6 Crucial Strategies to Help You Pass the Certified Specialist of Wine Exam

Are you thinking of becoming a Certified Specialist of Wine?

I would encourage anyone who wants to get professionally involved with wine to become a CSW.  It is an excellent way to boost your resume and set you on the path to wine professional.  It can clarify what aspect of the wine industry is right for you and help open those doors.

The CSW self-study course is a major undertaking.  The textbook covers a myriad of topics including chemistry, viticulture, wine production throughout all major wine regions, wine laws, and the physiology of tasting and service, to name a few.

Following your enrollment date, you have one year in which to take the test.

The exam is 100 multiple choice questions and does not involve wine tasting.  This allows for the convenience of using testing centers located in every major U.S. city and worldwide so (hopefully) you don’t have to travel far.

But let me be clear – convenience does not equal ease.

The test is hard.

The pass rate for first-time test takers is approximately 50%.

If that gives you pause, I totally understand.  I felt the same way, but I did it and so can you. Having recently gone through the process, I would like to share six crucial strategies I believe will help you succeed in passing the exam and becoming a Certified Specialist of Wine!

Strategy No. 1 – Become a Member of the Society of Wine Educators

The Society of Wine Educators (SWE) is the certifying organization for the exam.  Professional membership is $135.00 per year and is very valuable for those individuals seeking certification.  The benefits are well worth the fee and include discounts on the exam and study materials, access to the online academy, two trial exams and the ability to participate in a prep course

You will be automatically subscribed to the SWE Newsletter and invited to the annual conference and other seminars.

The alternative is to independently purchase the exam and study materials, then pursue your studies with very little support.  I would not recommend this course of action.

Strategy No. 2 – Attend the Online Prep Course

The online prep course is a 12 week class designed to help you pass the exam by supplementing your self-study.  And it seems to work – those who complete the course pass the exam at a rate over 80%  I’ll be honest: I didn’t take the prep course.  However, I really wish I had.  I think it would have saved me a lot of time and frustration, and I undoubtedly would have taken the test much sooner.  If you’ve been out of a school environment for a while (as I was), consider taking advantage of this structured study time.

Strategy No. 3 – Utilize the SWE Online Academy and Take the CSW Trial Exams

Frankly, the online academy leaves a bit to be desired.  Unfortunate misspellings are scattered throughout and the quizzes can be buggy.  It’s still a decent study aid though – the content provides an overview of the textbook, which can be helpful during general review.

The two trial exams are more useful.  They follow the format of the actual exam, which lets you get accustomed to what the real deal will feel like when test day arrives.

Strategy No. 4 – Buy the Workbook and the Kindle Book

Both the workbook and the Kindle book are optional but in my opinion invaluable.

The workbook is an awesome study tool and I don’t think I would have passed without it.  It contains exercises taken straight from the textbook material as well as comprehensive end-of-chapter quizzes.  The map exercises are especially helpful.

I suggest purchasing clear page sleeves and a dry erase sharpie so you can do the exercises and quizzes over and over again.

You can purchase the workbook when you buy the test and the textbook.

The Kindle book is available on Amazon or iTunes.  I downloaded the Kindle app on my phone so I could have the book at my fingertips wherever I went.  I read it in the waiting room at doctor appointments, in line at the grocery store and when I was out wine tasting.  I also used it quite often to validate my answers to questions posed by friends and family (I use it for this reason to this day).

Strategy No. 5 – Study Smarter Not Harder

It took me a while to get into the study groove.  I made flashcards, created outlines and traced maps – all while consulting the textbook, workbook and online academy.

It was study overload and I felt overwhelmed.

After trying to do everything, I finally found a practical course of action that helped me retain the mass amount of knowledge being thrown at me.

I created an outline of each chapter as I was reading it.  Then I completed the workbook exercises aided by the textbook, took the quiz at the end of each section and anything that still wasn’t clear to me became a flashcard.  Then I took the corresponding SWE Online Academy class.

When it came time to learn the wine regions of the world, I printed the maps available on the SWE blog, spent time coloring the different appellations in each map and used the map exercises in the workbook to really get to know a place.

It took about five months to make my way through the textbook using this method, and at the end I felt I had a firm grasp of the material.

What worked for me might not work for you, so give yourself some time to figure it out.  And once again, I highly recommend taking the prep class!

*Bonus Strategy: Don’t forget that anything and everything in the textbook is fair game on the exam, so don’t forget to include the information from the keys and sidebars in your studies.

Strategy No. 6 – Don’t Lose Sight of Your “Why”

Why do you want to become a Certified Specialist of Wine?

Write down your reason and post it strategically, somewhere you can see it while you are studying.

The truth is that the path to becoming a CSW won’t be easy.  Self-study will challenge you.  Some days you won’t want to do it and you’ll need a nudge.  Let your reason become your mantra and use it to stay focused.

Also, please keep in mind that a challenging experience doesn’t have to be a negative experience.  On the contrary! I thoroughly enjoyed studying.  There was rarely a day where I didn’t learn something new and I found that to be very exciting!

Are you ready to get started?

By implementing the six strategies above, you will have the tools you need to tackle the Certified Specialist of Wine course material and ROCK the exam.  Success lies ahead my friend.

Good luck!