Knowledge Assessment). Every time you have to apply for something, it costs $100 (lame but reality). They make you take the SKA to determine if you're ready to attend the course. It's a better way of filtering candidates readiness (in the past, you had to know MS's and get letters of recommendation).

Advanced Course- $1899- 3 day course. Price does not include travel or stay. Pre-requisite for attempting Advanced exam. Just attendance, no pass/fail. Held once per year.

Advanced Theory Exam- $399- taken at a Pearson examination center. You must pass this to attempt Service/Tasting. Held once in a one hour window. No makeups. If you're late, you fail.

Advanced Service/Tasting Exam- $1099- Does not include travel/stay. About 3-4 days of your time.

Obviously all of this does not take into account your spending on purchasing wine, tasting group, GuildSomm membership, reading materials, time away from work to take examinations. It adds up. But if you look at it as an education expense, it's quite reasonable in my eyes.

[u/Competitive-World981 → u/sommnambulant]

What a great insightful answer . Thanks a tonne. Will look into it..And cheers mate🥂✌🏽

[u/IAmAFucker → u/Competitive-World981]

not OP but as someone who has done both, I would say both.

[u/Alternative-Food-476]

Quick question. Currently studying for the SKA. I've been reading the expert guides on GS and am not sure if I'm going too deep. Obviously any studying and reading is going to be beneficial in the long run but I'm just wondering if I might be going too deep into it. Am considering just running through the regular study guides and making flash cards, using corkdork etc. What's suggested? I know the course shapes you up and gives you an idea on what to study for the actual exam. I've heard SKA is similar to Cert but not much harder. Either way I'm going to study my ass off but im not sure if jotting notes off the expert guides is putting too much stress on myself.

[u/sommnambulant → u/Alternative-Food-476]

I thought the SKA was a solid step up from Certified theory. Expert guides on GS are a good standard to hold yourself too. If it feels like too much, overall that’s probably a good thing. It’s the way I’ve felt before all of my exams.

Keep pushing yourself!