A Master of Wine?

Be A Master of Wine

All of our programs are offered through the National Wine School. If you are interested in wine education and how the levels of sommelier certification work, here is your guide!

Wine Certifications

We are the only brick-and-mortar school on the East Coast to offer programs from Level One to Master-level wine programs. We are also the national training center for winemakers and educators. Our programs have been hailed as the best by regional and national publications, including Philadelphia Magazine, USA Today, and SOMM.

Level One Wine Certification

The easy first step into wine education. Learn the basics in this fun and easy-to-understand Wine 101 program!

This level introduces the student to the essentials of wine, from grape to bottle to the table. Level One is divided into seven classes.. The topics discussed include Major Varietals, Reading Wine Labels, Tasting like a Sommelier, Understanding Wine Styles, Common Wine Myths, and Introduction to Food and Wine Pairings.

This program is offered online and is not required for higher certifications. Each class includes a video presentation and quiz. To complete this section, the student must complete the  Level One exam. 8 Units of Instruction,  Total Clock Hours: 20.5

Sommelier Certification Program

You must complete the following two courses to earn your sommelier pin. This program is designed to give you a full spectrum of wine education, including all the core elements of wine, major varietals and regions, sensory training, winemaking, and more.

What differentiates this sommelier certification from the rest is that it trains students to blind taste in a similar way that a Master Sommelier is expected to. Our method ensures that over 90% of students pass a blind-tasting exam on their first try. Compared, the pass rate for other schools is about 10%.

16 Units of Instruction, Total Clock Hours: 80. Prerequisites: None.

Level Two: Wine Foundation

This program is the premier sensory training program available in the United States. It is designed to train students in the art of blind-tasting wine. This rigorous course includes seven in-person lectures, comprehensive reading material, graded wine selections, and in-depth lesson quizzes. To complete this section, the student must complete a thorough exam, including blind tasting and theory sections.

Level Three: Intermediate Wine

This program focuses on the terroir, grapes, and wine cultures of the essential wine regions around the world. This program features classes on the wines of France, Italy, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Austria, Argentina, and Chile. This course includes seven in-person lectures, comprehensive reading materials, graded wine selections, and in-depth lesson quizzes. To complete this section, the student must complete a thorough exam.

Advanced Sommelier Certification

For those seeking an outstanding and authoritative wine education, you can earn your Advanced Sommelier pin in four epic semesters.

At the Wine School of Philadelphia, you can take any four programs listed on our Advanced Sommelier Pin page, including specialist programs like winemaking and teacher training.

This is not true for universities or colleges that also run this program. Most members of the National Wine School network require four specific courses. We feel this is too restrictive for our high-achieving students.

24 Units of Instruction, Total Clock Hours: 120. Prerequisite: NWS Sommelier Certification

Master in Wine Certification

Our definitive program is the Master in Advanced Wine Studies. The prerequisite for this program is the Advanced Sommelier Pin—32 Units of Instruction, Total Clock Hours: 160.

This program requires an additional four semesters of classes. Therefore, you must complete ten semesters, including the courses you took to earn your Sommelier Certification, Advanced Sommelier Certification, and any Specialist programs you have taken.

Advanced & Master Programs

This is a small selection of the classes offered at the Wine School. Available courses can be viewed here.

American Wine Specialist™

This program covers all the major wine regions in California, including Napa Valley, Sonoma, Mendocino, Sierra Foothills, Inland Valleys, Upper Central Coast, Monterey, and Santa Barbara. The program also includes all the major wine regions in the Pacific Northwest, the East Coast, Canada, and Mexico. This course consists of 8 lectures with wine tastings. To complete this section, the student must complete a comprehensive project.

Italian Wine Specialist™

This program covers all the major wine regions in Italy, including Valle D’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Fruil-Venezi Guila, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Le Marche, Abruzzo, Molise, Liguria, Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardegna. This course includes eight lectures with wine tastings. To complete this section, the student must complete a comprehensive project.

Spanish Wine Specialist™

This program covers all the major wine regions in Spain, including Andalucia, Murcia, Valencia, La Mancha, Madrid, Castilla Y Leon, Galicia, Pais Vasco, La Rioja, Navarra, Catalunya, and Aragon. This course includes eight lectures with wine tastings. To complete this section, the student must complete a comprehensive project.

French Wine Specialist™

This program covers all the major wine regions in France, including South-West France, Bordeaux, Loire Valley, Champagne, Alsace, Jura, Savoie, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Northern Rhone, Southern Rhone, Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon, and Corsica. This course includes eight lectures with wine tastings. To complete this section, the student must complete a comprehensive project.

Winemaker Certification

Earn the bona fides to follow your dreams of winemaking. This hands-on program involves each student working with a small team to create the wine of their dreams. Every aspect of winemaking is covered, from sourcing grapes, the crush, fermentation, and oak aging. This can be taken with the Core Sommelier program on it’s own, but also counts towards the Advanced and Master certifications.

Wine Educator Certification

Become a certified wine educator and run your wine school! Educator training and certification are key to most careers in the wine trade, and wine education is a key component of most high-level jobs. No matter your career goals, this is an important certification to have.

Understanding Master Wine Certifications

There are three Master of Wine programs offered in the United States. While we will cover all three programs, we are far from impartial. The founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia is on the board of directors for the National Wine School and is featured in several of its online programs. If you are looking for an unbiased review of all three programs, we recommend checking out SOMM or a similar review website.

Master Sommelier vs Master of Wine vs Master in Wine

The agencies behind these programs are the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS), the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW), and the National Wine School (NWS). The first two are British imports, and the third is based in Vermont and California. The top professional wine credentials are offered anywhere, but some differences exist.

The Trademarked Secrets

While most people think that “Master of Wine” and “Master Sommelier” are high-level certifications, that is not technically true. Since these trademarked terms are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, we can review their legal definitions. Here they are:

The master sommelier trademark is filed in the category of Education and Entertainment Services . The description provided to the USPTO for master sommelier is educational services, namely, conducting lecture and demonstration courses in the fields of wine and evaluation, selection, and service of wine, distilled spirits, liquers, and cigars by wine stewards.

United States Patent and Trademark Office

The Master of Wine trademark is filed in the category of Goods and Services. The description provided to the USPTO for Master of Wine is a nonprofit corporation devoted to the promotion of education and knowledge concerning wines and the wine trade and to promoting the interests and high standards of the wine trade.

United States Patent and Trademark Office

There is No Master Sommelier Certification

It is true that both CMS and IMW zealously guard the reputation of their “Master” wine programs. They provide a stratum of elitism within the ranks of restaurant employees. However, they do not offer degrees, which is why they use terms like “Master of Wine Qualification” or “Master Sommelier Diploma” and not the words “Degree” or “Certification.”

That is not to say a Master of Wine title isn’t hard to get or incredibly impressive. It is. But it doesn’t do the world of wine education any favors if we pretend qualifications or diplomas are the same as degrees and certifications.