How to Prepare in 30 Days
How to Prepare in 30 Days
Section titled “How to Prepare in 30 Days”
Thirty days is enough time to arrive at the Introductory course genuinely ready — but only if you treat it as a build, not a cram. The trap is trying to learn everything in the final week. A month works when you spread short, consistent sessions across it and rotate through all three skills, so that theory, tasting, and service grow together instead of leaving one dangerously behind. What follows is a week-by-week arc you can adapt to your schedule.
Week 1: Build the map
Section titled “Week 1: Build the map”Spend the first week laying down the geography of wine in outline. Sketch the classic regions of France, then Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany, and finish with the major New World countries. For each region, capture only four things: location and climate, primary grapes, classic style, and a food pairing. Keep it broad and shallow — you are drawing the frame, not filling it.
Week 2: Grapes, styles, and the climate logic
Section titled “Week 2: Grapes, styles, and the climate logic”Now connect the map to the glass. Learn the fingerprints of the core grapes — Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot — and the single idea that cool climates give higher acid and lighter body while warm climates give riper fruit and fuller body. By the end of the week you should be able to hear a grape and a climate and predict the style out loud.
Week 3: Tasting discipline and service mechanics
Section titled “Week 3: Tasting discipline and service mechanics”This is the week to get physical. Begin tasting on a schedule using the deductive order — sight, nose, palate, conclusion — and describe structure, not just flavors. In parallel, rehearse the service basics: presenting a bottle, opening it quietly, pouring from the right in the correct order. Both skills only improve through repetition, so short daily reps beat one long session.
| Week | Primary focus | Daily habit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regional map | One region sketched and spoken aloud |
| 2 | Grapes and climate | Predict a style from grape + climate |
| 3 | Tasting + service | One deductive taste; one service rep |
| 4 | Integration + review | Timed mixed drills; fix weak spots |
Week 4: Integrate and pressure-test
Section titled “Week 4: Integrate and pressure-test”The final week is not for new material. It is for pulling the three skills together and finding cracks under mild pressure. Mix your drills: describe a region, then predict a grape’s style, then run a bottle through the deductive grid, then talk a mock guest through a pour. Whatever falls apart is your last-week priority. Revisit it, then confirm current exam format, timing, and logistics against the official Court pages, since those details change.
Make it stick
Section titled “Make it stick”A few principles keep a 30-day plan from collapsing. Study aloud, because speaking exposes gaps that silent reading hides. Keep sessions short and frequent rather than long and rare. Log one correction after every session so the next one has a target. And protect breadth — resist the urge to over-study a favorite region while neglecting the rest. Consistency across the month, not intensity in the final days, is what carries you in ready.