Wine and Spirits Educational Trust
WINE AND SPIRITS EDUCATIONAL TRUST–Is the WSET Diploma for You?
Are you curious about the WSET Courses?
Join the crowd. Everyone from sommeliers in top restaurants to your average wine lover are increasingly attracted by the WSET wine course.
They offer WSET Courses around the world, both “live” and online. Many people start with the WSET Certification course at the beginning level, which is the Level 1 Award in Wines.
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This article will guide you through the “ins and outs” of the WSET program, and help you make an informed decision of what to expect, Also, if the program is right for you.
Many people do not realize the resources necessary to pass the various classes in the WSET Certification program, both in terms of the time that needs to be spent studying for the class, and the significant monetary outlay for the various WSET classes.
Wine and Spirits Educational Trust History
1969 marks the year the Wine and Spirit Educational Trust (WSET) was founded as a charitable trust. The goal was to serve the educational needs of the UK wine and spirits industry.
They suddenly realized it that people in the wine trade each had their own vocabulary to describe a wine.
To have everyone on the same page to express ideas about a wine’s acidity, tannin, and so on, they decided that a systematic approach to tasting wine was necessary.
This “common language” should be spoken across the wine trade, so that wine professionals could speak about wine with a common language.
**Click Here to See the Original Forbes.com Article and See if You Agree**
Wine and Spirits Educational Trust Diploma Graduates
More than a half century has gone by, and in that time over 10,000 people have taken the Diploma and passed the examination from WSET.
This group includes people working in the wine trade as well as engaged consumers.
Most consumers begin with the introductory WSET Level 1 Award in Wines. This is where students learn about the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting ® (SAT).
This is the building block of the WSET program. You can see the SAT here (LINK).
This is where you will learn a standardized vocabulary to describe the aromas, flavors, and structure of wine.
Wine and Spirits Educational Trust Level 1 Award in Wines
“This is one of the most fun of the courses,” says Jean K Reilly Master of Wine (MW). Jean is the owner and the founder of the Slate Wine and Spirits Academy in Florida. “Students like it because the last exam focuses on pairing wines and cuisine from actual restaurant menus.”
Excellent practice for your actual life, yes?
Wine and Spirits Educational Trust Level 2 Award in Wines
The Level 2 Award in Wines follows the first level. Successful candidates receive pins and certificates for each level attempted and passed.
Wine and Spirits Educational Trust Level 4 Diploma in Wines
To even embark on this level, which will result in you attaining the coveted Diploma in Wine and Spirits (DipWSET) you will need to take and pass the Level 3 Award in Wines.
With some exceptions, members of the trade can skip this with agreement from their program provider.
This program can take between 18 months to three years to complete. At the end of the Diploma program, successful students may use the DipWSET post-nominal after their name.
Wine and Spirits Educational Trust : What is the Level 4 Diploma in Wines?
You will need to know quite a bit about a lot of things related to wines. This starts with viticulture to ensure that the student knows how and why good quality vineyards are so important.
Then there is more about wine regions of the world, with various units focusing on sparkling, sweet, and fortified wines all around the world.
Students must make their way through six units taken in a classroom setting or online. Students will be given a list of wine yet also need to buy their own wine as part of the course requirements.
Wine and Spirits Educational Trust Course Providers: Why and What???
WSET headquarters are in the UK. Classes–in person and online–are offered all over the world. Yet all students need to access a program provider to help facilitate their journey.
For example, I took the DipWSET courses in Manhattan. The International Wine Center (IWC) was my program provider. They sold me the books, arranged for my examinations, and in general oversaw my education. Even if I was to take all my classes online, as I live in Manhattan the IWC would be my program provider, as it is physically the closest program provider in my location.
The online instruction itself is the same all over the world. But the school / provider that students register with will be the one to send study materials and the school that will administer the exam at its physical location.
You can visit the WSET Global website to see a list of program providers.
Wine and Spirits Educational Trust: Free Access to WSET Materials
Get a head start on learning the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting ® (SAT). This is good training for any wine discipline.
Start by downloading the SAT tasting sheets here. You will find the information fairly self-explanatory, as it involves identifying color, aromas, and flavors.
Then put this SAT in practice by recording wine drinking experiences with the SAT sheet in front of you.
Use the WSET SAT App
You can also download the WSET SAT App to your phone so you always have it handy.
Inside the app are more than 300 wines and grape varieties so you can quickly find wines and record notes. You can even take photos of wine labels and upload them.
Reasons Why Wine Lovers Seek WSET Certification
During my time in the WSET I met a lot of “regular wine lovers” in my classes, mostly the Level 3 Award in Wines. At the higher Diploma level classes, almost everyone was in the trade.
An exception was Reggie Solomon, a Major Gifts fundraiser, at Yale University. We didn’t meet in class as I graduated a few years before him. Yet we both studied at the IWC even though he commuted from another state.
**SEE the Forbes.com Article About WSET by Clicking Here**
So why did Reggie pursue the diploma?
“The International Wine Center in New York offered intensive all-day classes for WSET levels 1 through 3 which were perfect for maximizing vacation days and taking time off from work. I started with Level 1 and then decided to take Level 2. After completing a week-long, intensive, WSET-Level 3 class and successfully passing the exam, I thought why not give the diploma a try. I pursued the diploma not because of any outside pressure but because I wanted to advance my wine knowledge in a comprehensive and systematic way that merely studying at home by yourself doesn’t easily facilitate.”
This was somewhat of an anomaly in my diploma classes where most people were in the wine trade with professional stakes at play. Going through the process of sampling a wide array of wines at various quality levels and learning how to describe them with classmates really made the entire process of learning about wine come alive.
“Completing the diploma was exciting, but I miss learning about wines in a structured environment. I experience the benefits of diploma every time I peruse a wine list or travel to wine regions across the world. The WSET diploma affords you the confidence of knowing you know more about wine than 98% of the population.”
Studying at the IWC in Manhattan
I began classes at the IWC in 2005 when I first moved to NYC. The teachers at the time were the owner, Mary Ewing Mulligan, one of the first female Masters of Wines, and Linda Lawry, former director of the school.
In each class, students would have wine poured by a teaching assistant. Then the instructor would taste the wine along with us, asking us to define the aromas and flavors of the given wine and its acidity. Many of the students in that class would continue on with me all the way to the WSET Diploma, which I attained in 2009.
I even traveled to London to take part in that year’s WSET graduation.
To this day I see a lot of my classmates at the frequent trade-focused wine events in NYC.
The International Wine Center
I loved my time attending the WSET program here. The only other school I wish I had the opportunity to attend is the WSET school in London.
I’ve heard superb stories about how the students all gathered after glass to discuss the wines – over more wine!
In some ways, I imagine, London is like Manhattan. They are both major towns for the wine trade. And because there are wine tasting events in both cities, students in the courses see each other often during the week and after the classes have ended.
When asked why she thinks regular, wine loving consumers take classes at the IWC, Mary Ewing-Mulligan Master of Wine and President of the International Wine Center (IWC) in Manhattan since 1994, has this to say:
“Some of our particularly dedicated Diploma students have been those who are motivated by their passion for wine rather than by any professional need for the accomplishment. Many of them have remained in their non-wine careers while enjoying the networking that’s inherent to such a challenging shared experience.”
WSET: Is the Diploma Worth It?
Like everything else in life, it depends on your goals and ambitions. Having attained almost every wine diploma possible, I feel it is one of the best training platforms for the trade and a great education for consumers.
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About Author Marisa D’Vari
D’Vari contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, and more.
She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators … to see it all, please click on bio
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Note: This Article was originally published by Marisa D’Vari on Forbes.com