So I managed to pass Level 2 well enough, so before I got out of the hang of it, I thought I’d sign up straight away for the Level 3 course. I always find studying is a bit like that. If you get out of the habit, it’s a pain in the arse to get the books back out after a period off. So get them done quick I reckon!
Slight issue with Level 3 was the way it’s examined. There’s a lot more book material to learn, maybe nearly 4 times the amount. But again, given the time, I’m pretty decent at learning stuff from books. The multiple choice bit of the exam would be ok I thought. Then there are the mini essay questions. The knowledge is the same, you just have to work out how the examiners want you to write it.
Big issue for me was the tasting exam I knew was coming up. I was dreading it. A good palate can take years of sensory memory build up. Some people are naturals, well they’re gits as far as I’m concerned! You do need a certain amount of experience to do these things. When you’re trying to decide whether one wine is medium sweet or medium dry? Is it medium or medium+ bodied?
I was trying to rush my way through with a decidedly inexperienced palate. Would it come back to bite me in the bum?
Cheers
Mike
Photo: From my Instagram account, a picture from my Diploma Port session last week
