Sometimes schools will market WSET classes as being ‘sommelier’ classes, but this is actually quite misleading. You can take WSET classes all the way up to the Diploma Level 4, pass with Distinction (their highest honour), and you still won’t be a Sommelier.
This is not to say that WSET courses are bad - quite the opposite in fact. WSET is considered to be the ‘Gold Standard’ in wine and spirits education, and is working very hard to add sake and beer to that list. But it’s soooo trendy to be a sommelier these days, it’s no wonder the WSET title has demurely taken a temporary backseat to the glamorous celebrity “sommelier” one, complete with its share of film documentaries and scandals galore. Full disclosure: I was so smitten by the dazzling sommelier scene that I studied for and attained not one but two certifications! First from the International Sommelier Guild in 2006, and later from the now-besmirched Court of Master Sommeliers Americas (CMS) in 2010.
There are other sommelier associations as well, such as Mexico’s very own ONSOM, which puts a particular emphasis on Italian wines. And then there’s other wine study programs entirely, like the Society of Wine Educators and the Wine Scholar Guild. Each offers their own unique learning style and specialized areas of focus on the wide and wonderful world of wine.
Sommeliers have a long long history, beginning first as humble servants who risked being poisoned centuries ago, to much more recently moving up to star status. The core focus of a sommelier’s job is one of hospitality. They will always be a part of our culture, but their prevalence will also always wax and wane with the fashion of the day. Right now, the pandemic has so severely crippled the sommelier profession that many are wondering if they will ever regain their viability in restaurants. It’s a terrible, challenging time for the restaurant world on so many levels, and the ripple effects will likely continue for quite some time to come.
But I digress. When it comes to general wine study, WSET is still considered to be the best of the best. It’s been around for 52 years, is in dozens of countries and languages around the world, and is the benchmark that all the other schools were built against. It’s the Audrey Hepburn of wine schools. Not perfect, but pretty iconic all the same.
So of course it’s tempting for schools to link the gold standard with that trendy sommelier word, but they are not equal. WSET focuses on commercially important grape varieties and regions, and gives you a proper foundation for learning about all aspects of wine, service, storage, and food pairing without going into the hospitality aspect at all. WSET is first and foremost an academic program and is recommended learning if one is to pursue the coveted Master of Wine title. People who study with WSET to the higher levels have a much deeper understanding of the ‘why’ of the wine business. One key aspect of grading to become a Master Sommelier is being able to deal with various types of customers, something WSET doesn’t even address. As stated in this excellent podcast, the difference between CMS and WSET is the difference between knowing wine facts and having a deep understanding of all aspects of the wine world.
This is a pet peeve of mine when people mix the two fields up, whether accidentally or deliberately. Yes, they both involve wine, but a graduate of one school is more inclined to write a book about wine, and the other to write an award-winning wine list. They are different skill sets entirely (and don’t even get me started on an enology degree, which is a whole other ball of wax!). All three designations are valid and important, but they are nowhere near the same thing.
I feel like part of the reason for so much confusion is that historically the world of wine has been very mysterious and unapproachable, and people were afraid to ask too many questions lest they look like a fool. I know I have been guilty of that, but now I’ve taken both routes up to the higher levels, which has given me a firsthand account of their differences. Perpetual student that I am, I continue to study nearly daily through various educational channels. I’m even enjoying a Wine TV subscription these days since I can’t travel in person yet!
Bottom line: if you ever see a school marketing a WSET class as a sommelier class, now you know it’s just not true!