While many (or most) individuals choose a wine education and certification path specific to their goals–such as hospitality/service, consultant, distributor, etc.–I thirst for a broad yet detailed knowledge of all things wine. So, it just makes sense to add the award-winning WSET courses and curriculum to my perpetual wine-knowledge-seeking journey 😉

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) offers four wine-focused courses and qualifications–including WSET Level 1 Award in Wines, WSET Level 2 Award in Wines, WSET Level 3 Award in Wines, and the prestigious WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines. As expected, each subsequent course is more demanding than its predecessor. From the very first level, individuals are introduced to a systematic approach to tasting and evaluating wine. Throughout all the courses, this approach evolves into a very important methodology required for successful blind-tasting during the exams and beyond.

Having first-hand knowledge of the tasting science taught by The Society of Wine Educators and the deductive tasting methodology of The Court of Master Sommeliers, I can appreciate the sometimes-not-so-subtle differences between these two and WSET’s Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT). WSET’s approach to tasting is easier to grasp than the others, but they all use the same three core steps–individually describe and evaluate the wine by sight, smell and taste.

I chose the Napa Valley Wine Academy for my WSET courses. While there are several options, I liked the reputation of this organization. The WSET Level 2 Award in Wines course was online (also available in person), and fit my busy schedule. The online course consists of a five-week structured program including four live video conferences with an instructor. Traditionally, at the conclusion of the five-week program, you sit for a proctored timed exam. The student has one hour to answer 50 questions. The exam questions reinforce the information learned during the previous five weeks. For me, however, the timing between course completion and exam was greatly compressed.

While selecting all of the options during enrollment, and thinking the course was “self-paced,” I scheduled the exam with ProctorU roughly two-and-a-half weeks from my start date. So… as soon as the course materials arrived I began. Just after the second week, I sat for the exam 🙂

Now… onto Level 3 (10-week course). Only this time it is a requirement to take the exam in-person. Cheers!