Sommeliers Academy - Junior Sommelier Course

The curriculum, in line with ASI published international standards, covers the elements of wine service that any hospitality professional in that role would be expected to handle comfortably. It is intended to be a natural progression for any Wine Ambassador wishing to develop their skills. A total of four days is required to complete the certification with 3 days of training and the 4th day reserved for the exam, organised by SASA.

Course Pre-requisites

Students are required to have obtained at least equivalent to Level 2 WSET for international wines and CWA Certificate for South Africa wines. We strongly recommend the Sommeliers Academy South African & International Wines Level 2 that has been designed for the SASA Junior Sommelier competencies. Candidates should have at least some practical experience in wine service in the hospitality industry. We advise personal study before attending this course.

Syllabus

• Introduction & Course Aims
• History & Purpose of Sommellerie
• Service preparation & Setup (glassware, stock, etc.)
• Wine service (tray service, bottle service, presentation, decanting, equipment, wine list etc.)
• Customer service (service étiquette, recommandation, complaints, interaction attitude, etc.)
• Product training (faults, tasting, food and beverage combinations, etc.)

Outcome

After three days of intense training and practical exercises, the student can sit for the examination organized by SASA at least twice a year. The SASA Junior Sommelier exam is divided into two parts:

• Theoretical examination with multiple choice questions on basic wine knowledge not covered in SASA’s Junior Sommelier course, together with hospitality questions covered in the course.
• Practical scenario where the students will be asked to show their ability to handle complex wine service and communicate clearly and accurately with any guest in a hospitality context.

The pass mark for each module is 60%. SASA Junior Sommelier Certification is the path toward becoming a SASA Certified Sommelier & ASI Certification 2. Register & check dates with SASA on sommeliers.org.za. Successful candidates will receive the official SASA sommelier lapel pin.

Cost

R8500 (R7391.30 excluding VAT) for the full 3 days of training, excluding the SASA examination fee and membership. We supply all the material for the course, including the SASA student wordbook and the Sommeliers Academy Wines of the World e-book to help you prepare for the theory part of the exam.