Last updated August 2026
The step from Certified to Advanced is largely a step into specificity. Certified asks which commune holds three First Growths; Advanced asks the hectarage of Romanée-Conti, the co-fermentation ceiling in Saint-Joseph, and why Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s thirteen varieties are now often counted as eighteen.
These twenty questions cover Bordeaux’s communes and the 1987 Pessac-Léognan split, Burgundy’s Grand Crus including the Musigny white anomaly, the Northern Rhône slope by slope, Champagne’s ageing and dosage rules, Muscadet sur lie, the Loire’s Cabernet Franc appellations, Alsace Grand Cru varieties, Bandol, Cahors and Jura’s Vin Jaune. Jesse made wine in Burgundy, and the Côte d’Or questions here reflect that.
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How to study France for the Advanced exam
Advanced rewards numbers. Hectares, percentages, minimum ageing periods and classification years are all fair game, and vague familiarity reads as a wrong answer. Build a list of the figures that recur and drill them until they are automatic.
Watch the rules that have changed recently. Bandol’s Mourvèdre minimum differs between rouge and rosé, Châteauneuf’s variety count depends on how colour variants are counted, and Champagne has admitted Voltis on a trial basis. Examiners like the moving targets.
Learn the Northern Rhône as a north-to-south sequence with its white-grape co-fermentation ladder attached — Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, Saint-Joseph, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, Saint-Péray. The percentages hang off the sequence and become much easier to recall.
Work through the sibling Italy, Spain & Portugal and Rest of World quizzes next, and revisit the Certified Old World quiz if any foundations feel shaky.
Substantially. Advanced expects precise figures, current appellation rules and the ability to distinguish between closely related regions, where Certified largely rewards solid general knowledge.
Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône and Champagne dominate, but the Loire, Alsace, the Jura and the South West all appear and are where under-prepared candidates lose ground.
No. They are written independently by Wine Scribes and are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Court of Master Sommeliers.