[Wset Level 3 Test Questions Download
Abdul Soumphonphakdy
If you want to continue your exam practice, access our full practice tests. This comes as a multiple exam package, giving you to chance to practice as many times as you want with different questions each time:
So it seems like the course will be mildly helpful to round out my knowledge base, but it also seems like if I really wanted to I could spend a few hours doing free research on wine making and sweet wines and probably start with level 3 if I were hyper concerned about maximizing every dollar spent.
Editing to add: if the material covered here starts this simple (they also expect you to study 6 hours/week to learn material like the primary red grape in Rioja), I cannot imagine how simple level 1 starts. Seems like that might be designed for somebody literally brand new to wine.
I recently did L3 but as Home Study , not on-line. I am in NJ/Philly and we are hoping to resume in class instruction in early July so hopefully NYC is not too far behind. I have heard good things about the on-line classes and I think they give you more personal guidance and access to instructor feedback. Of course, tasting still is on you. We have a number of NY based students doing the course through our provider and coming here to take the exams.
I took WSET 3 in 2014. It forces you to flesh out facts learned to that point. Lots of writing and demonstrating knowledge of theory with applied facts. The blind tasting portion is methodology-based. The test is challenging and a lot of work, but totally doable.
I have spent years working in restaurants, helping to build beverage programs, dealing with wine wholesalers, reprinting wine lists on what seemed like a daily basis (an especially annoying process when the list has over twenty pages) and training staff members on new products.
After moving to London and making the conscious decision to excuse myself from restaurant management, I pursued other opportunities within the food and wine business, with little success. I came to discover that in the UK, certified training actually means something.
I looked into something as simple as hospitality HR, only to find that most companies required a special HR/Development certificate. I discovered that the certificate was a year long class costing almost 4000.
That is a large investment to maybe get an entry level position in HR that would probably be an hourly wage position. Apparently the past decade of hiring, firing, interviewing and dealing with piles of tax paperwork for literally hundreds of employees was not as important as an official certificate.
For more advanced wine enthusiasts who do not want to waste time and money going over the very basics of wine, the WSET offers Level 3 Entry Exam. The online test was simple and quick, and I aced it (of course!), allowing me to bypass both Level 1 and Level 2 and go straight to the Advanced course.
I opted for the Consecutive program, seemingly the most efficient process. The 695 fee is large, but covers all costs, including the study guide and all of the tastings. I received the large textbook and study guide in the mail about two weeks before the class.
Vineyard management, vine lifecycles, soil types, viticulture processes, maturation options and their impact, as well as detailed information on over one hundred wine regions, including fortified wines (Sherry, Port, Madeira) and the manner of distillation and maturation of whiskey (blended, grain, malt, bourbon), vodka, rum, tequila, Cognac, Armagnac and cordials. So pretty much everything except beer.
I began hitting the books hard, doing 4-6 hours daily and doing tastings at our local wine shop, The Sampler (here is my blog entry about The Sampler), that has sixty wines on tap to try, because, oh yeah, I needed to pass a blind tasting as well. One red, one white.
Luckily, I learned quickly that some of my classmates were under the impression that they did not need to study prior to the start of the class and that the seminars would cover all of the material. I had read that the WSET recommended 56 hours of study prior to the course. Even if I was not sure how I would handle the material, I basked in the knowledge that the people who chose not to prepare were completely screwed.
The class was very well organized and we had a different teacher each day. The first day focused on the WSET tasting technique, vineyard management, and human influence in the winery. The rest of the time was devoted to covering the basic information of various wine regions, with tasting of wines from the region afterwards.
The material covered in class was really a general overlook of each section of the textbook and skipped over the details, which was necessary due to time constraints. For those poor souls who failed to heed the advice in preparing for the course, the quick run through of major topics was discouraging.
For instance, we spent under two hours reviewing and doing tastings of Bordeaux. That is like covering the work of Shakespeare in a few hours and assume you know everything. The final day was devoted completely to the WSET Level 3 test.
The test started with two blind tastings, then fifty multiple choice questions and a four short answer theory questions, covering wine making, viticulture, regions and responsible drinking. I felt prepared, having done additional studying at night and reviewing all of my notes. I only needed to get a mark of 55% or better on both sections to pass, so I felt confident.
The second wine was a Coonawarra (Australia) Cabernet Sauvignon, again an easy choice over the other two options of Beaujolais Village and Chianti Classico, due to his dark, ripe fruit (blackberry, black cherry) and its minty aroma.
The multiple choice section went well and the four short answer questions were probably the hardest, because of the sheer amount of information you had to know and the detail that was needed. I finished quickly, the second one to hand in the exam. That is either a sign that I knew my material or that I rushed through it. Whatever. I was done.
So how did I do? In an age where Amazon may soon be delivering packages via drones, the WSET takes 8-10 weeks to return results, which they mail to you. What, is this 1950? In all seriousness though, the course was well worth it, as I feel I learned more in those few weeks than I learned in the past few years. Without the 65 hour work weeks, I gave it the proper attention it needed.
The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson
This is a book definitely aimed at the wine-obsessed. The collection of intricate, detailed maps of various wine regions is simply stunning. Plus, Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson are two of the finest wine writers in the world.
Dear reader, please note that some of these links are affiliates, which means we will make a small profit should you choose to use them. This in no way unfluences our recommendations though. We only share the things we have genuinely used and loved.
The course is self-paced and accessible 24/7. It includes videos, interactive maps, activities, quizzes, and mock exams. Additionally, there are 5 Live Zoom Webinars, each lasting 60-90 minutes, scheduled according to the webinar chart. If you purchased a Wine Kit, it will arrive before your First Webinar Date.
Webinars facilitate understanding of the online course and textbooks. They include orientation, lectures, and guided tasting. Attendance is not mandatory as all webinars are recorded and posted for viewing later.
Wine kits are shipped out the week of the course start date to arrive before the first scheduled webinar, usually the following week. Students who did not order a wine kit can find options in the course to source locally.
This is a ten-week, self-paced course with a fixed start/end date. However you will have 12 months of access to the online learning material, providing you the flexibility to study wine in a way that fits your schedule.The Level 3 Award in Wine Online class covers the same syllabus as the classroom course but through a supported and interactive Online Classroom, which allows you to study alongside your peers under the guidance of a dedicated educator.
With your WSET Level 3 Wine course you can choose to add a 24 bottle (100ml bottles) wine tasting kit with every enrollment, making it easy to participate in our dedicated WSET Level 3 LIVE tasting webinars and tasting exercises. Using wines from these kits, you will actively taste along with your classmates and calibrate to your WSET-Certified instructor as well as utilize wines for homework assignments. All wines included in the kits have been carefully selected by Master of Wine Peter Marks and NVWA Head of Education Catherine Bugue to match the WSET Level 3 specification and ensure you have the best opportunity to calibrate your palate for the blind tasting portion of the exam. Students are advised to taste a range of wines during their studies, beyond those in the kits. A list of recommended tasting samples can be found in the Specification.
The course also includes lecture videos from top-industry educators and interactive activities for each chapter of the book. After the ten weeks are completed, you will have access to the post-course exam prep module, which contains flashcards, a compendium of mock multiple choice and short answer questions, lecture videos and more.
795a8134c1