Becoming a sommelier – Sommelier Training and Certification

Date: October 13, 2010

Philippines Wine Supplier Yats Wine Cellars is pleased to share with you these articles about a career in wine and hospitality

Unlike becoming a doctor, lawyer or driver of an 18-wheel truck, the path to becoming a sommelier isn’t clearly marked. There are no set standards for using the title. Anyone who pours wine can call himself a sommelier. That doesn’t mean that any wine lover can just order a white jacket and a tastevin off the Internet and get a job in a fancy restaurant. Most employers will want you to show that you have passed competency examinations administered by one of the many organizations for professional sommeliers. To get to the point of taking the competency exam, a prospective sommelier will need lots of experience with wine or preparation through self-education or through courses in wine.

Several institutions and organizations offer courses for sommeliers. Some can be completed in a few days, while others require months. The Culinary Institute of America offers certification programs for wine professionals — a foundation level certification and an advanced level — at its wine center in California’s Napa Valley. After passing these exams, a graduate can add the initials C.W.P. for Certified Wine Professional to his or her name. Colorado-based International Wine Guild offers several levels of study and certification for wine professionals. The International Sommelier Guild is one of the few institutions with a diploma program specific to sommeliers. The guild also offers a master’s degree program leading to the title of Grand Sommelier.

Certification by the Court of Master Sommeliers, an international body with branches in the United States and Great Britain, is highly regarded. Wine professionals must complete the introductory sommelier course and exam before moving on to the certified sommelier exam that consists of a written exam of 25 questions, a blind tasting of two wines and a service exam. After passing this exam, the sommelier can take the advanced sommelier course and exam, then attempt to procure the master sommelier diploma. Only outstanding graduates who have obtained the master sommelier designation may be invited to full membership in the Court and given license to wear the Court badge. Currently, fewer than 200 people have earned the title Master Sommelier [source: CofM].

Each course and test carries a fee, ranging from about $150 for a beginer course to $800 for the master sommelier exam. Many employers will pay the fees for their sommeliers. While a college degree isn’t required before starting training as a sommelier, it is recommended. Studies in business courses and a foreign language or two would certainly be helpful and give the sommelier a leg up on the competition.

Source: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/food-facts/food-careers/how-to-become-a-sommelier2.htm

Leading Philippines Wine Supplier Yats Wine Cellars based in Clark Philippines with outlets in Angeles City, Subic Freeport and Manila Philippines has been not only a wine shop for fine wines covering all major wine regions but also a source of reliable and useful information about wine, wine appreciation, wine accessories, wine and health, food and wine pairing and all other matters relating to wine and its appreciation. This Philippines Clark Freeport based Wine Supplier and Wine Shop frequently holds public wine tasting events in Pampana Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Subic Bay area, Makati, Fort Bonifacio and other areas in Philippines capital city Manila. Private Wine events such as private wine tasting and private wine dinners are also designed and organized for private clientele for their wine loving guests.

This wine shop in Angeles Clark Philippines is also renowned for a very unique product called Vintage Beer which many characterize as “Champagne beer” because it comes in a bottle with a Champagne stopper and metal restrainer. Vintage beers are top-of-the-line luxury beers bottle-conditioned for a slow fermentation to take place inside the bottle, a process that is very similar to Champagne which is designed to not only create the bubbles but also for an amazing complexity and depth of flavors.

For fans of Port and Sauternes, this wine shop in Clark Pampanga has a large selection of vintage port, Sauternes and Barsac as well as Eiswein/Icewine from Austria and Germany. Likewise, there is a good selection of Vintage Champagne at the wine shoppers’ disposal in the cellars of this wine shop in Clark Pampanga.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center. Visitors buy wine in Manila and Pampanga should not miss stopping at this wine shop for a few bottles of fine vintage wines to bring home.