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Sommeliers are the wine experts who guide guests and run a restaurant's wine program — a hospitality career built on knowledge, palate, and certifications, not a four-year degree. Here's the roadmap, with the Arizona training, certifications, and where the work is.
Where to learn in Arizona
Study wine and build your palate while working the floor at a wine-focused restaurant — Scottsdale and Phoenix have strong fine-dining and resort wine programs. You can also taste and learn in Arizona's own wine country across the Sonoita, Willcox, and Verde Valley regions.
Credentials in Arizona
There's no state sommelier license — you must be 21+, and certifications from the Court of Master Sommeliers or WSET are the credential. You climb from Intro and Certified up through Advanced and Master via blind tasting, theory, and service exams.
Where the Arizona work is
Arizona is a real and growing wine state — the Sonoita AVA (its first), the Willcox AVA (most of the state's wine grapes), and the Verde Valley wine trail, plus Scottsdale and Phoenix fine dining, resorts, and wine retail and distribution. Experience plus certification grows you into a head sommelier or wine director.
Ready to start? Browse live Arizona opportunities — internships, training programs, and scholarships across the state.
Certifications plus floor experience are the credential — not a degree
Wine work rewards a trained palate and real service, not a diploma. Study regions and pairing, work the floor at a wine-focused restaurant, and climb the Court of Master Sommeliers or WSET ladder through tasting, theory, and service exams. Experience plus certification grows you into a head sommelier or wine director — with the Master Sommelier as the rare pinnacle.
Keep going: see whether a hospitality degree is worth it, compare becoming a bartender, and check if it will pay off.