About 6 months or so ago I sat my WSET Level 3 exam. For anyone who’s sat it, you’ll know that first up is the tasting bit, then the multiple choice, followed up by the short answers bit. Then you leg it out of the exam room before anyone else finishes because you don’t want to sit through the “what did you put for this?” crap that always happens at the end of exams.
I was pretty confident. I’ve always been a good book learner so parts 2 and 3 were surely in the bag, but part one? The tasting? Hmmmm. I’m still really nervous about blind tastings. One of the reasons I do NWTW is to try more and more wines. Daft thing is I can pick Barbera D’Asti from a Barbera D’Alba cos I’ve drunk so many of them. Ask me the difference between an Aussie Shiraz and a Carmenere in a blind tasting and I’m second guessing myself til the cows come home. And that’s exactly what the buggers did!
As slightly mitigating things, about 5 seconds after the exam started my phone went off which sent me into 5 minutes of pure Englishness telling everyone how sorry I was, and then the anxiety of taking an exam you should definitely pass is almost worse than doing one you probably won’t. That enough excuses? Good!
Needless to say I nearly went through an entire pencil and rubber guessing, second guessing, and so on, until I just thought “Sod It!” and plumped for one of them. Can’t remember what I put but given my marks of “Distinction” in the written and just a “Pass” in the tasting I’m guessing I got it wrong.
I only started drinking more wines than just Northern Italian about 2 years ago and I’m still ticking them off the list and learning as I go. Ant’s given me the chance this week to get the Level 3 Aussie Shiraz monkey off my back! Thanks pal.
Cheers
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Congratulations on your level 3! I know what you mean about the tasting part of the test. That is what makes me most nervous about the CWE, which won’t be until the latter part of 2015, because, honestly, I need to drink a lot more wine! Prepping for a test has never been so fun. Cheers!
Ha yeah, we’re not drinking wine, we’re revising 🙂 Good luck with the studies!
Congratulations! Blind tasting is hard, and it is a perfect opportunity to second-guess yourself. Plus, in the format of the exam, you are also trying to assess what you taste against “what could they possibly include here”, knowing that obscure stuff will not be included (say a Furmint from Hungary or Arneis)…
cheers boss, am getting there slowly, but it takes time to develop a palate i guess, but it’s nice to do what I need to do to develop it 🙂
Roll on Level 4
Had to comment, at least after your phone went off and disturbed the class you didn´t go binge drinking with the wine, wouldn´t be too good for the pallet.
This was actually quite amazing to know how serious and tough it is to get in to the world of wine tasting, plus if you pass which I´m sure you will it has to be quite a gig, as a gather the pay is pretty good and you travel a lot. So good luck.
Yeah, to be fair, the actual content isn’t that hard, it’s just there’s so bloody much of it!
I have to say I’m an absolute nerd when it comes to learning about the farming techniques and that, but I love getting my hands dirty at harvest time too…all voluntary so far though! 🙁
So to be clear, the exam is it for the profession of wine tasting only? or for having and or harvesting a vineyard? or is it for both?
Basically everything to with wine, from how to grow the grapes, to how to market the wine, to what to eat with the wines, all that jazz really, you can do the first 3 levels online I think, WSET is the organisation if you’re interested, think Level 1 is really basic, but only £60ish
So it´s certainly a complete “all about wine”. Very interesting. I´m interested, slowly with time, still have to focus on some other things but is certainly an interesting world.
Same thing for me, I needed to find something to focus on at a time in my life, went for this, have loved it, having said that you’ve got your poetry right? But yeah, important to have things that tire your mind out, bit of wine, bit of meditation, lots of good times with friends and family, that’ll do!
You couldn´t have said it better, bit of meditation, lots of good times with friends and family….those are the real important things. Plus if a job in writing finally comes which is doubtful that much better. But your certainly correct about having good people around you.
i’ll drink to that! 🙂 have a top weekend boss
You too have a great weekend.
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