SWE offers an instructor-led online prep class as well as a range of other educational activities and resources for CSW Candidates. Some of these are listed below:
The 2024 CSW Study Guide: The 320-page Certified Specialist of Wine Study Guide covers all of the information needed to prepare for and pass the CSW Certification exam. This full-color, paperback textbook includes chapters on wine chemistry and faults, grape varieties and viticulture, wine service and the sensory evaluation of wine, as well as information on the grapes, regions, wines, and history of the world’s leading wine regions. The study guide is fully illustrated with over 40 up-to-date maps of the leading wine-producing regions of the world. The cost is $49. The 2024 CSW Study Guide may be purchased via Amazon.com.
CSW Workbook: We offer a 180-page CSW workbook, complete with over 2,700 exercises designed to help you understand, apply, and remember the information in the CSW Study Guide. The workbook is aligned, chapter-by-chapter, with the CSW Study Guide and contains fill-in-the-blank exercises, matching exercises, map exercises, and hundreds of sample multiple-choice questions to finish out each module. The CSW workbook is available ivia Amazon.com in paperback, and the cost is $39.
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The Insider’s Guide to the CSW Exam: Offered at least once a month, this webinar will cover all aspects of the CSW, including what the test covers, how difficult the test is, what type of questions to expect, the resources available to students, and how long SWE recommends for study before sitting the exam. This one-hour session is led by Jane A. Nickles, CSS, CWE (SWE’s Director of Education and Certification). The webinar is offered free-of-charge and available to the public. You will have a chance to ask any and all questions about the CSW – she’ll answer just about any questions save for “what are the answers?” Click here for the latest webinar schedule which includes listings for the Insider’s Guide to the CSW Exam.
Online Prep Classes: Several times a year, SWE offers instructor-led, 16-module online CSW Prep classes. These classes are available free-of-charge to Professional Members of SWE who are currently seeking the CSW certification (one class per exam credit). These classes include weekly Study Guide and workbook assignments, “wines of the week,” opportunities for further learning, weekly check-out quizzes, and lively interactions via a course Facebook Page. Click here for more information on the CSW prep classes.
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Practice Tests and Quizzes: A suite of online practice tests and quizzes, based on the entirety of the CSW Study Guide and Workbook and ideal for use near the end of your studies, may be found at this link (click on “Course Catalog” for more information and purchase). Please note that the website for the practice tests and quizzes is a different website than the SWE main site and will require a separate login. Note: be sure and select the version of the tests, quizzes, and/or flashcards that corresponds with the edition of the study guide that you are using.
Testing Centers: CSW exams are available throughout the world, by appointment, at Pearson Vue Professional Centers. Within a few days of purchase of the CSW Exam credit, you will receive an email with an authorization code from Pearson Vue Testing Centers. The authorization code will allow you to make an appointment and sit the exam at a Pearson Vue Professional Center at the time and place of your choosing. Authorization codes are good for one year. Click here for more information about SWE testing at Pearson Vue Centers.
Online Proctoring: CSW exams are available via online proctoring for those that prefer to take their exam in the comfort of their home or office. Please contact the SWE Home Office if you would like to schedule an online proctored exam.
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Flashcards and Wine Map Exercises: We offer a suite of online (digital) flashcards—over 800 in total—based on the CSW Study Guide, available on this platform: https://swecourseportal.societyofwineeducators.org/#/public-dashboard. In addition, the same site features a set of wine map exercises. The wine map exercises include over 600 graphic flashcards featuring our wine maps as well as more than 20 wine map “drag and drop” exercises. Please note that the website for the practice tests and quizzes (as well as the flashcard and map exercises) is a different website than the SWE main site and will require a separate login.
Wine Maps: The wine maps included in the CSW Study Guide are available for download on the membership portal of the SWE website. Candidates are encouraged to print out full-page copies of the maps and mark them up to their hearts’ content as a method of active study. These maps may also be used to study digitally on either a desktop or a mobile device.
Monthly webinars: We offer monthly webinars, scheduled at several different days and times throughout the month, are based on the CSW Study Guide and associated topics (we also offer sessions for those studying the CSS, CSE, and CWE). Click here for more information on these webinars, as well as the schedule.
Wine World Updates: As the world or wine is constantly changing, we maintain a “Study Guide Update” page in order to announce any changes to the world of wine since the publication of each Study Guide. While this material will NOT be included in a CSW certification exam until it is published in the next edition of the Study Guide, this information is provided for both candidates and the general public as a way of keeping current. These updates are published to this blog as they occur; in addition, a running list may be found on the membership portal of the SWE website.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact SWE’s Director of Education at: jnickles@societyofwineeducators.org
Good luck with your studies!