Wine often feels complex- labels packed with unfamiliar terms, endless grape varieties, and unwritten rules around tasting and service. For many hospitality professionals and enthusiasts, this complexity becomes a barrier to confidence.
The Certified Wine Pro course by Sonal Holland Academy is designed to change that. In just one intensive day, the course equips learners with a clear, structured understanding of wine, allowing them to speak, serve, and recommend wine with confidence. As part of the Certified Beverage Professional bouquet, Certified Wine Pro offers the fastest, most practical entry into the world of wine.
What Is Certified Wine Professional?
Certified Wine Pro is a foundational wine education programme created for beginners and budding professionals who seek simplified knowledge of the subject that is often deemed complex.
Rather than overwhelming learners with technical jargon or academic depth, the course focuses on answering elementary yet important questions, such as:
- How wine is made.
- Why do wines taste the way they do?
- How to identify wine styles and grape varieties.
- How to serve, store, and talk about wine professionally.
The goal is simple: to help learners understand wine logically and confidently, without intimidation.
Who Is This Course Designed For?
Certified Wine Pro is ideal for:
- Hospitality students starting their careers.
- F&B service professionals handling wine lists and guest interactions.
- Restaurant managers and supervisors.
- Retail and beverage sales professionals.
- Wine-curious consumers seeking structured learning.
No prior wine education is required. Curiosity is the only prerequisite.
What the Certified Wine Professional Course Focuses On
The Certified Wine Pro curriculum breaks wine down into clear, logical building blocks, making it easy to understand and apply.
How Wine Is Made
Learners are introduced to the journey of wine from grape to glass. The course explains:
- Grape growing and harvesting.
- Key stages of winemaking.
- How production decisions influence flavour, body, and style.
This foundation helps learners understand why wines taste the way they do.
Types and Styles of Wine
The course clearly explains the major categories of wine, including:
- Red, white, rosé, sparkling, and sweet wines.
- Light-, medium-, and full-bodied styles.
- Dry versus sweet wines and how to identify them.
This makes navigating wine lists and shelves far more intuitive.
Grape Varieties
Learners are introduced to important grape varieties commonly encountered in hospitality and retail. The focus is on:
- Recognising key grapes.
- Understanding typical flavour profiles.
- Knowing what guests can expect from different varieties.
The emphasis remains on practical recognition, not memorisation.
Wine Service and Storage
Proper wine service is essential to the guest experience. The course covers:
- Fundamental wine service guidelines.
- Glassware and serving temperatures.
- Correct wine storage and handling.
These skills are especially valuable for front-of-house professionals.
Food and Wine Pairing
Certified Wine Pro introduces essential food and wine pairing principles, helping learners:
- Understand the balance between food and wine.
- Make confident pairing recommendations.
- Avoid common pairing mistakes.
This directly enhances guest satisfaction and ensures customer loyalty.
How to Taste Wine
The course also teaches learners how to taste wine systematically. Through guided tastings, participants learn to:
- Identify aromas, flavours, and structure.
- Describe wine clearly and objectively.
- Build confidence in sensory evaluation.
Learning Through Guided Tasting
As part of the Certified Beverage Professional programme, learners participate in guided tastings of six wines, helping them put theoretical knowledge into practice and ensuring higher knowledge retention and better understanding of the subject.
Where Certified Wine Professional Fits In
Certified Wine Professional forms a crucial part of the Certified Beverage Professional pathway. It builds strong wine fundamentals while preparing learners to:
- Communicate confidently across beverage categories.
- Improve service quality and upselling.
- Progress to deeper specialisation in wine or broader beverage education.
For anyone stepping into the beverage world, Certified Wine Professional ensures that wine- the most impressive beverage category-is no longer intimidating, but empowering.
Click here to explore more about the Certified Beverage Professional course.
Next in the series: Certified Beer Professional, where we explore brewing fundamentals, beer styles, and how to talk about beer with the same confidence as wine.
