I was recently asked to expound on the relative advantages/disadvantages to the Society of Wine Educators (SWE) credentials as compared to the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) certifications. The inquiry came from someone whose purpose to wine education was more professional than personal. As others may have similar questions, I have chosen to answer the question in a more public forum than a reply e-mail.

For those of you unfamiliar with the two organizations and their respective certifications, an overview is in order. The Society of Wine Educators is a volunteer organization, based in the U.S., but with members throughout the world. Membership is open to both novices and professionals. SWE presents an annual conference, several additional educational programs and presently administers two credentialing programs. The first level credential is the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), which is earned by successfully passing (75% or higher) a 100-question multiple-choice exam. The Certified Wine Educator (CWE) is much more rigourous, entailing multiple-choice questions, an essay question and two blind tasting exercises (one on identifiying varietals and the other on identifying faults).

The WSET is a non-profit organization based in London, England, which adminsters a number of educational programs, worldwide, primarily focused on wine, but also inclusive of spirits (hence, the S in the title). Its programs are open to novices and professionals, but are primarily intended for professionals, particularly at the higher levels. To that end, coursework and content focus on trade and industry issues as part of the curriculum. In addition, the Diploma program serves as a prerequisite to those interested in pursuing the Master of Wine (MW) credential, which is administered by the Institute of Masters of Wine. The largest U.S-based WSET program is offered by the International Wine Center in New York, NY, where I take my classes.

The advantage to the WSET programs is that, if you live near an approved program provider, you can participate in a traditional class. Students have the opportunity to taste 6 wines per class and are instructed by credentialed wine educators. If you are not near a provider or if you can’t commit to traveling to one (IWC does offer condensed format programs for those traveling to NYC), you will need to complete your program as a home study student, traveling to a provider only to sit for your exam(s).

SWE does not offer any formal classes to prepare for its certifications, so one needs to be more disciplined in their preparation. A Study Guide is available for the CSW; a list of recommended books is available for the CWE, along with some helpful hints from previous exam takers. Exams are offered throughout the year in various cities and at conference; a schedule is posted annually. My understanding is that the CSW must be successfully completed before one can sit for the CWE, which is a change from the past.

A disadvantage to the WSET program is that the WSET does not appear to offer any programming outside of its formal classes within the U.S. There are occasional events in London available to students. SWE has its annual conference, which provides additional educational opportunities as well as a venue for networking.

Since students generally participate in an 8-week or 15-week WSET program, inclusive of materials, study guides and wines, the tuition for the WSET program can get expensive, especially at the Diploma level. In contrast, the only expense associated with SWE credentials is each exam’s registration fee.

Of course, scheduling issues and tuition expenses are not the real reasons to choose one program over another.  The learning experience should be the more important emphasis. I don’t think that the credentials are fully analogous, so it is difficult to compare apples with apples. The WSET Foundation Certificate is the most basic level, but doesn’t seem to be offered much in the U.S. Its Intermediate Certificate is a good place to start. The CSW is more challenging than Intermediate, but less so than Advanced Certificate. The CWE is more rigorous than Advanced Certificate, but less so than Diploma.

For those in restaurants or other, more-service oriented facets of the wine industry, the sommelier programs might be more suitable as they cover wine content, along with related service elements. This track leads to the Master Sommelier (MS) credential, which, like the MW, is extremely rigorous and challenging and achieved by only a few hardy souls.

Consequently, one’s choice of credentials is less cut and dried than simply deciding whether to SWE or WSET. Both organizations are well regarded and offer quality programs. For me, the choice was simple, both. I will take my Unit 6 exam for WSET Diploma on November 7 in New York and will hop on Amtrak to take the CWE exam in Boston on the following day. Assuming that I am successful on both exams, I will be left with two papers to complete for the Diploma. I then plan to take a break from formal wine study while I contemplate whether or not to pursue the MW. Of course, regardless of whether I pursue additional credentials or programs, I will never stop learning about wine.