As per the WSET website for Level 2, this qualification is intended for beginners wishing to learn about a wide range of wines or those seeking to build on the introductory knowledge gained with the WSET Level 1 Award in Wines. You’ll gain knowledge of the principal and regionally important grape varieties of the world, the regions in which they are grown, and the styles of wine they produce. Through a combination of tasting and theory, you’ll explore the factors that impact style and quality and learn how to describe these wines with confidence.

WSET Level 2 in Wine happens across 3 days/classes for us, offered through Fine Vintage Ltd. Level 2 is an intermediate course and covers grape growing, winemaking, the classic grapes, tasting and so much more. Just like in WSET Level 1, it was in-person classes with an instructor who took us through the theory and tastings. If you’re interested in taking WSET courses, we took ours through Fine Vintage and had a great experience. Use our referral link to get 10% off your registration.

Fine Vintage did a pretty good job outlining their pandemic protocols, so we felt there were enough measures in place for us to comfortably attend the in-person classes. In theory, wine tasting classes sound super fun and super easy. You’re just drinking wine. It is anything but! You’re tasting a lot of wine, thinking, processing, and making tasting notes for each. The senses will tire after a while.

It is one thing to do self-study with wines, but I absolutely appreciated the in-person classes. Our instructor, Mike Lee, is a DipWSET, FWS, which means he knows his wine. It was great practice to attempt our own tasting notes, and then calibrate with someone who has a much more distinguished and experienced palate. That made the classes well worth it. The second benefit was learning about the mental models and maps for remembering the various grapes and types of wine.

This blog post was a long time in the making, and we have since learned that both of us have passed the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines. We are confident that we passed with distinction but have to wait until we get the official results from WSET. I’m excited to get our certificate, as well as another pin. We still have to figure out what we want to do with our WSET certifications, but I am entertaining the idea to pursue Level 3.

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