WSET Level 3 - CLASSROOM

Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) courses provide internationally recognised qualifications for Wine Industry professionals and enthusiastic amateurs.

The Level 3 Award in Wines is a course designed for anyone wishing to gain in-depth knowledge of wines and build upon the knowledge gained at Intermediate level. You will acquire a thorough understanding of the factors influencing the style, quality and price of wines from key wine producing regions of the world. You will also develop analytical tasting skills using the systematic approach to tasting, your blind tasting skills will form part of the examinations.

This qualification has full accreditation from the UK Government’s Qualifications & Curriculum Authority as a Level 3 Vocational Qualification. This qualification provides the knowledge required for those wishing to progress onto Diploma Level 4.

Important Entry Information: We recommend this course to those who have already completed the WSET Level 2 Wines and Spirits course, as this syllabus assumes that candidates already possess a good basic understanding of simple wine making techniques, key grape varieties and viticultural patterns. However, holding WSET Level 2 is not a requirement to enroll on this course - for anyone who wishes to enter the WSET programme at Level 3 without prior study, we strongly advise them to review the course specification on the WSET website by clicking on the book below. 

If you are an employer wishing to train your staff this course will equip them with knowledge and understanding of a wide range of products. This course is suitable for someone in a supervisory level position in wine sales and service.

Upon successful completion you will receive a WSET certificate and lapel pin, and will be able to use the associated WSET certified logo.

What you'll learn

• Unit 1
  The key factors in the production of wine: location, grape growing, winemaking, maturation and bottling.
• How these key factors influence the key characteristics of the principal still wines of the world, sparkling wines of the world and fortified wines of the world.
• How to apply your understanding to explain wine style and quality
• Unit 2
  How to taste wines, describe their characteristics and evaluate their quality, using the WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine® (SAT)

Assessment

Unit 1 is assessed by a closed-book exam of 50 multiple-choice questions and a paper of short written answers.
Unit 2 is assessed by a blind tasting of two wines. 

Click here to view the full Level 3 Course Specification (with Example Questions)

Classroom Sessions

These are ideal for trade professionals and wine enthusiasts
There are three x two hour classroom sessions each day, starting at 9.30am and finishing at 4:30pm with an hour break for lunch
There are 5 full day sessions (30 classroom hours) and an exam session, spread out over 6 weeks. The final exam day is 10am - 1pm
WSET recommends at least 54 hours of home study in addition to the 30 hours of classroom sessions.

Course Outline

Sessions 1,2,3 - Intro, tasting technique, natural and human factors with grape-growing & human factors with winemaking
Sessions 4,5,6 - Whites wines: Germany, Alsace, Austria, Tokaji, Burgundy, Loire, Bordeaux + Red / rose wines: Bordeaux, SW France, Loire
Sessions 7,8,9 - Red wines: Burgundy, Wines of Rhone, S France, Spain, Portugal, Northern Italy
Sessions 10,11,12 - Central & S Italy, Portugese reds, Premium New World reds and whites
Sessions 13,14,15 - Regional new world wines, Sparkling Wines, Fortified Wines

Tutor: Victoria Aldwinckle