Are you wondering how to study for WSET Level 3 in wine? Level 3 is a significant step up from level 2, and it can be daunting. Not only do you have to tackle a multiple choice component but you also have to navigate a tasting exam and written answers! In this article we’ll take you through a range of information that will help you to prepare for your WSET level 3 exam. This will include helping you to:
- Decide how much personal study time you need
- Calculate how much time to spend in each topic area
- Identify the key information to focus on
- Find practice exams – perfect as a learning tool and to ensure that you are fully prepared for your exam
Studying For WSET Level 3
Recommended hours
The recommended classroom time for the WSET Level 3 in wine qualification 32.5 hours. This includes 2.5 hours for the examination. Normally the non-examination classroom time will be broken down into 5 x 6 hour days, but some providers may space it out over multiple weekends or even up to 15 evening classes). In addition to the classroom time, there is a recommended 51.5 hours of private study. For many people this extra time is important for a number of reasons:
- Ability to read and work at their own pace
- Chance to focus on weaker knowledge areas
- Some candidates take in more information when they are away from the classroom environment and able to concentrate by themselves
It is therefore important that you study in your own time, and use this extra learning time wisely.
How To Spend Your Personal Learning Time
Unlike levels 1 and 2, how to spend your study time for WSET level 3 in wine is not straightforward. This is mostly due to the 3 different types of examination that you need to prepare for. This is even more important since you will need to achieve at least 55% in all three papers in order to achieve the WSET Level 3 in Wines qualification. Let’s break the exam down into its 3 components
1. Tasting Exam
For most people, this will be the first tasting exam that they will have taken. And a set out of their comfort zone. The most important part of preparation for this exam is the calibration of your palate. Being able to determine whether a wine has medium + or medium – acidity will go a long way to boosting your final mark. This calibration will be done through the tastings in the classroom sessions. Pay attention – the lecturer is likely to be the one marking your exam. If they say a certain wine is gold in color and has medium acidity… then it does… regardless of what you think (or even what may be correct)!
Once you’re finished your classroom session it is then up to you to memorise the different categories for which there are marks available in the exam. Forgetting to discuss the acidity, color, flavors, tannin (for red wine) or other aspects is just throwing marks away. Make sure you remember everything you are meant to comment on!
2. Multiple Choice
This is probably the easiest of the 3 sections. It comprises part of the 2 hour written exam (the other component being 4 short written questions). There are 50 multiple choice questions, split up as follows:
- 16% Unit 1, Learning outcome 1 – Natural and human factors in the vineyard
- 56% Unit 1, Learning outcome 2 – Principal still wines of the world
- 10% Unit 1, Learning outcome 3 – Principal sparkling wines of the world
- 10% Unit 1, Learning outcome 4 – Principal fortified wines of the world
- 8% Unit 1, Learning outcome 5 – Providing information and advice on wine
As you can see, the second learning outcome has 56% of the multiple choice marks – enough to (just) pass even if you got all other questions wrong! Since most people struggle more with the written questions (discussed below), we’d recommend that you focus on them first. In learning for them, you’ll cover a lot of the multiple choice question content only. You can then brush up on the multiple choice aspects at the end.
3. Short Written Answers
Most people find the short written answers the hardest component – even harder than the tasting! The reason it is more difficult than the multiple choice is the level of detail required in the answers. Each of the four questions comes from specific learning outcomes:
- Question 1: Learning outcomes 1 & 2 (Vineyard factors and still wines)
- Question 2: Learning outcomes 1 & 2 (Vineyard factors and still wines)
- Question 3: Learning outcomes 1, 2 & 5 (Vineyard factors and still wines)
- Question 4: Learning outcomes 1, 3, 4 & 5 (Vineyard factors and still wines)
Note: the learning outcome 5 questions above relate only to the “making wine recommendations” component.
Excluding learning outcome one (which is addressed in all four questions) the marks are weighted as follows:
- Learning outcome 2: 70%
- Learning outcome 3 & 4: 20%
- Learning outcome 5: 10%
Across both the multiple choice and written components it is clear that learning outcome 2 (still wines) plays a huge role.
How to Study for WSET Level 3 – Overall Timings
Overall, we feel it is worth spending your 51.5 hours in learning time roughly as follows:
- 1.5 Hours Unit 2 – Learning the aspects to comment on during the tasting exam
- 8 Hours Unit 1, Learning outcome 1 – Natural and human factors in the vineyard
- 28 Hours Unit 1, Learning outcome 2 – Principal still wines of the world
- 5 Hours Unit 1, Learning outcome 3 – Principal sparkling wines of the world
- 5 Hours Unit 1, Learning outcome 4 – Principal fortified wines of the world
- 4 Hours Unit 1, Learning outcome 5 – Providing information and advice on wine
Bear in mind that if you are particularly strong or weak in one area you may wish to adjust these timings. For example, candidates with service experience may wish to spend less time on learning outcome 5 and instead focus on the other five areas.
WSET Level 3 in Wine – Learning Aids
Please contact us if you are interested in receiving flashcards and revision aids for your WSET Level 3 exam.
WSET Level 3 – Practice Exams
Practice exams can be a great way to ensure that you are ready for the exam. They help by:
- Highlighting any areas of weakness or gaps in your knowledge
- Giving you practice under exam conditions, including the timing that you will face on exam day
- Getting you familiar with the process and building your confidence. This will make you much less likely to panic on exam day!
Fortunately we spent a lot of time putting together level 3 practice exams. These exams have the same format as the real exam – a recommended 60 minutes to complete 50 multiple choice questions. You’ll also receive feedback on which questions you got right and wrong. You can access them here.
How to Study for WSET Level 3 – Conclusion
Ultimately, the choice of study method is a personal one. Each person will have their own preferred method of study. However, we hope the above has given you a great framework and an idea as to how to study for WSET Level 3. If we had to leave you with 3 pieces of advice they would be:
- Pay attention to the calibration when doing guided tastings
- Ensure you are learning the syllabus well enough to answer the short written questions. If you can do this then the multiple choice will be easy.
- Spend enough time on learning outcome 2 – there are a lot of marks for this section…
Good luck!