Learn Wine with Guild of Sommeliers
More than ever before, wine lovers have dozens of options when it comes to learning more about wine. Magazine racks burst with titles like Wine Spectator, while books like Wine Folly and Cork Dork abound.
Then of course there are the podcasts.
Yet few have thought about seeking out a website totally geared toward sommeliers.
Fewer still would even realize that a sommelier website exists.
GuildSomm.com
2009 marks the date when the GuildSomm.com website was created. The idea was to make it an educational resource for people studying for programs offered by the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS). Geoff Kruth, president of Guildsomm, was one of the founders.
The Guild of Sommeliers website has lots of exciting wine-focused information for sommeliers and regular wine lovers. One of the most popular features are the Guildsomm podcasts. You can find them with Google or another search engine.
The Guild of Sommeliers podcasts are notable for quality of the guest speakers as well as excellent production quality of the podcasts themselves. The shows revolve around conversations with winemakers, interviews with the representatives of wine regions, and an in-depth focus on grapes.
Imagine that Riesling is your favorite grape (it’s one of mine!) Would it be great to hear key winemakers from three regions in the world talk about how the Riesling grape grows in that region, and the way they vinify it?
Joh. Jos Prüm’s Katharina Prüm is one of the guests on this Guild of Sommeliers show. She is joined by Jean-Frederic Hugel of Family Hugal in Alsace and Oregon’s Chateau Ste Michelle winemaker David Rosenthal in this podcast.
Or maybe you’re looking out the window of your office, wondering what it would be like to be outdoors, living the life of Brenae Royal of Monte Rosso?
If you’re the type of wine lover who prefers videos to podcasts, Guild of Sommeliers has you covered. Click your mouse on the video section and you can discover the secrets of blind tasting wine. You can even take a vicarious visit to Jerez, where Sherry is made.
One key advantage to the Guild of Sommeliers website is that you can watch webinars that were once live. For example, the webinar on how Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are made in Australia is very engaging.
And if you are interested in becoming a sommelier, Guild of Sommeliers has you covered. Deductive tasting is one of the most important skills of a sommelier – and a passionate wine lover as well. Though I paid over $300 to take a class from the CMS at an event called TexSomm, the class is offered free on the web site with a simple click of your mouse.
As time goes on, you will find many prerecorded webinars on the site.
In addition to the podcasts, and webinars, you will find many articles on subjects such as prohibition and indigenous grapes.
Advantages of GuildSomm Subscription
As a Certified Sommelier, I like being a member of Glasses at Guild of Sommeliers as it serves as a sort of virtual meeting point for our community. We check in regularly to learn about new tasting groups in our area or exchange thoughts about different winemaking procedures.
Then of course there are the discussions!
Lots of talk about vintages, cork taint, front page wine news,
In large cities like Dallas, Chicago, SF or NYC, or even smaller cities, we exchange information about local wine events.
I personally visit the site several times a week for lots of reasons. In the last few years they’ve been focusing more heavily on other wine education certification programs outside the Court of Master Sommeliers, such as the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust and the Masters of Wine (MW).
The Masters of Wine (link) is a very challenging program, and it is so wonderful to have MW student-focused discussions on the Guildsomm site. Some of these discussions are too technical for most casual wine lovers (conversations about fermentation temperature, anyone?)
Yet passionate wine lovers who really want to learn the difference in both taste, and method of production, of a rich, buttery, oak-rich Chardonnay from the Napa Valley and a lean unoaked Chardonnay from the Cote de Beaune would feel on the Guildsomm website.
Students in the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust program (WSET), particularly Level 3, will find the description of grape varieties on the website most beneficial. Students who are also members of Guildsomm would have the opportunity to ask questions about the exam from members who have passed Level 3 and even achieved the WSET Diploma.
Live Structured Tasting Events
Members of the GuildSomm community will also receive invitations to attend paid events held in major cities around the USA.
The tasting events are a great way to explore a wine region through a seminar about its history, followed by a tastings of its wines. Many times the Napa Vintners host these events, so we have treasured wines from the Napa Valley.
Champagne, Cava, and wines of Australia and the Rhone Valley have been recent events.
Then, in a few key cities of the USA, are the holiday parties. These are fabulous events with the opportunity to taste some world class wines.
Guildsomm – Final Thoughts
You might ask that with all the videos and podcasts and webinars, is there any reason to be a Glasses at Guild of Sommeliers member?
This is your choice. The subscription (annual) is over $100. Why not check out the resources and see for yourself on the Guildsomm website
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About Author Marisa D’Vari
D’Vari contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, and more.
She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators … to see it all, please click on bio