The Court of Master Sommeliers has four levels.
- level 1 — an introductory course covering what they view anyone serving wine as needing to know
- level 2 — "Certified Sommelier" which is the minimum they view a dedicated sommelier as needing to know
- level 3 — "Advanced Sommelier" — when I went to a Michelin 3-star restaurant last year, the somm was a level 3
- level 4 — "Master Sommelier" world class, fewer than 250 in the world.
There's a great documentary, Somm, about a group of level 3s studying and going for their level 4.