What is it?

What exactly is the Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination?

Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination — Beauty, Food, Security & Recreation credential from Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas

Two-day course and written examination introducing wine regions, viticulture, spirits and professional beverage service. Offered by Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, it is designed for candidates who need to demonstrate verified competence in the Beauty, Food, Security & Recreation field. The credential is commonly used for career entry, advancement, regulatory compliance, or employer requirements. Candidates should review the official handbook for eligibility, exam format, and scoring before registering.

The path in brief

1. Confirm you meet any eligibility or prerequisites
2. Review the official handbook and study materials
3. Register and pay through the awarding body or authorized provider
4. Schedule and take the exam (test center or online proctoring)
5. Receive your score and, if passed, your credential

Before you book

Who is eligible to sit the Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination?

Eligibility varies; many credentials are open to all, while others require coursework, work experience, or sponsorship.

Who it is for: Professionals and candidates seeking to validate Beauty, Food, Security & Recreation competence.

The test itself

What is the format of the Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination?

The Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination is administered by Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas and runs ~1.5 hours.

The fine print

What are the retake and renewal rules for the Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination?

Proctoring & delivery

Proctored, computer-based delivery (test center or remote online proctoring), varying by exam.

Retake policy

Varies by credential — most bodies permit retakes after a waiting period and full or partial fee.

Score reporting

Scores are reported per the body’s timeline, typically electronically after the exam.

Recertification

Varies; many credentials require renewal every 2–3 years via continuing education or a recertification exam.

What it pays

How much does this credential pay?

$65,310 median for food service managers (BLS, May 2024) — SOC 35-3031

The direct answer is that the closest BLS occupation to the career an Introductory Sommelier credential feeds — food service managers, SOC 35-3031 — earned a median of $65,310 per year in May 2024, the most recent BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, and it is the right series to cite because there is no BLS occupation called "sommelier" and BLS classifies by job duties rather than by certificate. That choice deserves two notes of honesty. First, the Introductory level is exactly what its name says — the first rung of a four-level Court of Master Sommeliers pathway — so it is a career-entry credential for beverage-service professionals, not a wage catalyst; the median it most directly affects is the restaurant-and-beverage service band, and the credential's real payoff is that it is the mandatory gateway to the Certified, Advanced, and Master levels, where the top of the profession earns far above any occupation median. Second, the food service manager median of $65,310 is the managerial line, not the server line: a sommelier who becomes a beverage director or wine-program manager is competing in that manager band and above it, while a server who takes the Introductory exam is using it to become the candidate restaurants promote. Employment of food service managers is large and steady — BLS counts 352,800 in 2024 and projects 6 percent growth from 2024 to 2034 — and the beverage-program roles this credential unlocks are a meaningful differentiator in a crowded hospitality labour market. The practical economics for a candidate are clean: the in-person Introductory course and exam runs about $899 (wines included for tasting) or about $599 online (wines sold separately) depending on the option and current CMS-A pricing, the exam itself is a 70-question paper with a 60 percent pass mark, and the return is the first official CMS credential plus the eligibility to sit the Certified Sommelier Examination. Older guides that cite a ~$395 fee predate the current CMS-A pricing and should not be trusted for budgeting.

Job growth.6% projected change 2024-34 for food service managers; the Introductory Sommelier credential is the mandatory entry rung to the Certified, Advanced and Master levels, where earnings sit far above the occupation median

Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Food Service Managers

Your schedule

How long should I study for it?

40-60 hours of pre-course study plus the 2-day course and a short post-course review of focused study

Plan roughly four to eight weeks of study around a two-day experience, and understand the real sequencing: the in-person Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination is an intensive two-day program (the Court's own pages describe the course as two days with the examination at the end; an online option runs up to six months), and the candidates who pass are the ones who arrive already holding the workbook knowledge, because the course is a fast-paced review taught by Master Sommeliers, not an introduction from zero. The examination is 70 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes with a 60 percent passing standard, drawn from the course content and the Introductory workbook, so the study plan is really a pre-course reading plan plus a short post-course review. Start four to six weeks out: acquire a general guide to wine and work the major wine-producing countries and regions — France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South America, South Africa — plus the basics of spirits, beer and saké, because the course assumes this foundation. In the final two weeks before the course, read the CMS Introductory workbook cover to cover once you have access to it (you receive it on enrolment), and memorise the two frameworks the exam leans on: the wine-law and classification systems of the principal regions, and the CMS Deductive Tasting Method order — sight, nose, palate, conclusion — which the course teaches and the later levels examine in depth. Attend the two days, use the tastings to fix the region-to-grape connections, and do one focused review pass over the workbook in the days before the exam, drilling the label terms, the classic region-grape pairings, and the service basics. Budget for the fee (about $899 in-person including wines, or about $599 online with wines separate), confirm the exam-day logistics with the Court, and note that while the course is open to anyone over 21 in the hospitality, wholesale or retail sectors of the beverage industry, the Court recommends some industry experience because of the service element of the pathway.

