WSET Level 2 Wine Education: From Drinking to Understanding
- peopleinsunlight
- Jun 1
- 4 min read
There are certain favourite drinks we all have; drinks that offer comfort, the ones you reach for without thinking too much. At the same time, as you begin paying attention to tasting notes, they introduce you to new flavours and new worlds, making them even more exciting to talk about. They become one of your go-to choices when meeting friends, celebrating special occasions, unwinding after work, or spending time with a film, a book, or a piece of music. If wine happens to be your preferred drink, this article may be of interest to you. In this article, we will try to explore how we can enjoy wine, our favourite drink, with a deeper level of knowledge and understanding, and how doing so can make the experience even more rewarding.
What is WSET?
WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) is one of the first names you are likely to come across when you want to learn something about the world of wine. Founded in London in 1969, it now delivers education programmes in more than 70 countries. Its courses are not limited to wine; WSET also offers qualifications in spirits (such as whisky, vodka and gin), sake and beer. In wine education, there are four different levels ranging from introductory to expert level, from Level 1 to the Level 4 Diploma. There are three levels in spirits and sake, and two in beer. In total, WSET offers 13 different certification programmes. The course formats are also highly flexible, ranging from intensive three-day programmes to weekday evening classes, weekend courses and fully online options. I chose the intensive three-day format, as it was the most suitable option given my limited time.
Why WSET Level 2?
Level 1 is designed as an introduction for complete beginners to wine. It covers topics such as the main styles of wine, basic tasting techniques and food pairing through a limited selection of wines. Level 2 takes things a step further. Understanding which grape a wine comes from, recognising how climate and soil shape what you taste in the glass, and knowing what to look for when you bring a glass to your nose are all part of what WSET Level 2 promises to teach. You learn about the world’s major grape varieties, the regions where they are grown, different winemaking methods, as well as sparkling and fortified wines. Throughout the course, you taste more than 40 wines, giving you the opportunity to experience in the glass what you have learned in theory. In short, while Level 1 focuses on answering the question “What is wine?”, Level 2 is more interested in asking “Why does this wine taste the way it does?”. Why can the same grape variety express itself so differently depending on where it is grown? Why do some wines have higher acidity than others? Why do you find citrus notes in one wine and tropical fruit aromas in another? These are the kinds of questions you begin to answer as you progress through the course.
Having built up my knowledge and experience over many years through my own research and interest in wine, I decided to start directly with Level 2. Over the course of three days, we first covered the theoretical aspects before evaluating different wines using WSET’s Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT). The programme concludes with a 50-question multiple-choice exam, and a minimum score of 55% is required to earn the certification. In the intensive format that I attended, participants are expected to complete at least 11 hours of self-study using the course materials and workbook provided in advance. Considering the pace of the programme, I would say that passing the exam without doing this preparation would be quite challenging.
Why Take WSET in London?
WSET has hundreds of approved course providers around the world, meaning you can take the programme in cities ranging from Dubai and New York to Istanbul and Tokyo. I chose London because it is home to WSET’s headquarters and the city where the institution was founded. London is also a city I genuinely enjoy visiting. Between catching up with friends, visiting exhibitions and going to the theatre, fitting a three-day intensive course into the trip felt like a very natural choice.
Overall Thoughts on WSET Level 2
WSET Level 2 was a very different experience from learning through books, videos or my own independent research. The biggest reason for this is the way it brings theory and practice together. Reading about how climate, soil and winemaking techniques shape the character of a wine can only take you so far. Tasting dozens of completely different wines side by side on the same day, however, makes that knowledge far more tangible and memorable. The more than 40 wines we tasted throughout the course provided exactly that opportunity. If you are learning on your own, it is difficult to experience such a broad range of wines in such a short period of time and in such a systematic way.
Of course, no one becomes a wine expert after just three days of training; there is both a before and an after to that journey. What you learn needs to be reinforced through everyday practice, by trying new wines and continuing to develop your own wine knowledge and appreciation. That said, this course alone can make a noticeable difference. Whether you are looking at a restaurant wine list, choosing a bottle from a shop shelf, or visiting a vineyard, you begin to understand much better what you are looking at. For me, perhaps the most valuable takeaway was starting to understand the reasons behind the wines I had enjoyed or been disappointed by for years. At a certain point, you begin to recognise why you gravitate towards particular styles, why some wines appeal to you more than others, and which characteristics simply do not suit your palate. As a result, your relationship with a drink you may have enjoyed for years gradually evolves into something quite different.
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