Study and careerWorking in wine
How to become a sommelier: the path, the exams and the real job
Five steps from the restaurant floor to a sommelier job, the four levels of the Court of Master Sommeliers, where sommeliers work, and the path I took myself.
Updated October 2026
Rewritten by Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier
5 min read
The short answer: there is no licence. You become a sommelier by working with wine in hospitality and proving what you know with exams. Most people start on the restaurant floor, pass the Court of Master Sommeliers' Introductory and then Certified exams (or study with WSET), and climb from junior sommelier upwards. The Court calls the Certified its primary qualification for working sommeliers.
What a sommelier does
- Builds the wine list to suit the food, the guests and the prices.
- Buys the wine and looks after the cellar: stock, temperature, records.
- Serves and sells on the floor, from opening Champagne to decanting old reds.
- Pairs wine with food, and helps every guest find a bottle they'll love.
- Trains the team, so every server can talk about the list.
The word itself comes from Old French: a sommelier once drove the pack animals that carried a household's supplies. Over the centuries the job moved from carrying the supplies to caring for the wine. (How to say it: sommelier pronunciation.)
Step 1: work in hospitality
A sommelier is a host first. The Court of Master Sommeliers Europe strongly recommends some service experience before its Introductory exam, because service is tested from the very first level, and it points people who don't need service skills towards WSET instead. Start as a server, a bartender or in a wine shop. You learn more about selling wine in one busy Saturday than in a month of reading.
Step 2: learn the basics
- Taste every week, with notes, side by side.
- Learn the classic grapes and regions before the rare ones.
- Read the list where you work and taste everything on it by the glass.
- Test yourself: my free Level 1 Sommelier Practice Test has 40 questions in the style of the real exam.
Step 3: get certified
| Level | The exam (Court of Master Sommeliers Europe) | To pass |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory | Two days of lectures and tastings, then a multiple-choice theory paper and a short service test | 60% in each |
| Certified | One day: 40 theory questions, two wines tasted blind on the Court's grid, and a service test | 60% in each, all passed together |
| Advanced | Five days, the last two and a half for exams: theory, six wines blind in 25 minutes, a 45-minute service test | 60% in each, all passed together |
| Master Sommelier Diploma | Oral theory, blind tasting and service, at the highest standard | 75% in each |
- Introductory
- The exam (Court of Master Sommeliers Europe)Two days of lectures and tastings, then a multiple-choice theory paper and a short service test
- To pass60% in each
- Certified
- The exam (Court of Master Sommeliers Europe)One day: 40 theory questions, two wines tasted blind on the Court's grid, and a service test
- To pass60% in each, all passed together
- Advanced
- The exam (Court of Master Sommeliers Europe)Five days, the last two and a half for exams: theory, six wines blind in 25 minutes, a 45-minute service test
- To pass60% in each, all passed together
- Master Sommelier Diploma
- The exam (Court of Master Sommeliers Europe)Oral theory, blind tasting and service, at the highest standard
- To pass75% in each
- You can't skip a level. Each is the entry ticket to the next. In Europe, you must take the Certified within three years of the Introductory.
- The Americas run their own exams with different formats: see the two Courts compared.
- Other routes: WSET for broad knowledge (WSET vs CMS), and the ASI path in many countries (ASI vs CMS). Budget with what each level costs.
The next step in depth: how to become a Certified Sommelier. Where I stand: I work with the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe, whose online Learning Portal SOMM DIGI builds.
Step 4: get your first sommelier job
Most sommeliers start as a commis or junior sommelier, working under a head sommelier. You'll polish glasses, stock the cellar, open and pour, and learn the list until you can sell it. See sommelier levels for the ranks, how to write a sommelier resume and what sommeliers earn.
| Where sommeliers work | What it's like |
|---|---|
| Restaurants | The heart of the job: the list, the floor, the pairing |
| Hotels | Several outlets, banquets and room service, often a big cellar |
| Cruise ships | Travel and long contracts, with guests from everywhere |
| Wine shops and importers | Buying, selling and tastings, with daytime hours |
| Wineries | Tasting rooms, visitors and the people who make the wine |
| Education and media | Teaching, writing, training and, now, digital tools |
- Restaurants
- What it's likeThe heart of the job: the list, the floor, the pairing
- Hotels
- What it's likeSeveral outlets, banquets and room service, often a big cellar
- Cruise ships
- What it's likeTravel and long contracts, with guests from everywhere
- Wine shops and importers
- What it's likeBuying, selling and tastings, with daytime hours
- Wineries
- What it's likeTasting rooms, visitors and the people who make the wine
- Education and media
- What it's likeTeaching, writing, training and, now, digital tools
Step 5: keep climbing
After the Certified comes the Advanced, which asks for real depth and years on the floor, and then the Master Sommelier Diploma. The Court of Master Sommeliers Europe says only around 300 people have earned the title since the first exam in London in 1969. My guide to preparing for the Advanced is the next step.
For inspiration, read about Gérard Basset (1957–2019). He held both the Master Sommelier and Master of Wine titles, co-founded the Hotel du Vin group, and won the Best Sommelier of the World competition in 2010 after years of trying. His memoir, Tasting Victory, is a lesson in persistence.
My path
- 2012: my first wine job, in the largest wine store in Little Rock, Arkansas. That year I took the Court's Introductory at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, and passed the CSW.
- 2013: WSET Level 3, Pass with Merit. Then fine dining and cruise ships: Cunard first, later head sommelier with Disney.
- 2014: Certified Sommelier, Court of Master Sommeliers.
- 2019: Advanced Sommelier.
- 2021: I founded SOMM DIGI, to teach wine with today's tools.
It wasn't a straight line, and it doesn't have to be for you. Life at sea is in working as a cruise ship sommelier.
Is it worth it?
Be honest with yourself: the hours are long, the work is on nights, weekends and holidays, and the studying never ends. In return you get a job that is never the same two nights running, and the joy of putting the right bottle in front of the right person. If you love making people happy, it is worth it. I wrote more on this in is it still worth it to stay a sommelier?
Study smarter with AI
AI won't pour wine or read a table, but it is a tireless study partner. SOMM DIGI AI teaches today's best AI to talk wine using my own Advanced exam notes: 3,000+ exam-prep questions, 35 Certified flashcard decks and 14 wine tools, free to start.
Questions people ask
How long does it take to become a sommelier?
There is no fixed time. You need hospitality experience, then the Introductory and the Certified; in Europe, the Certified must be taken within three years of the Introductory. The Advanced and Master levels take years more.
Do you need a degree to become a sommelier?
No. The Court of Master Sommeliers' levels ask for the level before, not a degree. What matters is knowledge, tasting and service.
Can you be a sommelier without a certificate?
Yes. Many restaurants hire on skill and experience. Certificates prove what you know and help you climb. The Court's own titles, such as Master Sommelier, are protected.
What is the first sommelier certificate to take?
The Court of Master Sommeliers' Introductory Sommelier Certificate, or WSET Level 2 if you don't work in service.
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