Sommelier Society of America

History of the Sommelier Society of America

The Sommelier Society of America (SSA) is the nation’s oldest wine-teaching organization and seeks to create a vital wine society for industry professionals and interested consumers. The school was founded in 1954 by a group of Manhattan restaurant workers. At the time, interest in European wines was growing rapidly in American dining rooms following World War II, and there was a lack of formal wine education for the professionals serving them. In the early years, the group met at the 21 Club, the storied Manhattan restaurant that opened in 1930 as a speakeasy. [Note: the 21 Club’s founders opened their first operation, The Red Head, in Greenwich Village in 1922, before moving through several locations and finally landing at 21 West 52nd Street in 1930.] The 21 Club closed permanently in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Robert Gourdin

Robert Gourdin, a wine professional at the 21 Club, is considered the founding member of the society. He also founded Les Amis du Vin in the early 1960s. The SSA was initially organized into chapters that spanned the United States and structured as a membership organization — with enrollment extended by professional recommendation, reinforcing its identity as a trade guild rather than a general education course. The Washington, D.C. chapter was of particular note, with nearly 200 members, and was cited by the Washington Post numerous times in the 1980s when it was considered the best wine school in America.

In 1960, the Society formalized its educational offering as the Wine Captain’s Seminar, a structured multi-session program for restaurant professionals that combined lecture, guided tastings, and a final blind-tasting examination. By the early 1980s, the Seminar had expanded to include consumers, reflecting growing public interest in formal wine education.

By the 1990s, the SSA was publishing in the major wine trade magazine of that time, Santé: The Magazine for Restaurant Professionals. Dan Perlman wrote the articles. He is now the co-owner of Casa SaltShaker, a celebrated closed-door restaurant in Buenos Aires, where he operates as chef, sommelier, and food and wine writer.

The Sommelier Society of America Today

Since 1999, Robert Ross Moody has been the Chairman of the Sommelier Society of America. Before that, he had been a wine instructor for 11 years. His work also included consulting at Duggan’s Distillers and Campari USA. During his tenure, regional chapters were folded and consolidated to headquarters in New York City. Two unpaid co-chairmen, R. Scott Lissner and E.W. De Echeverria, share governance responsibilities alongside Moody. Day-to-day operations are managed by Carrie Puchkoff, Director of Operations, and Meghan DiLillo, Program Director. 

In addition, from 2014 to 2016, Christian Gourdin, grandson of SSA founder Robert Gourdin, taught at the Society, extending the founding family’s connection into the modern era.

At this time, the SSA began losing influence to the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS), a credentialing body with British origins that established an American chapter in 1986. Both programs were once well-known nationally, with SSA losing market share as CMS grew rapidly in the luxury hospitality sector.

Today, the society’s impact is mostly felt in the NYC metropolitan region. Notable alumni include Andrea Robinson (known professionally as Andrea Immer), who in 1997 became the first woman named the SSA’s best sommelier in the United States, and who has since earned three James Beard Awards. More recent graduates include Ami Opisso of Lieb Cellars and Jessica Green of Down the Rabbit Hole wine shop, both fixtures in the Long Island wine scene.

SSA Certificate Course

SSA offers wine education classes, sommelier certification, tastings, and professional consultation services. The certificate course is a 21-week program, offered twice yearly in fall and spring sessions, meeting once weekly on Tuesday evenings in Midtown Manhattan. The curriculum covers all major wine regions alongside the business and service of wine, with tastings of more than 90 benchmark wines. A remote option is available for regular coursework; the final examination, which includes a written portion and a blind-tasting component, must be taken in person. Tuition is $3,250, with an installment option available.

The SSA is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization, the same IRS classification as a business league or chamber of commerce, and has held tax-exempt status since December 1958. Donations are not tax-deductible. According to IRS filings reviewed through ProPublica, the organization derives 100 percent of its revenue from program services (tuition), carries no debt, and reports no executive compensation. Revenue has grown from approximately $65,000 in fiscal year 2021 to $258,000 in fiscal year 2025, a roughly fourfold increase over four years.

SSA Reviews

The Sommelier Society of America offers a certification course that has received mixed reviews. While some students praise the program for its diverse tasting opportunities and experienced instructors, others have reported frustrations with administrative staff and disputes over retest fees. The course is noted for its challenging curriculum (attrition before the final exam is common) and for its relative affordability compared to competing programs. The SSA’s certification carries strongest recognition within New York City hospitality networks; its national footprint and industry standing have diminished considerably since the organization’s peak in the 1980s.