CIA vs. WSET

[StevenC]

I'm currently in a sommelier program in Italy, and I would like to get a wine certification recognized in the English-speaking world. Two came to mind: the diploma offered by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and its various overseas representatives, and the Certified Wine Professional exam offered by the Culinary Institute of America.

Can anyone give me some insight into the relative prestige of these two certifications and how they're viewed in the wine industry? Any recommendations? The advantage of the CWP exam is that I could (I believe) take the exam on its own without having to take the entire program. On the other hand, I realize that the WSET diploma is the preferred entry route for the Masters of Wine exam... years and years away, in any case.

Thanks in advance!!

[Carolyn Tillie]

In a nut shell, the CIA program is relatively new and is not yet well-recognized within the industry. I have considered it myself because it is close by to where I live, although a tad expensive (I think the classwork involved would add up to somewhere close to $8,000 to $10,000). I did meet a women who sit for their exam without taking the classes. She told me that the cost for taking their CWP (Certified Wine Professional) exam was $1,400. She passed, fortunately.

The WSET is a great precursor to the MW (Master of Wine) which is far more prestigious. I have also considered those courses. The WSET courses would be about $1,600 and then the diploma program for the MW is about $2,500 (and yes, takes about five years).

I also considered the Court of Sommeliers, but realized it is more service-oriented with some emphasis being given to cigars, mixed cocktails, and actual service. This is fine for folks who want to work the restaurant-side of the wine business, but I am only looking to add credibility to my freelance writing, not become a wine director for a restaurant so I'm not sure the Sommelier program is the best one for me.

Lastly, there is the Society of Wine Educators. I am friends with some of the folks who are members of the board of this group, but I can attest that they don't have a lot of presence ITB.

I hope this helps!

[melkor]

The WSET is a great precursor to the MW (Master of Wine) which is far more prestigious. I have also considered those courses. The WSET courses would be about $1,600 and then the diploma program for the MW is about $2,500 (and yes, takes about five years).

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The WSET program split into several chunks - intermediate, advanced, diploma, and then theres the MW program. The first three are available through Copia in Napa, I don't know if the MW program itself is available there. Intermediate can be done in a weekend (I got my intermediate cert a few years ago at Copia). All the info about the program is available here.

[Rebel Rose]

Melkor, I believe you have a personal connection with the WSET that you're not mentioning.

I think it would be fascinating to hear more about how the program started, what the initial concept was, and whether or not the program adheres to the original idea or whether it has evolved. I'd also like to know more about what goes into planning a course of wine study like this. Anyone else with me on this?

[melkor]

Melkor, I believe you have a personal connection with the WSET that you're not mentioning.

I think it would be fascinating to hear more about how the program started, what the initial concept was, and whether or not the program adheres to the original idea or whether it has evolved.  I'd also like to know more about what goes into planning a course of wine study like this.  Anyone else with me on this?

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My only connection is that I volunteer at Copia as a wine docent and have since the place opened. One of the instructors for the WSET program runs the wine program at Copia and is one of the few Americans with an MW certification. The program is identical to the UK version, which means that there is twice as much time spent on pear cider than there is on wine from California. I thought it was worth doing, though as I currently have no interest in changing careers I'm happy to stop after the intermediate course.

[jhiroshi]

Maybe I missed it but what about the International Sommelier Guild Courses? I haven't taken any courses yet but I have been planning to take it for some time....as soon as I finish university In Vancouver the choices (that I know of) are between the WSET and the ISG courses and since the latter focus only on wine it seems somewhat preferable to me.

Also they are having an international sommelier contest! Anyways link here

International Sommeliers Guild

[magnolia]

I've taken the WSET Advanced Certificate Course in London, it was quite basic and very, very UK-wine-trade-centric. It basically took the angle that France was the Sun, with Spain, Italy and Germany as distant planets...and the rest of the world, extremely distant moons, if not random space debris.

As in many things, the value of attending classes depends heavily on the lecturer for a particular topic. Many of the lecturers come in and review, word for word, chapter for chapter, exactly what's in the book - so in theory you could read the book and pass the exam without ever attending a course. That's neither good value nor interesting. The book I used in my course has been revised recently; I haven't seen it but the previous version was woefully anachronistic and badly needed updating.

The Diploma course is meant to be harder-core, and the classes themselves, more interesting and necessary to passing the course.

In the UK, WSET certificates/diplomas are considered good professional credentials for people who want to work in the wine trade (buying/selling wine for supermarkets and independents, working in PR or journalism). I don't get the impression that it's necessary for sommeliers, but I could be mistaken. I also - until just now -didn't have the impression that WSET means much to anyone outside the UK.

There are a handful of good, interested and enthusiastic lecturers, but there's a shake-up going on in the UK - WSET seems to be pulling its purse-strings, relying on a handful of lecturers to cover more and more topics, rather than hiring specialists as in the past. I hear murmurs from their freelance lecturers who say they haven't been assigned as many - or any - classes recently. WSET HQ moving to new quarters, so perhaps this is part of the reason for new budget restrictions...

[Carolyn Tillie]

Maybe I missed it but what about the International Sommelier Guild Courses? 

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You kinda missed it -- I indicated that

I also considered the Court of Sommeliers, but realized it is more service-oriented with some emphasis being given to cigars, mixed cocktails, and actual service.

[jhiroshi]

Oh oops, never heard it called Court of Sommeliers.