WSET has a systematic approach to tasting wine. Every grape has certain characteristics on the nose and palate, so we’ve been working to train and align our taste buds to the smells and tastes. It’s been fun trying our favorite grape varietals from around the world, mostly from France.

Since we’ve started tracking our wines and tasting notes, here’s a list of the wines we’ve had recently. They are in no particular order.

• Veuve Cliquot Rose Champagne
• William Fevre Chablis
• Chartron & Trebuchet Pouilly-Fuissé
• Kettle Valley 2014 Syrah
• Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais AOC
• M. Chapoutier Côtes-du-Rhône

We loved the 2014 Syrah from Kettle Valley Winery. We will need to find a Côte-Rôtie to do a comparative tasting but based on our WSET studies so far, we think this Syrah is reminiscent of Côte-Rôtie AOC as this Syrah follows the traditional method of co-fermenting with a small amount of Viognier (5%). Lots of black fruit and pepper notes on the nose and palate. It is supposed to have floral aromas, but we simply may need more practice to detect that on the nose. The Syrah was amazing and we thought it provided tremendous value for its price point. We had it with lasagna.

Justin hunted around for the Veuve Clicquot Rosé Champagne because I was on a Rosé champagne/bubbly kick and they’re not the easiest to find around here. We brought this back from a trip somewhere last year. It’s non-vintage and made with Pinot Noir grapes. It was dry with light body. We got strawberry and citrus on the palate. There was a touch of biscuit, but overall we found ourselves wanting more body and toasted notes. Wouldn’t go out of our way to pick up this Rose Champagne and would opt for regular Veuve Clicquot as it’s dry and more complex.

We did our first comparative tasting with the Pouilly-Fuissé and Chablis. It was inspired by a local fishmonger, Codfathers, advertising fresh West Coast oysters. We picked up 2 dozen. It was my first time ever shucking oysters and decided to mark the occasion with a nice white. It’s a lot of work shucking oysters when you don’t know how to shuck oysters.

The Chablis was the preferred pairing with the oysters because it was more acidic, with green fruit and lemon vs. the Pouilly-Fuissé which was creamier from the use of oak and had notes of stone and tropical fruit.

Funny story: I made the mistake of confusing Pouilly-Fuissé with Pouilly-Fumé at the liquor store. Originally, I was hoping to test Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc for the oyster pairing. Pouilly-Fumé is Sauvignon Blanc grapes, and I thought we were tasting that vs. the Pouilly-Fuissé.

The Pouilly-Fuissé has medium body, stone/tropical fruit notes, and complexity from being fermented in oak. Pouilly-Fumé or Sauvignon Blanc is not typically put on oak, because its fresh and herbaceous characteristics are easily overwhelmed. Pouilly-Fuissé is made from Chardonnay. So we were tasting two Chardonnays because Chablis is also made from Chardonnay.

It was a trip tasting the Pouilly-Fuissé because I was looking for Sauvignon Blanc qualities when we were actually tasting a Chardonnay. Justin finally corrected me and we had a good laugh. I don’t know how I’ll live it down when I was trying to convince him against his taste buds. I should be able to remember the difference between Pouilly-Fuissé and Pouilly-Fumé for a very long time.

I think I will design a wine journal for us to keep track of wine that has some semblance to the WSET method as well as the way we’d want to document our wine experiences.

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WSET was founded in the UK in 1969 and seems to be a very respectable standard. There are many levels and qualifications, and there are separate courses for spirits. The Level 1 wine course is one day, a full day. When we signed up, we got a study guide and were instructed to read it a few times before the actual class. There is plenty of documentation, such as specifications and expected learning outcomes so you are really prepared for the day as well as the exam.

When I booked this course, one of my key concerns was safety protocols. It was probably my only complaint about the whole experience because I had emailed in advance to ask what they were doing but never received a response. I was pleased to receive an email letting us know what were the protocols and expectations. When we arrived on the day, they took our temperatures upon entry and made us sign a waiver. I felt pretty safe because we were all spaced quite far apart and everyone was wearing masks.

Our course instructor was local, Mike Lee, the winery sommelier from Quail’s Gate. He did a great job taking us through the content and tastings. We had assigned seating, which probably worked out best for us and our friend, so we didn’t spend all our time making comments and socializing. It would have been about wine, but it would have been such a disservice to us and everyone if I’m being honest.

Each station had a wine tasting mat, a book of course material, our ISO tasting glasses, and a black and gold Fine Vintage Ltd branded carrying bag. Safety protocols meant we got to wear our masks when not tasting, we had individual spit cups, and we only really talked to the person beside us when doing tasting notes.

We got to try 14 wines from all over the world. It was really interesting to take such a systematic approach to wine tasting. In level 1, we go into the basics of appearance, smell, and taste. I learned that I have always been a fan of Burgundy wines, which are Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. Justin’s biggest takeaways were about the effect of food on wine.

The WSET Level 1 exam is written at the end of the day, and won’t know our results for 8-10 weeks. It was 30 questions, and you need 70% to pass the exam. Upon successful completion of WSET Level 1, you receive a pin and certificate.

We’ve begun studying for WSET Level 2 and it looks like we’re going into much more detail on geographical indications (GIs). It looks like there’s a lot to learn about the regions, like PDO (Protected Designation of Origin), and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) production. There will also be more detail on the tasting approach. We’re excited!

The WSET Level 1 class was so enjoyable, we decided to enroll in WSET Level 2 in 2021. I expect our wine blog posts to evolve quite a bit from this education. I already cringe a bit with the way I’ve written about some of our winery visits and specifically wine tastings. A little too unstructured, but now we know better.

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