Sommelier courses Get ready to succeed!

Do you want to enter the hospitality industry through the front door? Sommelier courses can be a great ally for you.

Sommelier courses offer a complete training on wines and are the most demanded in the market. Doing them will make you an expert.

As wine has become an indispensable part of the on-trade, more and more businesses are looking to fill the sommelier vacancy.

Take note of the benefits of taking a sommelier course, what are the functions of this important position and the best sommelier courses in Spain.

Recommended sommelier courses in Spain

The position of sommelier is increasingly in demand in restaurants and other gastronomic businesses

What’s all the fuss about?

From a customer service point of view, it is necessary to have a person who is knowledgeable about wine and advises diners on the type of drink that best suits their food.

For training, there are several institutes and schools that offer sommelier courses, with tools that will help you learn about the art of wine

International Cookery School

The first sommelier course on the list is offered by the International Cooking School.

Its proposal is an international professional sommelier course and lasts approximately 400 hours.

This programme is based on practical training, teaching hours and a final project to pass the course

The course is aimed at sommeliers who wish to broaden their knowledge, hotel and catering or wine tourism staff and those who are or who have completed vocational training degrees.

Once the course has been passed, a diploma certified by the Castilla y León Regional Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the International Cookery School and the Castilla y León Association of Sommeliers will be issued.

Business Training Institute

The sommelier course of the Chamber of Madrid is held at the Institute of Professional Training.

The aim of this course is to provide comprehensive instruction on the types of wine, classifications, locations where they are produced and the development of sensory skills to carry out wine tastings or organoleptic analysis.

Likewise, during the sommelier course, visits are made to vineyards or classes are given by the producers of the most outstanding wines in the world.

Unlike the course offered by the Escuela Internacional de Cocina, this training programme is aimed at personnel working in the hotel and catering or wine sector.

Bilbao School of Hotel and Catering

The Escuela Superior de Hostelería Bilbao also has a good proposal for a sommelier course. This course lasts 360 hours, divided into two years.

The syllabus of this sommelier course includes subjects such as tasting methodology, sommelier functions, wine cellar management, viticulture, wine geography, oenology, product knowledge and visits to wineries or distilleries.

At the end of the course, you will receive a diploma endorsed by the International Association of Sommeliers, the National Association of Sommeliers and the Spanish Academy of Sommelier and Master Sommelier.

ESAH Sommelier Course

The sommelier course offered by the ESAH School is virtual and has a duration of 200 hours, to be taken at the time that best suits your schedule.

This course is based on learning about wine tasting, wine classifications, wine pairing, wine locations in Spain and the correct way to prepare a wine list.

People who have completed this course can work as sommelier, maître d’, wine taster or bartender.

Professional Sommelier Course – Alicante Chamber of Commerce

The Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation of Alicante offers a professional sommelier course.

This course offers theoretical and practical training on every essential aspect of wine and sommelier.

Regarding the training programme, it is aimed at people working in the hotel and catering sector, wine sales, producers or people who are passionate about wine.

The topics covered in this course are wine culture, nutrition, national and international wine tasting, oenology, viticulture, wine pairing, wine legislation and more.

EuroInnova – Free Sommelier Course

EuroInnova Business School offers a free sommelier course for all professionals who are part of the hospitality industry, sommeliers who wish to reinforce their knowledge, students of hospitality or wine enthusiasts.

This course focuses on teaching you everything related to wine tourism, the types of wines, their differences, how to distinguish them, tasting and pairing

International Sommelier Course

Finally, the Círculo del Vino Matritense offers an international sommelier course . This sommelier course is given in the classroom or blended mode and has a duration of 156 hours of instruction.

The content of this sommelier course covers tasting, national and international wines, oenology and the functional development of sommelier in the on-trade.

This course guarantees a good training to start applying in the working world as a sommelier, wine advisor, purchasing manager, wine taster or to start a business as a wine shop owner.

What does a sommelier do?

A sommelier is a professional who is in charge of managing all processes related to wines in a gastronomic establishment.

Among the functions of the sommelier is the elaboration of the wine list served in the restaurant and the pairing of each dish on the menu.

In terms of customer service, he/she makes recommendations of wines that enhance the flavours of the dishes ordered, uncorks and serves the wine in their glasses, following the rules of wine tasting.

Finally, in terms of inventory management, you must keep track of the wines in stock and replenish those that are out of stock, as well as making sure they are stored in the right conditions.

The emergence of your new profession

The figure of the sommelier was born several centuries ago, but had nowhere near the same functions as today.

During the Middle Ages, King Philip V had a person in charge of tasting his wine before he drank it. This protocol was carried out to prevent the King from being poisoned.

Nowadays, on the other hand, the sommelier is a person who advises diners to choose the wine that goes best with the dishes they have ordered.

Products to make you stand out

In addition to the wine, sommeliers need glasses to put into practice the knowledge they learnt in the sommelier courses.

In our Monouso online shop, you will find the glasses you need to carry out the tasting or to organise the pairing of dishes in a restaurant.

In our catalogue we offer you plastic glasses, which are difficult to distinguish from the typical crystal glasses.

Each of the glasses has a specific design for serving wine, water or champagne, and can be transparent or have coloured details that attract the consumer’s attention