Dude’s been dabbling in the art of interpreting website traffic results, and noticed in the process that lots of folks are finding the 1WineDude blog while searching for advice on the CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine) exam.

Well, Dude has passed this exam and he is here to help!

I’ve written before on this topic, offering CSW exam advice based on how I nearly totally screwed myself on the exam due to my poor prep. work. So I thought I’d offer some advice about the exam itself (without giving you any actual questions, of course… shame on you for thinking that!). I’m assuming that most of you out there contemplating the CSW are already wine lovers, or industry types who have opportunity to taste wine, and so you’re probably already cool with wine varietal taste profiles and the like. That’s good – because the exam will test you on your knowledge of those elements. But what else do you need to be an ‘A’ student? Cue the Sam Cooke tunes…

Don’t Know Much About History…
There’s a surprising amount of wine history that is fair game for inclusion on the exam. Unfortunately, this means that you will need to know some fairly obscure facts about wine-related names and dates. Concentrate on the people who were the “founding fathers” of modern wine cultivation and/or wine production in today’s major wine-producing areas (South Africa, California, etc.). Look at it this way: if nothing else, it’s an opportunity to impress party-goers at your next wine gathering, or get a leg up in a wine trivia drinking game.

Don’t Know Much About Geography…
You will need to be very comfortable with geography in order to do well on the exam. And because the Society of Wine Educators (SWE, who administer the exam) are based in the U.S., the CSW seemed to me to favor California geography questions over “Old World” (France, Germany, Italy) geography questions. You will need to know your CA wine geography. Having said that, remember that obscure the “Old World” geography questions are fair game, and other questions about varietals, styles, etc., are sometimes phrased in terms of geography (e.g., “a famous wine from the southern area of country X is…”).

Don’t Know Much About a Science Book…
The most surprising aspect of the CSW exam, at least for me, was the healthy concentration of wine chemistry questions. Dude didn’t much care for Chemistry class when he was in high school, but he found the chemistry material in the on-line SWE Wine Academy to be fascinating. Good thing, too, because there will almost certainly be wine chemistry questions waiting for you on exam day (as there were for me). Some areas where it may help to concentrate your study time: Bacteria and wine faults, chemical composition of wine (both in the raw materials like grapes & skins, and in the finished product), and the uses of chemicals like sulfites in viniculture.

I hope this was a useful list for all of you CSW hopefuls out there. You can always contact the Dude if you’re looking for more advice. Good luck – and don’t forget your #2 pencils.

Cheers!