The Society of Wine Educators offers online prep classes for the Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) and Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Exams. Our CSW and CSS prep courses offer comprehensive exam preparation for $150. However, if you’re a member of SWE with an active exam credit, you’re in luck! The course is FREE for first-time takers. Please note, this offer is valid only for initial course access. Should you wish to retake the course, the standard fee of $150 will apply. The current Study Guide and Workbook for each exam are used as course textbooks. See below for more specific information on each course:
The Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) Online Prep Class:
SWE offers a guided online CSW Prep Course, free of charge, to individual Professional Members of SWE who have a current CSW Exam Credit. The course is offered several times a year and is led by our Director of Education, Jane A. Nickles, CSE, CWE. The Online CSW Prep Class is a guided, instructor-led course intended to prepare you – as much as humanly possible – for a successful sitting of the CSW Exam.
The CSW Prep class consists of 16 modules (each lasting one week). Each module’s activities include a live, interactive webinar (available as a live session and as a recording), study guide reading assignments, workbook assignments, a suggested “wine of the week” for tasting and in-depth study, carefully curated links for further learning, videos, and a weekly “check-out” quiz intended to help you recap and contextualize the week’s materials. We also have a class forum and learning community via a Facebook group that is used for questions, comments, updates and networking.
CSW Prep Classes do tend to fill up – in order to get a spot, you should plan on requesting a spot as soon as you have purchased your CSW Exam credit. We are currently taking reservations for the CSW online prep class that begins the week of January 12, 2025 (with the orientation webinar scheduled for 10:00 am central time on Monday, January 13). In addition, we are offering a future class that will begin the week of June 22, 2025 (with the orientation webinar scheduled for 10:00 am central time on Monday, June 23). All webinars to accompany these classes will be held on Mondays (at 10:00 am central time). Recorded versions of the webinars will be posted after the “live” sessions are completed. Please note that for members of SWE, one (16-week) session of the CSW online prep class is included in the cost of the CSW exam.
To register for an online prep class, please contact Jane Nickles at jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org
The Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) Online Prep Class:
SWE offers an online CSS Prep Course, free of charge, to individual Professional Members of SWE who have a current CSS Exam Credit. The Online CSS Prep Class is a guided, 12-module course intended to prepare you – as much as humanly possible – for a successful sitting of the CSS Exam. The course is offered several times a year and is led by our Director of Education, Jane A. Nickles, CSE, CWE.
The CSS Prep class consists of 12 modules (each lasting one week). Each module’s activities consists of a live, interactive webinar (available as a live session and as a recording), study guide reading assignments, a “spirit of the week” for tasting and in-depth study, carefully curated links for further learning, and a weekly check-out quiz intended to help you recap and contextualize the week’s materials. We also have a class forum and learning community via a class Facebook page that may be used for questions, comments, updates and networking. We are currently taking reservations for the CSS Online Prep Class that will begin the week of February 2, 2025 (with the orientation webinar scheduled for 10:00 am central time on Tuesday, February 4) We are also offering a future class to begin the week of July 6, 2025 (with the orientation webinar scheduled for 10:00 am central time on Tuesday, July 8.). All of the live, online webinars that are offered as a part of these classes will be held on Tuesdays (at 10:00 am central time); each webinar lasts anywhere from one to one-and-a-half hours). Recorded versions of the webinars will be posted after the “live” sessions are completed. Please note that for members of SWE, one (12-week) session of the CSS online prep class is included in the cost of the CSS exam.
To request a spot in an online test prep class, please contact Jane Nickles at jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org
CWE Students – and CWEs!
We also host Facebook Groups for Professional Members of SWE who are studying for the CWE or for current CWEs who would like to continue their studies. These groups offer frequent updates on the world of wine, networking, and discussions. Contact Jane Nickles for more information: jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org
