Short answers, with the full story a link away.
Is Curate affiliated with CMS or WSET?
No. Curate is an independent software provider, not affiliated with the Court of Master Sommeliers or the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, nor endorsed by either. The blind tasting formats are aligned with those exams' published frameworks — the alignment is Curate's work, not their endorsement. See About Curate for Sommeliers.
Does Curate for Sommeliers cover Theory or Service?
No — the Tasting portion only. Theory (both organizations) and Service (CMS) are prepared elsewhere; Curate analyzes your blind tasting practice and does not teach or coach.
Do I have to fill in every field of a tasting note?
No. Everything in the tasting note builder is optional — the coverage indicators are a map of what you've recorded, not a grade. A three-aroma note about a Tuesday glass is a complete note. See How the Tasting Note Builder Works.
Does Curate autosave my note while I write it?
No — saving is explicit. Your selections are held in the open builder and reach your tasting library when you press Save; if you try to leave with unsaved changes, Curate warns you and offers to save and leave in one step. See Saving, Visibility & Guest Preview.
Who can see my tasting notes?
Everyday notes are shared by default — they appear with your review on the wine's page — and each note's visibility can be narrowed to signed-in members, or to just yourself, from the shield control beside Save. Personal Notes — the field by that name — are never shown to anyone regardless, and blind tasting sessions are always private. See Saving, Visibility & Guest Preview.
Can I try Curate without an account?
Yes — guests can open the tasting note builder and use every control; saving is what requires the (free) account. Exam formats work the same way for candidates without a plan: fully explorable as demos, with selections unsaved. See Saving, Visibility & Guest Preview.
Can I change a note's detail level later?
No — each note keeps the level it was started at. Levels are chosen per note, so the usual practice is simply to start the next note at a different level. See Choosing a Detail Level.
Do I need a subscription to build tasting notes?
No. The everyday experience — Quick, Standard, and Advanced notes, the tasting library, wine search — is free. A subscription enters only for Curate for Sommeliers, the blind tasting practice suite for exam candidates. See Plans & What They Include.
What happens to my notes if my subscription lapses?
Nothing. A lapsed plan closes the blind tasting formats, not your account — every note, blind sessions included, stays in your tasting library, and the Sommelier dashboard's history remains readable. Resubscribing picks up where you left off. See Plans & What They Include.
Where does Curate's wine data come from?
The wine library is shared infrastructure in Curate: wines are defined once — by members, with light data-quality stewardship — and everyone's notes attach to them. If your bottle isn't there, you add it in a few fields. See Adding a New Wine.
How are my blind tasting conclusions graded?
After the reveal, link the wine to the session from the Sommelier dashboard; your variety, region, and vintage calls are then graded — with partial credit for a region call that lands the right country, and for a vintage within a year or two. Conclusions a WSET format let you skip go ungraded rather than counting against you. See The Sommelier Dashboard.
Can I enter past blind tastings retroactively?
Yes — evaluations you kept on paper can join your record. Start a blind tasting with the timer off, set the original date and time under Tasting Context, complete the format from your notes, and link the wine; the session then counts in Study Reports like any other. See Setting Up a Blind Tasting.
Can I edit a blind tasting note after saving?
No — blind tasting notes are sealed at save, and the builder asks you to confirm before sealing one. The one thing that can change afterward is the linked wine: Change Linked Wine on the dashboard swaps the definition and re-grades your conclusions against it. Everyday notes remain editable. See The Sommelier Dashboard.
Can dictation and Voice Control run on my phone?
They run in the browser — most comfortably on desktop and tablet. The native apps hand blind tastings off to the web app, so a phone lands in the right place on its own. See Dictation & Voice Control.
How does the Insights Concierge work?
Once your library holds around thirty blind tasting notes, submit a request naming the area you'd like examined; our team reviews the in-scope notes and delivers a short written analysis with interactive visualizations, usually within 2–4 days. It's included on every plan; full terms live on Plans & What They Include.
How do I get help?
The in-app Messenger — and the Sommelier dashboard's Get Assistance button — reach our team directly; responses are targeted within 48 hours, and sommelier subscribers can also request a brief video call. Exam coaching and wine-theory questions sit outside what support can answer.
Can I export my data?
Not currently — there is no self-service export. Your notes live in your tasting library, and deleting your account removes them rather than returning them; we'd rather say that plainly here than surprise you there. See Deleting Your Account.