1. Weeks 1-45-7 hrs/week

   World wine foundation before the course

   • Work the principal wine-producing countries and regions in a general wine guide
   • Learn the classic grape variety to region to appellation connections — Nebbiolo to Barolo, Sangiovese to Chianti, and so on
   • Cover the basics of spirits production, beer and saké at introductory depth
   • Practise reading wine labels and the classification terms of the leading countries
2. Final 2 weeks before the course6-8 hrs/week

   Workbook mastery and the Deductive Tasting Method

   • Read the CMS Introductory workbook cover to cover once you have enrolment access
   • Memorise the Deductive Tasting Method order — sight, nose, palate, conclusion
   • Drill the wine-law and classification systems: AOP/DOC/DOCG/AVA, Prädikat levels, and Champagne sweetness designations
   • Review the basics of wine service: presentation, opening, pouring, and temperature
3. Course daysFull two days

   The two-day in-person course and examination

   • Attend the lectures and tastings led by Master Sommeliers — the course is an intensive review, not an introduction
   • Use every tasting to reinforce region-grape-character connections
   • Note the service demonstration and the service elements the exam can reference
   • Sit the 70-question, 45-minute exam at the end and aim well above the 60% cut
4. Post-courseLight review

   Results and the path to Certified

   • Review the workbook for the few days before results if you want reassurance
   • Plan the next step: the Introductory certificate qualifies you to sit the Certified Sommelier Examination
   • Note that CMS-A no longer requires the Certified exam within three years of Introductory
   • Decide between further study and the Certified level based on the results

What to buy

Which study resources are worth paying for?

The buying decision for the Introductory Sommelier exam is dominated by one required purchase — the course and exam itself — and a handful of small, official supplements, because the exam is drawn from the course content and the Introductory workbook that you receive on enrolment. The current CMS-A pricing puts the in-person course and exam at about $899 (wines included for the tastings) and the online version at about $599 (wines sold separately), and older guides that cite a ~$395 fee predate that pricing, so budget against the current figure and confirm it at registration — the wine-included detail matters, because the in-person tastings are part of the course and the online version sells the wines separately. The Court recommends Brian K. Julyan's "Sales and Service for the Wine Professional" as the companion text, and candidates should acquire a general guide to wine for the pre-course foundation, because the two-day pace assumes you can already find the major regions on the mental map; the Court's online learning resources and suggested reading list round out the stack at no cost. The buying order that makes sense: the course and exam first, because it is the only required purchase and the workbook it includes is the exact source of the exam content; a general wine guide second, because it is the pre-course foundation; and the Julyan text third, for candidates planning the pathway beyond Introductory. Nothing expensive is required beyond the course itself, and the single highest-value preparation — reading the workbook before the course — costs nothing beyond the time, which is the honest bottom line: this is a credential whose cost is dominated by the required program, not by the prep stack, and a candidate who budgets the current course fee correctly and spends the study time has the whole economics of the exam in hand.

Prices checked 2026-08 in USD and approximate; CMS-A course pricing varies by format and is set at registration — older guides citing ~$395 predate the current schedule. Confirm the fee and the wines-included status on the registration page before purchase. We do not rank by commission.

What you'll face

What question types will I see?

The Introductory Sommelier examination is a single 70-question multiple-choice paper, completed in 45 minutes, with a passing standard of 60 percent, and it is drawn directly from the course content and the Introductory workbook. The questions span the breadth of the curriculum the Court's pages describe — the principal wine regions of the world and their grape varieties; winemaking procedures and classifications; wine law and label terms; the production and flavour of spirits, beer and saké; wine service; food pairing; and the Court's Deductive Tasting Method — so the practical breakdown is roughly: the largest share on world wine regions and grape varieties, a solid share on wine law and classification systems, a share on spirits, beer and saké, and a smaller share on service, pairing and the tasting method. All 70 questions are worth one point and there is no penalty for guessing, so the pacing mathematics are simple: roughly 38 seconds per question, answer everything, and flag the hard label or law items for a second pass rather than sitting on them. The paper rewards memorised facts over reasoning — the exam is an orientation rung, not an IQ test — which is why the preparation advice throughout this file centres on the workbook and the region-grape-law lists rather than on analytical skills, and why a candidate who has studied the workbook and the course material is reliably positioned above the 60 percent line. Because the exam is drawn from a fixed scope, the question types are correspondingly predictable — region-to-grape connections, classification and label reading, production basics, and the tasting-method sequence — and the samples below are editor-written illustrations of those published styles, not live exam items, with the standing note applying to the whole file.

Samples are editor-written illustrations of the published blueprint, not live exam items.

Reference

What are the key facts about the Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination?

Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination is a exam credential; awarded by Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas; the exam fee is ~$395; typical preparation is 20-30 hours (1-day course + exam); holders typically earn $30,000-$80,000 (35-3031 median $65,310 for managers).

In short

Is the Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination worth it?

• Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination is awarded by Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas.
• Validates job-ready competence in Beauty, Food, Security & Recreation.
• Registration is through the awarding body or an authorized test provider.
• Renewal and retake policies vary — confirm before scheduling.

Trust

Where does this information come from?

Everything above is taken from the awarding body's own published material. Fees, question counts and domain weights are revised regularly — check the official page before you pay.

Research confidence: low · Last reviewed 2026-08