I’ve had a lot of questions recently about how to attempt different certifications in tandem with others. I thought it could be useful to lay out my own timeline and how I got to this point. It’s all connected!
2017- started in the industry.
2018- signed up for my first certification, Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), as a way to not be so green in my role. I spent almost a year studying for this and took it the following summer.
2019- getting ready to take CSW, I got a wild hair to check out the Intro to Sommelier class being offered in Durham, NC in July of 2019. I attended and passed it and I was HOOKED. I then took the CSW exam and passed in August of 2019. With some great advice from a few mentors, I decided to blaze straight ahead for the Certified Somm exam. I also took a sake (Certified Sake Professional) and a beer certification (Certified Beer Server) for work, these were great prep for CS as well.
2020- took and passed Certified Somm in Greenville, SC in February of 2020. Another wild hair ensued and I signed right up for WSET 3 Advanced through Capital Wine School in DC while still living in NC. The pandemic hit, and my exam got pushed to July, but by that time I’d moved up to the DC area. Passed with distinction and I still credit CSW being the best foundation to go for CS/WSET 3. I then decided to sign up for WSET Diploma since I was located near the school. Diploma is broken out into 6 units, and typically takes a few years to complete. Not on my watch.. Took D1 (wine production) in December of 2020.
2021- took D2 (wine business) in January, D4 (sparkling) and D5 (fortified) in June, submitted my D6 research paper in July, and took the beast D3 (wines of the world) in October. I also ended up starting and finishing all parts of the Certified Wine Educator (CWE) throughout 2021 and passed that in October.
2022- positive Diploma results and certificate arrived in January of 2022, and MW prep began. I also was working for a spirits company at the time and flew up to Boston to take WSET 3 Spirits. I then knocked out Certified Spirits Educator (CSE). I was still tasting at the CMS group regularly, and decided to apply for the Advanced Somm Course and see if they’d let me in. They did, and I attended what is to this day one of my very favorite wine experiences of this whole crazy ride. Applied for the MW in May/June and was admitted as a Stage 1 student in September.
2023- this “school year” was spent preparing for MW Stage 1 and Advanced Somm. I passed Advanced theory in April of 2023, flew to Napa to sit my MW S1 exam in June, then flew to Phoenix to sit Advanced tasting/service in Phoenix in July. I passed both!
2024- invited to sit the Master Sommelier Theory exam in April. As I wrote about in a previous post, I was not successful, but it was still a great experience. I flew to London in June for my first attempt at MW Stage 2. I had an entire summer to wait for results, so I studied for and passed Champagne Master Level and Italian Wine Scholar through Wine Scholar Guild. In September, I found out that I passed MW Theory (by far the most time consuming part of MS and MW) but still need to pass Practical (tasting).
Goals for 2025? Full send on MS Theory and MW Practical. I cannot emphasize enough the extent to which failure can be a motivator rather than a deterrent- it is such an advantage to have seen and experienced these exams firsthand and to know what to do differently for next time!
Helping out with harvest 2024 in Sonoma on the Wine Champs trip with GuildSomm