At SOMM, the evaluation of wine education programs is informed by a network of experienced professionals working across the wine trade. We refer to these contributors collectively as Sommelier Judges. They include educators, buyers, hospitality professionals, and industry veterans who bring practical insight into how wine education translates into real-world expertise.

SOMM is an editorial publication, not an accrediting authority. The role of Sommelier Judges is advisory: they help provide perspective on the evolving landscape of wine education, identify emerging programs, and offer informed feedback on the strengths and limitations of existing institutions.

Their contribution allows SOMM to ground its editorial coverage in the lived experience of people working within the industry.

What Sommelier Judges Do

Sommelier Judges participate in the review process in a limited advisory capacity. Their contributions may include:

• Providing feedback on trends and developments in wine education
• Identifying wine schools or training programs that merit review
• Offering professional insight into curriculum structure, instructional quality, and industry relevance
• Flagging emerging topics or changes within the wine profession
• Recommending experienced colleagues who may contribute additional perspectives

These contributions are periodic and voluntary. Judges are not asked to promote specific institutions, recruit students, or publicly represent SOMM. Their role is simply to provide informed professional perspective.

How Judges Are Selected

Sommelier Judges typically join the panel through recommendation. Nominations may come from existing contributors, educators, industry employers, or readers familiar with a professional’s work in wine education.

All nominations are reviewed by the SOMM editorial team. Selection is based primarily on professional experience, demonstrated judgment, and meaningful engagement with wine education or the wine trade.

The goal is to maintain a panel that reflects the diversity of the wine industry. Judges come from different regions, sectors, and career paths, allowing SOMM to consider wine education through multiple professional perspectives.

Participation is not permanent. Contributors remain involved as long as they continue to engage constructively with the review process.

Contributing Through the SOMM Platform

Sommelier Judges are provided with access to a dedicated contributor account within the SOMM platform. This allows them to:

• Submit observations about wine schools or certification programs
• Suggest updates or additions to existing listings
• Provide commentary on program structure or educational trends
• Participate in occasional structured feedback requests from the editorial team

The platform is designed to encourage thoughtful, substantive contributions rather than public scoring or competitive rankings.

A Trade-Informed Perspective

Wine education is unusually diverse. Programs vary widely in curriculum design, teaching philosophy, and professional focus. Because of this, no single framework captures the full picture of how training programs function within the industry.

The Sommelier Judges panel helps SOMM maintain an informed perspective on this landscape. Their contributions allow our editorial team to incorporate the experience of practitioners who regularly interact with wine education in restaurants, retail, distribution, and teaching.

The result is an evolving picture of the wine education ecosystem—one shaped by working professionals who understand how credentials translate into real-world skills.

Recommending a Sommelier Judge

The strength of the Sommelier Judges panel depends on the continued involvement of thoughtful professionals within the wine trade.

If you know a sommelier, educator, buyer, or wine professional whose judgment you trust—and who approaches wine education with curiosity and fairness—we welcome recommendations for future contributors.

Recommendations may be submitted to the SOMM editorial team for consideration.At SOMM, the work of evaluating wine education is deliberately collective. Our assessments of wine schools and professional programs are not driven by algorithms, advertising relationships, or institutional affiliations, but by a standing panel of approximately 100 Sommelier Judges drawn from across the wine trade. These judges—experienced educators, buyers, directors, and working professionals—volunteer their time to help us maintain a clear, informed view of the state of wine education in the United States.

Their role is not to police the industry or enforce a single model of training. It is to apply professional judgment, informed by lived experience, to questions of quality, rigor, transparency, and relevance.

What Sommelier Judges Do

Sommelier Judges serve in a voluntary advisory capacity. Each year, their contributions typically include:

• Providing structured feedback through an annual questionnaire addressing trends, gaps, and pressures within the wine profession
• Reviewing wine schools and professional education programs for inclusion or reassessment in the SOMM database
• Flagging emerging topics, methodologies, or regional developments in wine education
• Recommending new wine schools or programs that merit attention
• Nominating qualified peers from the wine trade to join the Sommelier Judges panel

These responsibilities are intentionally limited in scope and frequency. Judges are not asked to promote institutions, recruit students, or represent SOMM publicly. Their value lies in informed assessment, not visibility.

How Judges Are Selected

Becoming a Sommelier Judge begins with a recommendation from an existing judge or a trusted member of the wine trade. We also rely heavily on reader referrals—particularly from educators, employers, and working professionals who recognize thoughtful, fair-minded colleagues.

All nominees are reviewed internally by senior members of SOMM. Selection is based on professional experience, demonstrated judgment, and a record of engagement with wine education—not on titles alone. The goal is not homogeneity, but balance: judges with different backgrounds, markets, and career paths who can evaluate programs without ideological or institutional loyalty.

Appointment as a Sommelier Judge is selective, but not permanent. Continued participation depends on ongoing engagement and adherence to basic standards of independence and professionalism.

Using the SOMM Platform

Sommelier Judges are given access to a dedicated account within the SOMM platform. This allows them to:

• Review and rank wine schools and education providers
• Submit evaluations and commentary
• Propose additions or updates to existing listings
• Collaborate asynchronously with other judges

The platform is designed to facilitate quiet, substantive input rather than performative scoring. Judges are encouraged to be candid, precise, and restrained.

A Trade-Led Model

SOMM’s judging structure reflects a simple premise: the wine trade is best evaluated by people who work in it. Our judges are not paid, and they do not receive preferential treatment for their participation. That independence is intentional. It allows SOMM to function as a clearinghouse for informed professional opinion rather than an accrediting authority or marketing channel.

The result is an evolving, imperfect, but grounded picture of wine education—one shaped by practitioners who understand how credentials translate (or fail to translate) into real-world competence.

Recommending a Sommelier Judge

Sommelier Judges play a critical role not only in evaluating institutions, but in sustaining the panel itself. Judges and readers alike are encouraged to recommend colleagues whose experience, integrity, and perspective would strengthen the process.

If you know a sommelier, educator, buyer, or wine professional whose judgment you trust, and who would approach this work with care rather than an agenda. We invite you to recommend them for consideration.

Through the cumulative work of its Sommelier Judges, SOMM aims to provide the wine trade with something increasingly rare: informed, independent assessment of how—and how well—wine professionals are being trained.