By Jessica Spengler
Wine education is a constant throughout the wine industry. From continuing education to specialized training for Sommeliers and wine professionals, quality wine education is essential. Even wine journalists, seeking to understand the industry and increase their wine appreciation continue their education through classes offered by organizations like the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET).
WSET is a globally recognized, not-for-profit educational organization that specializes in quality wine education throughout the world. From their flagship school in London, they offer qualifications in wines, spirits and sake to professionals and enthusiasts both in-person and online. These classes include first, second and third level qualifications in wines, spirits and sake, and a fourth level diploma in wines and spirits. WSET does not provide a path to Sommelier, but their classes are award-winning and highly rated. Their goal is to provide knowledge for anyone looking to further their career in wine, whether that be future Sommeliers, industry professionals, journalists or wine enthusiasts.
The Grapevine Magazine was invited to participate in the online WSET Level 2 Wine and Spirits qualification through the American Wine School, and I was chosen to take the course. It’s an in-depth look at wine regions throughout the world focusing on grape varietals, production of wine, and how those wines will ideally look and taste. The course also focuses on labels, teaching students the terms and references relevant to determining the quality and details of a wine. It ends with a short lesson on spirits, going through production and labeling.
American Wine School was founded in 2001 by Marianne Frantz, who holds a Diploma in Wine & Spirits from the WSET and has also earned the Advanced Sommelier qualification from the Court of Master Sommeliers. American Wine School is an Approved Program Provider for WSET with a presence in seven states. They also offer wine tastings and events throughout Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Pittsburgh.
The Course
The value of the class is evident immediately. Class materials are presented as a packet and include a textbook, workbook and a guide for describing wines, called “WSET Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine” or SAT. These materials are invaluable during the class and have personally come in handy for me since. I took the course online, so the remaining resources were accessible through the WSET classroom website, including a forum to post assignments, tastings and questions, as well as the weekly course breakdown and lessons.
Students must purchase any wine and food for tasting during the class. I recommend budgeting accordingly because, to get a good sense of a wine style, you should be tasting mid to high-end wines, which run a little more expensive. Not that you need to spend hundreds of dollars, but a $5-10 wine generally isn’t the best example of a style, and quality is important for the course.
WSET qualifications are for anyone who takes wine seriously and is willing to put in the work. The class is broken down week by week into lessons and assignments focusing on a particular subject. Tasks include analyzing labels, food tastings designed to train the palate, and of course, tasting wine. The work isn’t necessarily time-consuming; however, there’s enough of a workload that if you don’t follow the week to week plan, you will fall behind. There’s too many tastings, too much reading, and a lot of serious prep that goes into it.
In addition to assignments and tastings are comprehensive weekly tests that cover everything you’ve learned over the week. If there’s one thing I learned while doing this course, it’s that everything you read and learn is important – from how the sun affects hillside vines to the crazy amount of AVAs in California – it all matters in the course, and in the industry, and you can’t learn it all in a week.
To guide you through your courses, WSET provides a tutor who will evaluate your work and be there to answer any questions. They are the unofficial teacher of the course, attempting to keep people on task and offering suggestions if they notice problems or patterns in assignments or tastings. Having someone available in this regard allows students to find out what they’re doing wrong and improve it. I wish I’d taken better advantage of this resource. They would have been particularly useful for me during tastings, something that I felt I didn’t have the sort of grasp other students did.
Tastings
Each week, students were given a list of wine styles to choose a minimum of three for tastings. These wines reflected those covered in the weekly lessons. Tastings were to be conducted using the SAT guidelines from the card and posted on the forums for the tutor to access. The SAT provides specific language for students on describing appearance, nose, palate, aroma and flavor, and conclusions. By providing a standardized language guide, all students stay on the same page and don’t get overly particular. This guide was invaluable for someone like me with an unsophisticated pallet. It helped to describe what I was tasting without me knowing the specific flavor. I may not know when there are subtle hints of lychee, but I do taste a bit of citrus.
I did find some fault with the comments on student tastings. Once or twice I was flat out told that my evaluation was wrong, and that was it. The critiques weren’t cruel or even inaccurate; as I said, my palate isn’t the most top-notch; but they also didn’t offer any tips or solutions as to how or why I may have gotten it wrong. Moreover, while reaching out for an explanation was a possibility that I’ll admit I did not take, it seems flawed that suggestions weren’t offered unless I sought them out.
Organization
While the class was excellent, the behind-the-scenes stuff was less so. I did not receive my classroom resources until about three days before the course was meant to begin, despite having signed up two months prior, and the recommendation that you read the first weeks lesson before the start of class.
The day of my test also changed twice, as did the location. Unfortunately, I was not aware that the site had moved, and when I showed up the day of, myself and another woman were quite confused as to what was happening. It turns out we were across the city from where the test was meant to take place. To the credit of American Wine School, they sent an Uber, and we were still able to sit for the examination.
The Test
Online students must take the test in-person at one of the American Wine School testing sites. I took my test in Chicago at Binny’s Beverage Depot, along with about six other people. Despite having studied and feeling well prepared, I walked out of that test sure I would not be receiving any certificate. It was hard. I don’t say that with any sense of annoyance; I just did not prepare as well as I’d hoped. I studied, took practice tests and reread the text, so I thought I knew what to expect, but when it came down to it, I was shocked at how little I knew. I was legitimately surprised when I received word that I passed and would be getting a certificate and pin. I still can’t quite believe it.
Conclusion
Despite some organizational issues, I found the class comprehensive, challenging, informative and rewarding. It was not for the faint-of-heart or for anyone with only a passing interest in wine or unwillingness to study. For those willing to take it seriously, the WSET level 2 award provides a stellar, satisfying, and thorough education. If you are looking to forward your wine education, whether you are an industry professional or just starting out on your wine journey, then the WSET classes are right for you.
For more information on WSET levels and class schedules, go to wsetglobal.com
