WSET 3 theory examination in wines requires a solid preparation to acquire depth knowledge, show analysis and explain the style, quality and price of a wine in an objective, clear and synthetic way in your answers. To do this, you must always ask yourself the “WHY” during your studies:
Why are vines usually trellised in parral in Salta?
Why do we often choose glass stoppers for Côtes de Provence AOP rosés wines?
Why have Puglia IGP wines succeeded to find a position in the market at a reasonable price?
Want to learn how to tackle these questions? Read this article and then START training with my e-learning platform!
This article will clarify three points to help you make your studies more effective:
- Understand the main learning outcome of WSET3
- Respect time allocation
- Manage how to structure your answers
1) The learning outcome
In level 2 students acquire the basic information to understand a wine label and recognize:
- the grape variety or grape varieties used to elaborate the wine
- the origin of the wine (country, region, PDO)
- the characteristics of the wine (its style), according to the grape, the origin and the main winemaking techniques involved
- the level of quality (Grand Cru, Reserva, etc.)
WSET Level 3 Award in wines goes a step forward: candidates should be able to explain the ‘WHY’. That is to say, candidates need to develop depth understanding and analysis to explain the style, quality and price of a wine through the natural and human factors that are involved.
That is to say:
- the natural factors in the vines that contribute to create the style and quality of the wine: climate, geography, proximity to rivers, ocean currents, soils, altitude, etc.
- the human factors in the vines that help to elaborate the wine: how the vine is trained and pruned, when the grapes are harvested and how, etc.
- the winemaking techniques involved to make this wine: fermentation vessel, type of yeasts, fermentation temperature, MLC, lees contact, type of aging/storage, etc.
- the reasons of its price: inexpensive? mid-priced? expensive? WHY?
For example:
- Level 2: candidates should recognize that Fleurie is a Cru of the Beaujolais
- Level 3: candidates should explain why Fleurie is a Cru of the Beaujolais and explain what is particular of this cru among the others. The candidate should be able to explain how natural and human factors differ between a generic Beaujolais PDO and a Cru wine
2) Time allocation
Level 3 closed-book theory examination is made up of two parts:
- A 50 (fifty) multiple-choice question part
- A 4 (four) open question part where the candidates are required to give short written answers
The theory examination paper must be completed in two hours. That is to say, candidates will have 120 minutes to accomplish both the 50 multiple-choice question theory part and the four open question theory part. Both papers are handed together to the candidates at the beginning of the 2-hour theory part exam
It is up to the candidates to manage their own time as they prefer. However, it is highly advisable to dedicate no more than 30 minutes to answer the 50 multiple-choice question part and to leave the other 90 minutes to answer the four open questions part of the theory exam
Thus, the time you will allocate to answer each of the four open questions will be approximately about 22 minutes. It is important to highlight at this stage that each of the four open questions usually covers one or two themes, so each of the four questions may contain 4 or 5 sub-parts. Therefore, candidates will have approximately just 5 minutes to answer each sub-part of each of the 4 open questions
To pass the theory exam a candidate must attain a minimum of 55 per cent in each of the two parts. However, candidates generally find it more difficult to succeed in the open questions part. Therefore, the following exam strategies focus on part 2 (open questions)
To answer the open questions properly candidates need to:
- stay focused
- write concise answers
- go straight to the point to what is specifically asked in the question: there is no time for long plans or outlines
- write well-structured (short) sentences
- respect time: time management is a big obstacle to overcome! My advice is to write down in your spare paper the time you should finish answering each of the four questions (many candidates unfortunately fail because of poor time management)
3) The structure of your answers
Topic/Context/Verb identification is paramount to understand precisely how and what to answer in each question. The level of depth requested between the questions may vary, and their coefficient as well, sometimes according to the command verb used in the question
My first advice is to read all the 4 open questions before starting the test and identify:
- the main theme (topic)
- the context
- the command verb (name, explain, compare …)
It may be useful to underline the topic of the question, the context, and the command verb. For example, common verbs used may be: name, analyze or explain. Each of them requires a different way to tackle the question
Let’s look at some examples:
A) Pinot Noir is a grape variety that is successfully grown in Anderson Valley AVA. Name two natural factors that contribute to this (2 marks)
In this case, the subject of the question is Pinot Noir and the context is Anderson Valley AVA in California. Here candidates are required to ‘name’ two natural factors that contribute successfully growing Pinot Noir in this region this wine region
B) Alsace Pinot Gris Grand Cru VT is often made in an off-dry to medium-sweet style with full body with aromas of stone fruit, tropical fruit and sometimes honey and dried fruits.
Could you explain the style of this wine through the natural factors that helped create this Pinot Gris in Alsace? (6 marks)
In this case, the subject of the question is Pinot Gris and the context is Alsace. The command verb is ‘explain’, so candidates should analyze the natural factors in Alsace and link them to the body, aromas and possible residual sugar of the wine.
C) Casablanca Chardonnay wines are often complex. Could you state four reasons why a producer will favor the use of malolactic conversion (sometimes in oak barrels)? (4 marks)
Here the theme is MLC for Chardonnay in the context of Casablanca. The command verb is to ‘state’. Candidates are asked to give FOUR reasons why a producer will favor malolactic conversion to create a very good and complex Chardonnay
D) Prosecco is a sparkling wine that highlights the primary fruity aromas of the Glera grape variety. Could you explain what method is usually used to create the bubbles for this sparkling wine? (4 marks)
This question addresses the subject of the tank method for the production of certain sparkling wines and the context is DOC Prosecco in Italy. The question requires candidates to explain the relation between the tank method technique and the simple fruity style of Prosecco.
E) Manzanilla is a Spanish dry fortified white wine with aromas of bread dough, lemon, apple and almonds. Could you explain how fortification was carried out and which ageing techniques were applied to create these aromas? (5 marks)
Candidates should be able to explain the time of fortification, the degree and type of alcohol used during fortification and the type of ageing (biological) used to produce a Manzanilla
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Successful WSET3 candidates should be able to explain the style, quality and price of a given wine through the natural and human factors, from the vineyards to the winery, that may have contributed to elaborate that wine
This should be done in a short time and the answers should be well built and present sound arguments
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