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The Court of Master SommeliersSommelier · Study
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The official Court of Master Sommeliers learning portal for our students.

Our Sommelier book and our syllabus notes, made digital.

Prepared for Introductory and Certified candidates of the Court.

See what’s insideAbout the book

8 chapters · 112 sections to read · one book

What is it?

We have built a digital platform with AI that brings our latest Sommelier book together with our syllabus. It gives our candidates the tools to understand wine better and to prepare for the Certified Sommelier examination.

What is inside

Six tools, every one built on the Court’s own text. Each panel below is the real thing, not a picture of it.

Read the book

Every page of the book as an article. Read it chapter by chapter, exactly as printed.

112 sections
Pages 56 and 57 of the sixth edition — “Tasting step by step”, with the Court’s deductive assessment and a row of wines photographed to show colour and clarity.

PDF presentations

Every chapter as a presentation, marked to your level — Introductory and Certified, from our syllabus and the book merged together.

108 decks
A presentation page from the portal: Chapter 2, Sensory Evaluation — “How to Taste”, the Court’s crest, and the book page it is drawn from.

Pronunciation

Every wine term said out loud, in its own language. Easy to find, and easy to add your favourites.

1,985 words
Word cards from the pronunciation page: à la glace, à la volée, Abricot and Abruzzo, each with how it is said and the language it belongs to.

Quiz

Test yourself against the text, so you arrive at the exam ready. The questions come from our latest book.

490 questions
The full quiz on the portal: multiple choice, type-the-term and matching boards built from the book’s classifications and reference cards.

Glossary

Every term in the book, in one place.

146 terms
The glossary page: a search field, an A–Z filter, and the book’s own definitions of acetobacter, acidity and alcohol.

Maps

The wine regions — and we keep adding more.

30 regions
A map plate from the portal — the Court’s own drawing of where the vine grows, between the 30th and 50th parallels north and south.

Who it is for

  1. The Court’s Introductory pin: the sommelier’s head in silver on a red ground.

    Introductory

    Begin here. The book is the syllabus, and the slides mark exactly what is expected of you at this level.

    33 decks
  2. The Court’s Certified Sommelier pin: the sommelier’s head in silver, ringed in blue and lettered Certified Sommelier.

    Certified

    The heart of the portal. Every chapter, every term and every quiz is set for the Certified standard.

    33 decks
  3. The Court’s Advanced Sommelier pin: the sommelier’s head in gold and silver, ringed in green and lettered Advanced Sommelier.

    Advanced

    Come back to sharpen. Terms and pronunciation are the quickest things to lose, and the fastest to recover.

    1,985 words · 146 terms

The book, and the man who wrote it

Sommelier — formerly Sales & Service for the Wine Professional — is the work of Brian K Julyan, MS, and has run to six editions across four decades. It has been the handbook for sommeliers in training since 1988, and remains the text the Court teaches from.

The portal carries the sixth edition in full. The paperback is still published, and many candidates keep both — the book on the pass, the portal in the pocket.

More about the book
Brian K Julyan, MS
Brian K Julyan, MS

The same book, six times, across four decades.

  1. Edition 1, 19881988
  2. Edition 2, 20032003
  3. Edition 3, 20082008
  4. Edition 4, 20122012
  5. Edition 5, 20202020
  6. Edition 6, 20262026

Places open soon.

The portal is being prepared for its first candidates. When places open, the Court will say so — on its own channels, and here. There is nothing you need to do in the meantime.

Already hold a place? Sign in

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