Wine Steward

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 Introductory Sommelier 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 Introductory Sommelier exam comfortably.

Price

R2790 (R2426.09 excl VAT) 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.
Harare Campus course fee is USD175

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
• Oak ageing of wine
• Food pairing theory

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
• Mise-en-place
• 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?
• Spitting is professional
• Wine tasting method
• Tutored wine tasting

Session Seven

• Course recap
• Final exam

T&C valid for the 2025 at our Cape Town Campus

Results available within 7 working days.

SASA Introductory Sommelier Exam and membership fees must be settled directly with SASA

 if the students want to sit the SASA exam. SASA exams are not available in Zimbabwe

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

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