South African Wine Steward Certificate

SOUTH AFRICAN WINE STEWARD CERTIFICATE 2026

Take your hospitality career to the next level!

 

Course information

If you’re excited about starting a career in the hospitality industry and aspire to be part of wine service, the Wine Steward Certificate is the perfect way to begin. This program utilizes classes and practical exercises to teach you about wine and how to serve it effectively. Upon completing the one-day course, you’ll feel more confident and skilled in your role, impressing your customers. Facilitated by professional sommeliers, this course provides extensive knowledge about wine and service, boosting your confidence to become a skilled wine steward on the floor. Additionally, this course prepares you for the SASA Foundational exam.

 

Course Pre-requisites

You don’t need to already know about wine before taking this course, as it’s covered in the program. However, having a basic understanding could be helpful. It’s good if you’ve worked with customers in places like restaurants, hotels, or other hospitality spots.

 

Syllabus

This course starts by talking a little about the history of wine all over the world. You’ll learn about growing grapes and the simple process of making wine. We’ll pay special attention to South Africa’s climate, the main types of wine they make, and the important types of grapes. This will help you feel confident when you talk to customers about local wines.

Next, we’ll talk about how you should act and behave when working in places like restaurants. We’ll even practice in pretend situations to make sure you understand. After that, you’ll learn how to open and serve wine the right way. We’ll also teach you some basic skills for tasting wine properly at work, including the theory of food pairing. The protocols of service used in the course will follow the internationally accepted ASI Guidelines (asi.info/education)

 

Outcome

After completing the training course, there will be a MCQ questionnaire to test the knowledge the students have gained. Those who pass the exam will get a printed diploma and a metal lapel pin to show off their accomplishment. This certification as a Wine Steward is an important step to sit the SASA Introductory Sommelier exam. Wine Steward certification is the first step to becoming a fully-fledged sommelier. The competencies validated by the Wine Steward certificate allow an experienced candidate to sit the SASA Foundational exam comfortably.

 

Price

R2990  for the full day at our Johannesburg or Cape Town campus and includes the final exam. Courses begin at 08.30am promptly and run until approximately 17.00pm – R2600 excl VAT

 

SOUTH AFRICAN WINE STEWARD CERTIFICATE CURRICULUM

One day course on campus

Session One

Introduction to the course and facilitator

Alcohol awareness

What is a wine steward?

Global wine industry

History of wine

Geography

Global trade expansion

History of wine in South Africa

Session Two

Why do we use grapes?

Fermentation equation

What is a climate?

Climatic influences

Climatic influences in South Africa

Warm vs Cool climates

The influence of climate on grapes

Wine making

White wine making

Red wine making

Session Three

Wine of origin scheme

Key wine regions of South Africa

Key grape varieties and their profiles

Where grapes grow ?

Session Four

Wine service

The 3E’s

Tools of the wine steward

Glassware

Session Five

Service practical

Recap of grape varieties to taste

Session Six

Wine Temperature

Storage temperatures

Service temperatures

Wine opening demonstrations

Opening still white wine

Opening still red wine

What is fizz in sparkling wine?

Opening sparkling wine

Why do we taste wine?

How do we taste wine?

Oak ageing of wine

Spitting is professional

Food pairing theory

Wine tasting method

Tutored wine tasting

Session Seven

Course recap

Final exam

 

 

T&C valid for the 2026 at our Cape Town Campus

Results available within 7 working days.

SASA Foundational Exam (optional) and membership fees must be settled directly with SASA

SASA exams are not available in Zimbabwe

However, ASI Exams and SAZ exams are organized by Sommeliers Association of Zimbabwe

Exam dates available on www.zimsomms.com and www.sommeliers.org.za