Sales & Service for the Wine Professional: how to study the Court's book

If you book a course with the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe, one book comes up again and again: Sales & Service for the Wine Professional by Brian K. Julyan, MS. It is the handbook the Court teaches from, and the Court's course materials are written to go with it.

In 2026 the sixth edition came out under a new title: Sommelier. Same author, same purpose, updated maps and content. If you are searching for the old title, this is the book.

Where I stand: I work with the Court of Master Sommeliers. SOMM DIGI builds and runs the Court's online Learning Portal, which includes the book in digital form. The study advice below is my own, as an Advanced Sommelier who studied from this book. It is not an official Court guide.

Six editions, four decades

• 1988, first edition: Beverage Sales & Service
• 2003, second edition: retitled Sales & Service for the Wine Professional
• 2008, third edition
• 2012, fourth edition
• 2020, fifth edition
• 2026, sixth edition: retitled Sommelier

Already own the fifth edition? Ask the Court which edition your course uses before you buy again. Service and the classic regions don't change much between editions; maps, laws and new appellations do.

What is inside: eight chapters

• Viticulture & Vinification: the vine, the vineyard and how wine is made.
• Sensory Evaluation: the Court's deductive tasting method.
• Wine Regions of the World: the classic regions, country by country.
• Fortified Wines: Sherry, Port and Madeira.
• Spirits, Liqueurs, Beers & Minerals: everything else on the drinks list.
• Taking Beverage Orders: presenting the list, pairing, guiding the guest.
• Table & Bar Service: glassware, temperature, decanting, opening bottles, handling faults.
• Standard Practices & Behaviour: how a professional sommelier works.

How I would study it for the Introductory

• Start with Wine Regions of the World. Most theory questions are about regions, grapes and styles. Learn the classic ones first: France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
• Then Viticulture & Vinification. Know the main steps of winemaking and the key terms: malolactic conversion, carbonic maceration, chaptalization, botrytis, phylloxera.
• Read Table & Bar Service before the course. In Europe the Introductory includes a short service test, and this chapter is your script for it.
• Skim the rest: fortified wines, spirits and beer each bring a few questions.

Then test yourself. My Level 1 Sommelier Practice Test has 40 questions with answers on exactly these topics.

How I would study it for the Certified

• Read the whole book, not only the regions. The Certified examines theory, blind tasting and service, and the book covers all three.
• Sensory Evaluation is your tasting manual. Practise the deductive method out loud, the same way every time, until it is automatic.
• Taking Beverage Orders and Table & Bar Service are your service exam. Rehearse sparkling wine service and decanting at home with a real bottle, a towel and a timer.
• Go deeper on regions: classifications, label terms and the key appellations within each region.

Study tips that worked for me

• Read one chapter, then write ten questions about it from memory. Writing questions teaches more than rereading.
• Keep a map open while you read about any region. Rivers and neighbours are how regions stick.
• Read the service chapters standing up, with the tools in your hands.
• Don't learn it only for the exam. You will use every chapter on the floor.

Where to get the book

The Court sells the paperback of the sixth edition in its own shop, and its online Learning Portal has the book in digital form with study tools. See the Court's shop and the book's page on the Learning Portal.

Questions people ask