Alcohol Certifications

Recently I was in San Francisco taking my Certified Sommelier exam. I never really thought that this was something that I would pursue. This article is going to be a discussion of why I believe any and all certifications can be vital to ones future.

Currently I am a Certified Sommelier, Certified Beer Server Cicerone, and have completed the United Sates Bartenders Guild Academy of Spirits and Fine Service. Originally when I first started studying alcoholic beverage I started with the category I knew the least about, wine. While studying I was constantly asked if I would be taking the Introductory Sommelier. I kept thinking why? It’s $525, I have no ambition to be a Sommelier, and what good will it do me as a server with a union job at the MGM in Las Vegas. I wouldn’t make any extra money or get a promotion. It wasn’t till I decided that I wanted to leave waiting tables behind and move to the distribution side that I actually considered the certification a necessity.

Once I took the Introductory exam and passed I pursued employment with Southern Wine and Spirits. While employed there they really pushed for everyone to have some sort of certification under their belt and to progress through the ranks of that certification. It was here I obtained my Certified Beer Server Cicerone, and U.S.B.G. Academy of Spirits and Fine Service. This is what really got me to thinking of their value, not only to my clients to have some sort of proof that I knew what I was talking about but to differentiate myself to other employers.

The first thing you need to consider is, do you plan on waiting tables or bartending for the rest of your life? If not, will you plan to stay in the food and beverage industry? For many waiting tables and bartending is a great way to work your way through college with the later shifts and good money to be made, this may not be your end game. But for us who have chosen the food and beverage industry as our profession most will move into management or distribution. These positions start to require some level of certification when you move app in the ranks. Even if you do decide to be on the service side of things for the rest of your working years how do you stand out to your potential employers? I started in the industry when I was 19 and have 12 1/2 years of front of house service experience. But just because I have been doing this for that long really doesn’t mean too much. Anyone my age who started at 16 busing has 3 more years of experience than I do and lets face it you could have 20 years experience working at a cafe instead of fine dinning. Anytime I have handed out a resume with the certifications on it employers have been impressed. It shows that you are committed to the field and do poses the knowledge beyond service. If you live in a food hot spot such as New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, etc. just having some certification may soon become a necessity the same way a Bachelor’s Degree did for most fields a few years ago. But if you live in an area that is not bursting with Sommeliers as is here in Portland (where only 3 Master Sommeliers live in the entire state, I worked with 3 in one building at Southern, and I have yet to meet anyone above Introductory) you can instantly become a top candidate.

I’m not just stressing the Sommelier program, there are other programs out there for wine as well as sake, beer, and spirits. There is the WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) which allows you to focus on individual regions or items without having to learn about them all and does not involve service standards like the Sommelier. This was what I saw the most of on the distribution side since people often had a specialty and were not presenting to guests. The Cicerone program has been a real up and comer and the first level is taken on-line with a price below $100 that you can do at home to show some beer knowledge. And most popular for spirits is the CSS (Certified Specialist of Spirits). Of course there are other programs out there so do a little research to make sure that this is an accredited agency and that it will hold merit on a resume and not just some simple test you take and get a certificate at the end that no one has ever heard of. Any one of these will boost your resume and help land you a better or new job no matter what you plan to do in the food and beverage industry. Also consider that these certifications will only be getting harder to achieve. Every year new wine regions are added and adjusted, new styles of beer are created, and someone is doing something creative with a spirit so there is no time like the present to obtain a certification.